Money back
In short
You can claim VAT back on goods bought at a departure tax refund store if you have been in the mainland 183 consecutive days or fewer and leave within 90 days of the purchase. Ask for the Refund Application Form at the till. The refund is 11% on 13%-rated goods, less a 2% agency fee, so roughly 9% comes back.
Open the budget guideApplies to
Visitors planning to buy anything substantial in China, and anyone standing at a till wondering whether to ask for the form.
Check before you rely on it
Official pages disagree on the minimum spend. The State Council's April 2025 circular and the Shanghai tax service say 200 yuan; Chongqing's page dated June 2026 still says 500. Budget for 500.
Review date: 2026-07-25
The refund is decided at the till, not at the airport. If nobody issued you a form when you paid, there is nothing for customs to stamp on the way out.
From till to gate
What actually reaches you
The headline rate and the number that lands in your hand are not the same thing.
For goods taxed at 13% the refund rate is 11% of the VAT-inclusive invoice amount; for goods taxed at 9% it is 8%. The refund agency then charges 2% of the same invoice amount as its service charge, and you receive the difference. On a 13%-rated purchase that is about 9% of what you paid.
Payment is in renminbi. Up to 20,000 yuan you can choose cash or a bank transfer; above that it has to be a transfer.
Do I qualify?
Fail any one of them and the form is worthless at the port, however much you spent.
| Condition | Requirement | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| Who you are | 183 consecutive days or fewer | Overseas visitors means foreigners and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who have resided in the Chinese mainland for no more than 183 consecutive days before the date of departure. |
| How much you spent | 200 yuan at one store on one day | The Shanghai tax service guide and the April 2025 national circular both state 200 yuan of tax-refundable goods at the same store on the same day. Chongqing's page dated June 2026 still prints 500 yuan. |
| How soon you leave | Within 90 days of purchase | The departure date must be no more than 90 days from the date the tax-refundable goods were purchased. Taking an instant refund adds a tighter 28-day limit on top. |
| What state the goods are in | Unused, and with you | The goods must not have been used or consumed, and must be carried by you or checked as your luggage when you depart. |
The shop offered to pay me on the spot
This is the one part of the scheme that can cost you money rather than save it.
Under refund upon purchase you sign an agreement, give a credit card pre-authorization and walk out with the money. You then have 28 days to leave China and complete the departure formalities, a limit now standardised nationwide, and you have to leave through an agreed port. Miss either condition and the refund agency recovers the advance through that pre-authorization within three business days after the promised departure date expires. If you later depart properly, the refund is processed then. Instant refunds are now recognised across regions, so buying in one city and leaving from another is allowed.
China refines departure tax refund policy to encourage inbound consumption (The State Council of the People's Republic of China (English portal), page dated 2025-04-27, read 2026-07-25)The published facts
Each line links the source page and the day we read it. Sources read 2026-07-25.
Foreigners and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who reside in the Chinese mainland for no more than 183 consecutive days before the date of departure. Valid ID means a passport or an equivalent travel permit that shows or can produce your last entry date.
A Guide to the Departure Tax Refund for Overseas Visitors (Shanghai Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration, page dated 2025-05-24, read 2026-07-25)
Spend at least 200 yuan on tax-refundable goods at the same tax-free store on the same day, do not use or consume the goods, depart no more than 90 days after the purchase date, and carry the goods with you or in your checked luggage.
A Guide to the Departure Tax Refund for Overseas Visitors (Shanghai Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration, page dated 2025-05-24, read 2026-07-25)
For items at the 13% VAT rate the refund rate is 11%; for items at 9% it is 8%. The refund is calculated on the invoice amount including VAT, and since April 2019 that has been the basis of the calculation.
A Guide to the Departure Tax Refund for Overseas Visitors (Shanghai Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration, page dated 2025-05-24, read 2026-07-25)
Chongqing publishes the formula: refundable VAT is the VAT-inclusive invoice amount times the refund rate, the service charge is the same invoice amount times 2%, and the net refund is the difference. Beijing states the same 2% commission.
Tax Refund at Departure (Chongqing Municipal People's Government English portal, page dated 2026-06-09, read 2026-07-25)
Refunds are paid in renminbi. Up to 20,000 yuan you may choose cash or a bank transfer; above 20,000 yuan it has to be a bank transfer. The April 2025 circular is what raised the cash ceiling to 20,000.
A Guide to the Departure Tax Refund for Overseas Visitors (Shanghai Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration, page dated 2025-05-24, read 2026-07-25)
A circular jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce and five other departments lowered the minimum to 200 yuan spent at the same store on the same day, made refunds payable by mobile payment, bank card or cash, and raised the cash ceiling to 20,000 yuan.
