Can tourists get a VAT refund in China, and how much do you get back?
Yes. If you count as an overseas traveler, you can get part of the VAT back on goods you buy in a registered refund store (退税商店) and take out of China with you. You get 11% or 8% of the invoice amount, minus the refund agent's fee. You normally claim it when you leave: customs checks your application if verification is required, then a refund agent pays you. The electronic process allows applications marked exempt by the system to proceed without a customs check. A newer route, ‘buy now, refund now’ (即买即退), pays you in the store and settles when you leave.
How much is the refund?
The rates come from a 2019 announcement by the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration (STA) and Customs, dated 20 March 2019. It sets 11% for goods taxed at 13% and 8% for goods taxed at 9%. The date of the ordinary VAT invoice decides which rate applies. The announcement doesn't list which products fall in which band, so don't guess. The 2015 notice that set up the policy still shows a flat 11%; that is the older figure.
The formula in the 2015 notice is: refund = invoice amount (VAT included) × refund rate. This is an illustration only: on a ¥1,000 invoice, 11% is ¥110 and 8% is ¥80, before fees.
The agent may deduct a ‘necessary handling fee’ from the refund (2015 notice). The 2025 notice only says each locality should set the agent's service fee rate reasonably. Neither notice gives a national percentage, so the fee varies by agent. Expect to receive less than the plain 11% or 8%.
Who qualifies for a China tax refund, and what is the minimum purchase?
Who counts. The 2015 notice defines an overseas traveler (境外旅客) as a foreigner, or a Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan compatriot, who has lived in China continuously for no more than 183 days.
What you must meet. All of these apply together:
- Minimum purchase: ¥200 in the same store on the same day. The test is per store and per day. The 2015 notice said ¥500; the 2025 notice says earlier rules that conflict with it give way.
- Goods: unused and unconsumed.
- Timing: you leave no more than 90 days after the purchase date (ordinary refund).
- Carrying: you take the goods out of China yourself, in your hand luggage or in checked baggage.
The goods must be personal items you bought yourself in a refund store. Three groups are excluded: items on the prohibited or restricted export list, items the store sells VAT-exempt, and other items set by the three ministries.
How to claim the China tax refund step by step
- Buy in a refund store. Ask for the 境外旅客购物离境退税申请单 (overseas traveler tax refund application form) and the sales invoice. Only a registered refund store can issue the form.
- Keep the goods unused. Don't use or consume them before you leave.
- Declare to customs at your departure port. For the electronic process, customs uses your valid ID, the goods and the electronic documents if the system requires verification; applications marked exempt need no customs check. For the paper process, show the goods, the form and the invoice; customs stamps the form after verification. The 2015 notice says only to declare with the goods and accept verification; it doesn't describe a baggage-check routine, so work out where your goods will be before you check a bag.
- Go to the refund agent. It sits in the restricted area (隔离区) of the port that handles your departure. For the electronic process, the agent uses your passport or other valid ID and the electronic documents to review and pay the refund online. For the paper process, bring your valid ID, the customs-stamped form and the invoice. This is also the place if you bought in another city.
What changed from 1 July 2026
- Sampling at customs. Under the notice of 12 May 2026, applications for under ¥10,000 of refund-eligible sales (退税销售额, the sales amount, not the refund amount) are physically checked on a random-sample basis. Applications of ¥10,000 or more are still checked one by one.
- Paperless. Customs and agents may confirm the form and invoice online. The STA's notice of 13 July 2026 adds the details. Stores can issue electronic forms and invoices. Where the system says a check is needed, customs checks online using your valid ID, the goods and the electronic documents. Where it says the check is exempt, customs doesn't check. The agent also works online from your ID and the electronic documents.
- Paper copies. If you want paper, the store must provide it.
- Service QR code. A national 离境退税服务码 lets you enter your details, then view your application form, invoice, progress and payout online.
The 13 July notice doesn't say how many stores and ports have switched to the electronic process so far.
What is ‘buy now, refund now’ (即买即退) and how does it work with a credit card?
It moves the payout from the airport to the shop. The STA announced the nationwide rollout in announcement 2025 No. 9 (dated 4 April 2025, released on 8 April 2025 and in force on release). It followed pilots in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan, Zhejiang and Shenzhen. It works only where the departure tax refund already runs, the province has set up a local scheme, and the store has agreed terms with a local agent.
