China Salary Calculator – How It Works & How To Use It

The China Salary Calculator is a simple tool that estimates your monthly take-home pay in China by applying resident individual income tax (IIT) brackets and quick deductions, plus your employee-side social insurance and housing fund contributions.

Why this calculator matters

China’s payroll has three moving parts that meaningfully change your net salary:

1. Employee social insurance (pension, medical, unemployment, etc.), calculated on a city-specific base with percentage rates.
2. Housing Fund (HF), also city-specific, typically between 5–12% each for employee and employer.
3. Individual Income Tax (IIT), applied on taxable income using progressive monthly brackets with a fixed quick-deduction and a standard ¥5,000 monthly deduction for resident taxpayers.
   Payroll teams actually use a cumulative method during the year; this calculator provides a practical monthly estimate.

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What the calculator assumes

• Resident taxpayer: You get the ¥5,000 standard monthly deduction, and you can enter special deductions (e.g., children’s education, mortgage interest, rental, continuing education).
• Non-resident option: If you choose “No,” the calculator removes the standard and special deductions and applies the same brackets to the remaining amount.
• Social insurance & HF: You can input your city’s employee rates and bases. If unsure, leave bases blank to default to your monthly salary, then plug in typical employee rates (e.g., pension 8%, medical 2% + small fixed, unemployment 0.5%, HF 5–12%). (Employer portions are not included in your take-home.)
• Monthly estimate: The output is a monthly net salary estimate. If you only know an annual gross, select “Annual”—the tool divides by 12 to estimate monthly.

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Step-by-Step: How to Use the China Salary Calculator

1. Enter your gross salary
   • If you’re paid monthly, leave “Input Frequency” as Monthly and enter your monthly gross (before any deductions).
   • If your offer is annual, choose Annual; the calculator divides by 12 to estimate your monthly gross.
2. Choose “Resident Taxpayer?”
   • Yes if you are a resident for tax purposes in China (commonly the case for employees living/working long-term).
   • No if you’re non-resident; the tool will remove the standard ¥5,000 deduction and special deductions.
3. Add “Additional Special Deductions” (optional)
   • Monthly total for deductible items such as children’s education, housing interest/rent, elderly support, etc.
   • If you don’t use these, leave it blank.
4. Fill in Social Insurance & Housing Fund
   • Bases: Enter the Social Insurance Base and Housing Fund Base. If you don’t know them, leave them blank; the tool defaults to your gross salary.
   • Rates (employee portions):
     • Pension (e.g., 8%)
     • Medical (e.g., 2%—some cities add a small fixed amount; this tool models percentage only)
     • Unemployment (e.g., 0.5%)
     • Work Injury / Maternity: often 0% on the employee side; enter 0 unless your city requires it
     • Housing Fund: typical employee rate ranges 5–12%, but it’s city-specific.
5. Click “Calculate Take-Home”
   You’ll see a clean breakdown:
   • Gross (Monthly)
   • Employee Social Insurance
   • Housing Fund (Employee)
   • Taxable Income
   • IIT (tax due)
   • Net Take-Home

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Behind the Scenes: How the Tax is Estimated

• Taxable income ≈ Gross − Employee SI − Employee HF − Special deductions − ¥5,000 (resident only).
• Monthly progressive brackets (post-2019) are applied using the quick-deduction method:
  • Up to ¥3,000 → 3% (quick deduction ¥0)
  • 3,000–12,000 → 10% (quick ¥210)
  • 12,000–25,000 → 20% (quick ¥1,410)
  • 25,000–35,000 → 25% (quick ¥2,660)
  • 35,000–55,000 → 30% (quick ¥4,410)
  • 55,000–80,000 → 35% (quick ¥7,160)
  • Over 80,000 → 45% (quick ¥15,160)

Payroll teams typically run cumulative withholding (they look at year-to-date taxable income and cumulative quick-deductions), so your employer’s monthly withholding can differ slightly from this standalone monthly snapshot—especially after bonuses or mid-year changes.

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Worked Example

• Monthly gross: ¥30,000
• Employee rates: Pension 8%, Medical 2%, Unemployment 0.5%, HF 7% (bases = salary)
• Resident: Yes (standard ¥5,000)
• Special deductions: ¥1,500

1. Employee SI = 30,000 × (0.08 + 0.02 + 0.005) = ¥3,150
2. HF (employee) = 30,000 × 0.07 = ¥2,100
3. Taxable = 30,000 − 3,150 − 2,100 − 1,500 − 5,000 = ¥18,250
4. Bracket: 12,000–25,000 → 20% with quick-deduction ¥1,410
   • Tax = 18,250 × 0.20 − 1,410 = ¥2,240
5. Net = 30,000 − 3,150 − 2,100 − 2,240 = ¥22,510

Your actual payslip might differ due to city caps/floors, fixed medical add-ons, or cumulative withholding.

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Implementation Notes for Your Site

• Drop-in ready: Paste the HTML into a WordPress Custom HTML block.
• Customize defaults: Pre-fill rates/placeholders based on your city to reduce user effort.
• Disclaimers: Keep the yellow warning visible—this is an estimate.
• Enhancements (easy to add):
  • Employer-cost panel (employer SI/HF)
  • Annual view (sum of 12 months)
  • Bonus tax mode (annual one-off bonus rules)
  • City presets (toggle buttons that fill bases/rates)

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FAQ — China Salary Calculator

Q1: What exactly does this calculator do?
It estimates monthly take-home pay in China by subtracting employee social insurance, housing fund, and individual income tax (IIT) from your gross salary, using the standard resident monthly brackets and quick-deduction.

Q2: Does it handle the official cumulative withholding method?
Not fully. It uses a monthly snapshot. Employers use a cumulative method across the year, so their monthly withholding can be slightly higher or lower depending on year-to-date totals.

Q3: I don’t know my bases or rates. What should I enter?
Leave the bases blank (the tool defaults them to your monthly salary) and use typical employee rates for your city. For a quick estimate, try Pension 8%, Medical 2%, Unemployment 0.5%, HF 7% and adjust later.

Q4: What about work injury and maternity insurance?
Those are usually employer-only in many cities (employee = 0%). The fields are there for edge cases; enter 0% if not applicable.

Q5: Do non-residents get the ¥5,000 standard deduction?
Generally no. If you select “Non-resident,” the tool removes the standard and special deductions and taxes what’s left under the same progressive rates.

Q6: Why is my company’s tax different from the calculator?
Likely due to cumulative withholding, city-specific caps/floors, fixed medical add-ons, timing of bonuses, or policy updates. Use this tool as a guide, not a payslip.

Q7: Can I add employer costs or a printable payslip?
Yes—both are straightforward additions: compute employer SI/HF with employer rates, then style a print-friendly panel. I can provide that version if you’d like.