Living in China
China VAT Refund for Tourists: How to Claim It (2026 Rules)
By the 17Talk teaching team - certified Mandarin teachers, 8+ years of classroom experience, 3,500+ students in 40 countries
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Quick answer
China refunds the VAT on goods that foreign visitors buy and take home, and the rules are specific rather than vague. Spend at least RMB 200 in one tax-refund shop on the same day, keep the goods unused in their packaging, leave China within 90 days of the purchase and within 183 days of your last entry, have your refund application form stamped by customs when you depart, then collect the money at the airport refund counter - in RMB. The refund rate depends on the goods: 11% for items carrying the 13% VAT rate and 8% for items at 9%, with the refund agency deducting a handling fee. Refunds of up to RMB 20,000 can be paid in cash if you choose; above that they must go by bank transfer. Since 1 July 2026, applications under RMB 10,000 are only randomly sampled for physical inspection instead of being checked one by one, and the process can be completed paperlessly.
China VAT refund: how tourists claim the tax back
China refunds the VAT on goods that foreign visitors buy and take home. Spend at least RMB 200 in one tax-refund shop on the same day, keep the goods unused in their packaging, leave China within 90 days of the purchase and 183 days of your last entry, have the form stamped by customs when you depart, then collect the money at the airport refund counter - in RMB.
The rate is tied to the goods, not to a flat percentage: 11% for items carrying the 13% VAT rate and 8% for items at 9%, minus the refund agency's handling fee. Since 1 July 2026, applications under RMB 10,000 are only randomly sampled for physical inspection.
The five steps, in order
1. Buy from a shop that is registered as a tax-refund shop - they display the sign, and staff will know what you need. 2. Ask for the refund application form and the sales invoice at the counter, and check that your name and passport number are on the form. 3. Keep the goods unused and in their original packaging; an opened item is not a refundable item. 4. On departure, before you hand over the bag that contains the goods, take them and the paperwork to the customs desk for verification. 5. Collect the refund at the refund agency counter after security, and sign the receipt.
The order matters more than any single document: the form must be stamped by customs before the refund agency can pay you, and the goods must still look like the goods on the invoice.
The thresholds and the two clocks
This is where most refused claims die, so treat the numbers as the checklist.
Both figures, with the tax authority notice behind them, are set out on China travel: the official numbers.
Every figure on this page is also listed, with the notice that sets it, on China travel: the official numbers - use that page when you want the source rather than the explanation.
| Rule | Number | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum purchase | RMB 200 | The same passenger, the same day, the same tax-refund shop. Two shops on one day do not add up. |
| Purchase to departure | 90 days | The day you leave China must be within 90 days of the day you bought the goods. |
| Last entry to departure | 183 days | You must still be within the visitor window counted from your last entry into China. |
| Pay-in-store refunds (即买即退) | 28 days | If the shop gives you the refund on the spot, the departure window is now a uniform 28 days, and it can be completed at a different port. |
How much you actually get back
The calculation is refund = invoice amount including VAT, multiplied by the refund rate, minus the refund agency's handling fee. The rate is tied to the VAT rate that the goods carry, and this detail is missed by most guides:
Goods under the 13% VAT rate are refunded at 11%. Goods under the 9% VAT rate are refunded at 8%. So a RMB 2,000 purchase of 13%-rate goods is a RMB 220 refund before the agency fee, not a flat percentage of everything you bought.
Refunds are paid in RMB. Up to RMB 20,000 you can choose cash or a bank transfer; above RMB 20,000 the refund must be made by bank transfer. You sign a receipt for whatever you collect.
What changed in July 2026
The 2026 policy push made the airport step noticeably lighter. Since 1 July 2026, refund applications with sales under RMB 10,000 are verified by random sampling rather than one by one - only applications at RMB 10,000 and above are still checked item by item. On the same date, paperless processing began: customs and the refund agencies can confirm the application form and the invoice online, so the whole flow can run without paper.
The other change worth knowing is the pay-in-store route. It now has cross-region recognition, meaning a refund granted at the shop can be completed at a different departure port, and the departure window for that route was standardised at 28 days. If you are buying high-value items in Shanghai and flying out of Beijing, that combination is now by design rather than by luck.