Page dated 27 April 2025 · China refines departure tax refund policy to encourage inbound consumption (The State Council of the People's Republic of China (English portal), page dated 2025-04-27, read 2026-07-25)
Travellers who use refund upon purchase have 28 days to leave China and complete the departure tax refund procedures, a limit now standardised nationwide. The tax authority states the same 28 days on its own site.
Page dated 19 May 2026 · China improves departure tax refund services to boost inbound consumption (The State Council of the People's Republic of China (English portal), page dated 2026-05-19, read 2026-07-25)
Under refund upon purchase you sign an agreement and give a credit card pre-authorization. If you exceed the promised departure period or leave from a port other than the agreed one, the agency recovers the advance payment through that pre-authorization within three business days after the promised departure date expires.
Tax Refund at Departure (Chongqing Municipal People's Government English portal, page dated 2026-06-09, read 2026-07-25)
The instant refund service has been upgraded to work across regions. Buy and claim in Guangzhou, then leave from a port in another province, and customs inspection and the release of the pre-authorization happen there instead of back where you bought.
Page dated 4 June 2026 · Upgraded Tax Refund Policy Makes "Shopping in China" Easier (State Taxation Administration, page dated 2026-06-04, read 2026-07-25)
Refund application forms involving sales of less than 10,000 yuan are subject to random physical inspection at a set ratio; forms of 10,000 yuan or more are still inspected one by one. From the same date, customs and the agencies may verify forms and invoices online and process refunds without paper, though the paper channel remains available.
Upgraded Tax Refund Policy Makes "Shopping in China" Easier (State Taxation Administration, page dated 2026-06-04, read 2026-07-25)
Valid identity documents, the VAT invoices for the refund items, and the Refund Application Form for Overseas Visitors verified and stamped by customs. Then the tax refund agency inside the restricted zone processes the payment.
Page dated 1 April 2023 · Departure Tax Refund Guide for Overseas Tourists (Beijing Municipal People's Government, page dated 2023-04-01, read 2026-07-25)
Beijing publishes its refund points as the T2 and T3 departure tax refund windows at Beijing Capital International Airport and the window at Beijing Daxing International Airport, run by Bank of China Beijing Branch as the refund agency. Bank of China and ICBC have also built self-service refund machines for shopping malls.
Departure Tax Refund Guide for Overseas Tourists (Beijing Municipal People's Government, page dated 2023-04-01, read 2026-07-25)
Goods in the Catalog of Items Prohibited and Restricted from Entering and Exiting China, which covers gold and silver and products made from them, currencies and securities, radio transceivers, precious traditional Chinese medicines and cultural relics, plus VAT-exempt goods sold at tax-free stores.
A Guide to the Departure Tax Refund for Overseas Visitors (Shanghai Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration, page dated 2025-05-24, read 2026-07-25)
Since the April 2025 measures the number of travellers applying for refunds rose 367% year on year, and both the sales of tax-refunded goods and the amount refunded rose 90%. Expect the counter to be busy.
China improves departure tax refund services to boost inbound consumption (The State Council of the People's Republic of China (English portal), page dated 2026-05-19, read 2026-07-25)
In short
What people ask before they buy, and what they wish they had asked at the till.
If you have been in the mainland 183 consecutive days or fewer, bought at a departure tax refund store, spent enough at one store on one day, have not used the goods, and are leaving within 90 days of the purchase, then yes. You claim it at the departure port, or at the till if the store offers refund upon purchase.
The April 2025 national circular and the Shanghai tax service guide both say 200 yuan at the same store on the same day. Chongqing's government page dated 9 June 2026 still says 500 yuan. Until that disagreement resolves, plan for 500 and treat 200 as the better case.
The refund rate is 11% of the VAT-inclusive invoice for goods taxed at 13%, and 8% for goods taxed at 9%. The refund agency then takes 2% of the same invoice amount as its service charge. So on a 13% item you are looking at roughly 9% of what you paid.
Ask whether the shop is a departure tax refund store before you pay, then ask for the Refund Application Form for Overseas Visitors and keep the sales invoices. Without the form and the invoices there is nothing to process at the airport.
You sign an agreement and give a credit card pre-authorization. You then have 28 days to leave China and complete the departure formalities, and you have to leave through an agreed port. Miss either and the agency charges the advance back to your card within three business days of the promised departure date.
Yes, and they must be unused and either carried with you or checked as your luggage. From 1 July 2026 customs inspects forms under 10,000 yuan on a random basis and forms of 10,000 yuan or more one by one, so allow time either way.
Up to 20,000 yuan you can choose cash or a bank transfer. Above 20,000 yuan it has to be a bank transfer. Beijing's guide also lists Weixin and Alipay as payout methods at its own windows.
Not published
Two official pages disagree on the threshold. That disagreement is printed here rather than resolved by guesswork.
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