- In the store. The store or agent shows you an agreement. You sign it, they make a credit card pre-authorization, issue the application form, and pay you the ‘prepaid amount’ on the spot. It is an amount in RMB equal to your refund.
- At departure. For the electronic process, customs uses your valid ID, the goods and the electronic documents if the system requires verification; applications marked exempt need no customs check. For the paper process, take the goods, the form, the sales invoice and your valid ID to customs.
- At the agent. At the departure agent in the restricted area, use your passport or other valid ID and the electronic documents for online processing, or present your valid ID, the customs-stamped form and the invoice for the paper process. If you left within the committed period from the designated port and the goods qualify, the agent releases the pre-authorization and the prepaid amount counts as your refund.
If the purchase doesn't meet the refund rules, the agent charges your card to recover the prepaid amount, and no refund is processed for that purchase.
The announcement says ‘credit card’. It doesn't say how large the hold is, whether debit cards work, or whether foreign-issued cards are accepted, and it names no card networks. For general card use, see foreign credit cards in China.
Can I get the tax refund in cash, by bank transfer or mobile payment?
Refunds are paid in RMB. Under the 2015 notice, you could take cash or a bank transfer, and amounts above ¥10,000 had to go by bank transfer. The 2025 notice raised the cash limit to ¥20,000. It also tells agents to work with payment and clearing institutions and to offer mobile payment, bank cards and cash where risk is controllable. That is encouragement, not a promise that every agent offers all three. The 2025 notice doesn't say how amounts above ¥20,000 are paid.
If you want RMB in your hand before you fly, ‘buy now, refund now’ is the route that pays at the store. For using cash day to day, see whether cash is accepted in China.
What if you leave late or from another airport?
Ordinary refund
You must meet all the conditions together, including leaving within 90 days of the purchase date, so a later departure falls outside the rule. The 2015 notice describes no exception. On the airport question, refunds are handled by the agent at the port that deals with your departure, whether you bought in the same city or another one.
‘Buy now, refund now’
Under the 2025 announcement, the agreement names a committed departure period and a designated port. If you leave after the period ends, or from another port, the agent has 3 working days from the end of the committed period to charge your pre-authorized card for the prepaid amount. If you later actually leave, the agent at your departure place can still process the refund under the normal rules.
Two 2026 changes loosen this. The May notice says ‘buy now, refund now’ gets recognition across regions, so you can finish at a port in another region, and unifies the departure period at 28 days. It doesn't say which date the 28 days count from. The STA notice adds that since 1 September 2026 a ‘buy now, refund now’ store can upload your ID when it issues the form. The agent at the place of purchase then reviews online, and the agent at the departure place checks your identity and completes the refund. The notice makes this conditional on controllable risk, compliance and agreement between agents in different regions, so it may not be in place everywhere.
Which stores, cities and ports offer tax refunds?
Stores. Only a registered refund store can issue the application form. The 2025 notice made registration easier and encourages refund stores in business districts, pedestrian streets, scenic areas, resorts, museums, airports, passenger ports and hotels. The same notice calls for improved tax refund signs but doesn't describe their design, so look for a tax refund sign and confirm before you pay. For ‘buy now, refund now’, the store must also have agreed that service with a local agent. The 13 July notice says the QR code is to be displayed at stores, customs and agents. It also describes pilots for online-store refunds, with 1–2 stores per province where a province chooses to run one; that is a pilot, not a general service. The May 2026 notice also calls for departure tax refund service areas at major trade fairs, such as the China International Import Expo, the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) and the China International Consumer Products Expo.
Cities and ports. The refund applies in regions that have implemented the policy, and the 2025 notice tells regions that haven't started to begin soon. A departure port needs to be officially open and to have a refund agent; the 2015 notice counts air, water and land ports. None of the notices cited on this page lists the regions or ports for the ordinary refund. Only the six pilot places above are named, and only for ‘buy now, refund now’. The 2025 notice also calls for a national information platform for looking up refund stores, but doesn't say whether it is live. If your route runs through our Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Chengdu guides, ask the store whether it is a refund store before you pay.
Before you pay
Have your passport with you at the till, and ask whether the form will be electronic or paper and whether the store offers ‘buy now, refund now’. None of the notices cited on this page gives a fee percentage or counter hours, so ask about those too.