Coverage is also expanding: the policy pushes registered tax-refund shops into the shopping districts, scenic areas, markets and ports where foreign visitors actually are.
How the airport step really goes
Give yourself an extra 30 to 45 minutes, and do the customs step before check-in if the goods are in a bag you are checking - customs needs to see the items, not just the paperwork. Show your passport, the application form and the invoice. Once the form is stamped, check in, clear security, and go to the refund agency counter on the airside.
Two practical traps. If your goods are in hand luggage and you only remember at the gate, you have probably lost the claim. And if you are making a connection through another Chinese city, do the customs and refund steps at the last point where you leave China - not at the first airport.
Where the refund counter is, airport by airport
The counter that pays you is run by a refund agency, not by the airport, and the list moves: new counters open, others shift terminals or shorten their hours. That is why any article listing the counter at a named airport goes stale, and why the reliable move is to check the official list before you fly.
The national departure tax refund platform, run by the Ministry of Commerce, publishes the lookups you need: refund agency counters by location and the agencies themselves. Look up your departure airport, then confirm the desk location at the airport information desk on the day - the platform tells you that a counter exists, not which corner of which hall it sits in.
Two things to keep straight when you plan the morning. Customs verification and the refund counter are different desks and different steps: customs looks at the goods and stamps the form, and the agency pays you afterwards. Airports are also not equal: a major international gateway will have both, usually with long opening hours, while a smaller airport may have a single agency desk with limited hours or none at all - which is exactly the case worth checking before you buy something expensive.
If you are searching for a specific airport by name, treat blog lists as a hint and the official lookup as the answer. If the platform shows no counter at your departure airport, use the pay-in-store route where the shop refunds you on the spot, or plan to leave China through a different port - since 2026 an instant refund can be completed at a different departure airport.
What kills a claim
The failures are rarely mysterious: the purchase was below RMB 200 at that shop on that day; the goods were used or unpacked; the form was never stamped by customs; the invoice and the form do not match your passport; or the departure happened outside the 90-day and 183-day windows.
One more habit worth forming: photograph the invoice and the application form before you travel. If the paper goes missing in a suitcase shuffle, the refund system can still be checked against the shop's records, but your afternoon gets longer.
A worked example, start to finish
The arithmetic trips people up more than the paperwork. The refund is the invoice amount including VAT multiplied by the refund rate - those are the official words - so a 13%-VAT item refunds at 11% of what you paid, and it is worth seeing the numbers before you plan a shopping trip around them.
Two things the table makes clear. The refund scales with the purchase, so there is no point collecting small receipts. And the figure below is what the scheme owes you before the refund agency deducts its handling fee - that fee comes off this number, and its rate is set by the agency, so read the slip at the desk rather than assuming the refund is the full 11%.
| Purchase (tax-inclusive) | VAT refunded at 11% | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 200 RMB (the minimum) | 22 RMB | The threshold is per shop, per day - a 190 RMB day qualifies for nothing |
| 2,000 RMB | 220 RMB | Small enough that most people take it in cash |
| 12,000 RMB | 1,320 RMB | Still under the cash limit, so you choose cash or transfer |
| 30,000 RMB | 3,300 RMB | Over RMB 20,000 - the refund must go by bank transfer |
Tax refund is not duty-free - know which one you are doing
Visitors mix these up constantly, and the mistake is expensive in the wrong direction: if you assume an airport shop is duty-free when it is not, you pay the full tax and then have to run the refund process yourself.
The practical difference is where the tax is removed. Duty-free shops sit past the departure checkpoint and simply do not charge the tax at the till. Tax refund shops sit in the city and do charge it, which is why the refund is a separate process at the airport on the way out.
| Tax refund (退税) | Duty-free (免税) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you shop | City shops marked as tax-refund shops | Inside the airport, past security |
| What you pay at the till | Full price including the tax | Price without the tax |
| What you do later | Claim the tax back on the way out | Nothing - it never gets charged |
| Minimum spend | There is a threshold per shop, per day | No minimum |
| Goods | Packed, unused, carry them with you | Whatever the shop sells, within allowances |
| Paperwork | Application form, invoice, passport, goods | Passport at the till |
What to say at the desk
The refund counter at a Chinese airport runs in Chinese first. These six lines get you through it without pointing and hoping, and the staff at these desks generally do speak enough English - but starting in Chinese makes it go faster.
