Not paying taxes in China?

Anyone heard about something like this? http://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/jobs-opportunities/compensationbenefit/tax-free-policy

If I remember correctly, either you or your husband is from the USA, right?

US citizens must file a tax return.  If you meet the requirements for a 2555 form, you can probably exempt income up to $90,000+ per year from US taxation.

I've never heard of any multiyear tax exemptions in China for expats.  I don't know if this table you linked it is true, is something new, or is a complete work of fiction.  It's bizarre.

Anyone else have any info on this?  I might want some of my Chinese taxes refunded.

Yes, and it has been discussed here before:

http://raoulschinasaloon.com/index.php?topic=5658.0  (scroll down a bit)

It's all a bit unclear if you ask me, but basically China has 'double taxation' agreements with a number of countries to prevent people being taxed twice (i.e. in China AND in their country of permanent residence).  Bear in mind you are supposed to be paying tax somewhere though...

...Of course, most schools and therefore FTs in China have never heard of these agreements...

My school does not remove taxes from my salary. When　I initially asked about how much would be taken out of my salary for taxes, I was told not to worry about it, because the FTs don't pay taxes.

 

This school has done everything by the book with all of the FTs so far, but they cannot give me an explanation why I don't pay taxes.  Not that I'm complaining.

Yes, and it has been discussed here before:

http://raoulschinasaloon.com/index.php?topic=5658.0  (scroll down a bit)

It's all a bit unclear if you ask me, but basically China has 'double taxation' agreements with a number of countries to prevent people being taxed twice (i.e. in China AND in their country of permanent residence).  Bear in mind you are supposed to be paying tax somewhere though...

In theory, right? But if Americans stay out of the US for 330 days, they can get out of taxes up to 91K ish.

If I remember correctly, either you or your husband is from the USA, right?

US citizens must file a tax return.  If you meet the requirements for a 2555 form, you can probably exempt income up to $90,000+ per year from US taxation.

Anyone else have any info on this?  I might want some of my Chinese taxes refunded.

I'm American. I've always filed. The 2555 though.

My school does not remove taxes from my salary. When　I initially asked about how much would be taken out of my salary for taxes, I was told not to worry about it, because the FTs don't pay taxes.

 

This school has done everything by the book with all of the FTs so far, but they cannot give me an explanation why I don't pay taxes.  Not that I'm complaining.

Yea! Seems like on Dave's, everyone is paying tazes.

Tax explanations during my first time here were. . . of questionable validity - probably due to the nature of a certain Australian who should have been deported to a place called Botany Bay II in Antarctica.

Currently, I pay my Chinese income taxes and am still having issues getting the labor bureau and social insurance bureau to figure out the new social insurance taxes.  I'm sure there will be some penalties and interest due before that's all sorted out.

Yes, if you stay out 330 days, you get an exemption.  If you stay out 365, it's bigger.  Yes, the form I filled out this year adjusted for every day I was inside the US.  Rumor has it that this exemption could be repealed or reduced sometime in the next year or so.

I didn't think the US and China had a tax agreement.  If not, that 3 year exemption for US citizens on the link in the first post makes no sense at all.  If they do, why would there be a time limit?  

Yes, if you stay out 330 days, you get an exemption.  If you stay out 365, it's bigger.  Yes, the form I filled out this year adjusted for every day I was inside the US.  Rumor has it that this exemption could be repealed or reduced sometime in the next year or so.

I didn't think the US and China had a tax agreement.  If not, that 3 year exemption for US citizens on the link in the first post makes no sense at all.  If they do, why would there be a time limit?  

Right but the difference between 330 and 365, isn't that much and if you're making THAT much I highly doubt you're an English teacher. Or if you are, you're killing yourself working.

...

I think the agreement governs income taxes only. I looked at Articles 1, 2 and 19.

did I miss anything?

Damn.  Not sure how I missed that one.  Wow.

"An individual who is, or immediately before visiting a Contracting State was, a resident of the other Contracting State and is temporarily present in the first-mentioned Contracting State for the primary purpose of teaching, giving lectures or conducting research at a university, college, school or other accredited educational institution or scientific research institution in the first mentioned Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in the first mentioned Contracting State for a period not exceeding three years in the aggregate in respect of remuneration for such teaching, lectures or research."

Sounds like a lot of people here may be owed a Chinese tax refund.


NatureGirl,

Yeah, most of us (me included) aren't bumping up against the upper limit of that form 2555.  I'm just not thrilled by the idea that anyone could be penalized for heading back to visit relatives for a few weeks.  I'm even less thrilled by rumors of "reform" of the foreign earned income exemption for those of us living and working offshore.

I just did this, so I'll fill you in.  If you're a resident of the US, Britian, Australia, or NZ, and you're teaching at a university in China, you're eligible for 2-3 years of no Chinese taxes, depending on the country you're from, provided that this is your first time working in China. 

Your school has to file the paperwork to get you tax exempt status, but you need to get a certificate of (something or the other) from your government, which basically says you're a tax resident of that country. It cost me $80 and took 2-3 months for me to get mine from the US government.  You give this to the school, they get you approved through the provincial government, and boom, no taxes.  Mine just finished, and they've filed some paperwork to get the last 3 months worth of taxes reimbursed.

There is some strange clause though, and I don't understand this.  If you stay *more* than 3 (or 2) years, you have to pay back taxes for the previous 3 years.  I think the key is that it's supposed to be *temporary* employment, and if you stay more than the alloted time, you aren't eligible, and thus you owe the tax you were exempted from.  In my case, the university will pay these back taxes for me at the end of three years, provided I sign another contract with them.

Anyway, that's how it works.

Of course, this is only for Chinese income tax.  You'll have to file in the US anyway, though as someone said, you're exempt for up to 91k USD per year if you live overseas for more than 330 days. 

Practically speaking, the US government has no way to know what salary you earned overseas, so you could report anything you wanted to.  Though if you tranfer a lot of cash back to the US with no reported income, you'd be in some serious trouble.