The one that matters most is the question about cash, because the answer changes where you queue next.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 退税 | tuì shuì | Tax refund - say this and they will point you to the counter |
| 我要退税 | wǒ yào tuì shuì | I want to claim a tax refund |
| 这是我的护照 | zhè shì wǒ de hù zhào | Here is my passport |
| 发票 | fā piào | Invoice - the refund desk needs the original |
| 可以退现金吗 | kě yǐ tuì xiàn jīn ma | Can I get this in cash? |
| 退到卡上 | tuì dào kǎ shàng | Refund to the card |
Common questions
How much do I need to spend?
At least RMB 200 in a single tax-refund shop on a single day. Purchases at different shops on the same day do not combine toward the threshold.
What is the refund rate?
It follows the VAT rate on the goods: 11% for items carrying the 13% rate and 8% for items at 9%. The refund agency then deducts a handling fee from that amount.
How long do I have to leave China after buying?
90 days from the purchase date, and you must still be within 183 days of your last entry into China. For pay-in-store refunds the departure window is 28 days.
Can I take the refund in cash?
Yes, up to RMB 20,000, and you can choose cash or bank transfer. Above RMB 20,000 the refund must be paid by bank transfer. Everything is paid in RMB.
Do they inspect the goods?
Since 1 July 2026, applications under RMB 10,000 are checked by random sampling; RMB 10,000 and above are still verified item by item. Keep the goods unused and in their packaging either way.
Can I claim at any airport?
Pay-in-store refunds now have cross-region recognition, so they can be completed at a different port. For the standard route, handle customs and the refund counter at the last point where you leave China.
Which airports have tax refund counters?
Check the official lookup on the national tax-free platform (taxfree.mofcom.gov.cn), which publishes refund agency counters and instant-refund points by city, rather than relying on blog lists. Major international airports usually have both a customs verification desk and an agency counter; smaller airports may have limited hours or none.
Do I get the whole 11% back?
The 11% (or 8%) is the refund of the VAT, and it is calculated on the invoice amount including VAT. It is not what lands in your hand: the refund agency deducts a handling fee from that figure, and the fee is set by the agency rather than by the tax rules, so check the slip at the counter. Practical version: expect a little less than the table, and treat the threshold rule as the thing worth optimising - one shop, one day, over RMB 200.
Is an airport shop the same as a tax-refund shop?
No, and this is the most common mix-up. Duty-free shops past security do not charge the tax at all, so there is nothing to claim. Tax-refund shops are city shops with the scheme's logo; you pay tax there and claim it back on departure.
Read next
- Your First 24 Hours in China: An Arrival Checklist (2026)
- ATM in China: How to Withdraw Cash as a Foreigner (2026)
- Alipay for Foreigners: Setup & the 200 RMB Rule
Sources
- 国家税务总局关于修改《境外旅客购物离境退税管理办法（试行）》的公告 (国家税务总局公告 2025 年第 11 号, 26 April 2025), State Council policy library (中国政府网) - minimum purchase per passenger per day per tax-refund shop raised to RMB 200; cash refund limit raised to RMB 20,000, with amounts above that refunded by bank transfer; refund conditions include departure within 90 days of purchase, departure within 183 days of last entry, a customs-verified application form and unused goods; refund formula is invoice amount multiplied by the refund rate, minus the agency's handling fee; refunds paid in RMB.
- 国家税务总局政策法规库 annotated text of the 离境退税管理办法 - per 财政部 税务总局 海关总署公告 2019 年第 39 号 (Article 4), the refund rate is 11% for goods carrying the 13% VAT rate and 8% for goods carrying the 9% VAT rate; actual refund = refundable VAT minus the refund agency's handling fee.
- 商务部等6部门《关于加力优化离境退税措施扩大入境消费的通知》(商消费发 2026 年第 74 号, 12 May 2026), State Council policy library (中国政府网) - from 1 July 2026, applications with sales below RMB 10,000 are subject to random sampling instead of one-by-one physical verification while RMB 10,000 and above are verified item by item; paperless processing of application forms and invoices from the same date; pay-in-store refunds gain cross-region recognition with a uniform 28-day departure window; tax-refund shop coverage to expand into key shopping districts, scenic areas, markets and ports.
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