MundoKit

China customs allowance calculator

Enter your usual residence, arrival route and purchases to check mainland China shopping allowances (回国免税额度). Add quantity checks or estimate tax on a separately assessed taxable value.

Inputs
RMB
Include tobacco, alcohol and vaping products. Nonresidents: only goods staying in mainland China. Exclude Customs-approved returning possessions.

Results

Shopping allowance check
Within the checked allowances
Abroad value allowance
RMB 5,000.00
Combined value ceiling
RMB 5,000.00
Value above applicable ceilings (not tax base)
RMB 0.00
  • Personal, reasonable-use goods only. Values include quantity-controlled products; passing a quantity check does not create extra RMB allowance.

Results update as you type. The share link stores your inputs after the # in the address, which is not sent to our server, but anyone you send it to can read them.

Last checked 2026-11-14. Rules change, sometimes at short notice. We list the date we last checked each official source; confirm with the official government source before you travel, buy or file. This is general information, not legal or immigration advice.

This is a general estimate for information only, not tax, legal or financial advice. Real rules have more conditions than a calculator can show, so check the official source below or a qualified professional for your situation.

How it works

The framework effective December 1, 2024 distinguishes residents by their usual home, not passport. An ordinary adult resident has a RMB 5,000 abroad-goods allowance; a nonresident has RMB 2,000 for articles staying in mainland China. Minors and frequent entrants have a necessary-articles rule instead.

For eligible residents arriving from Hong Kong or Macao, 2024 No.7 raises the abroad limit to RMB 12,000, with RMB 15,000 combined when buying at an arrival duty-free shop. It applied across eligible ports from August 1, 2024. Elsewhere, 2016 No.19 provides a RMB 8,000 combined ceiling while retaining the RMB 5,000 abroad limit.

value excess = max(0, abroad value − abroad limit, abroad value + arrival-shop value − combined ceiling) tax estimate = separately entered Customs-assessed taxable value × selected composite rate

Excess value is a screening figure, not an automatic tax base. An indivisible taxable article is taxed in full. The optional tax calculation applies one verified rate to your own assessed value; it does not classify a mixed basket. Rounding: calculations use unrounded input values; displayed RMB amounts have two decimal places. Quantity comparisons use unrounded values.

Worked examples

Ordinary resident: abroad goods plus arrival shopping

RMB 4,500 abroad plus RMB 3,000 at an arrival shop totals RMB 7,500. Both the RMB 5,000 abroad ceiling and RMB 8,000 combined ceiling pass; value excess is RMB 0.

Hong Kong route: cigarettes still have a separate cap

An ordinary adult resident brings RMB 12,000 of goods, including 220 cigarettes. Value excess is RMB 0, but the 200-cigarette limit is exceeded by 20 cigarettes.

One indivisible article

An ordinary resident from another country brings one RMB 6,000 article. Arithmetic excess is RMB 1,000, but the full RMB 6,000 article is taxable. If Customs assesses that value in the 20% category, the separate estimate is RMB 1,200.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Hong Kong or Macao passport give me RMB 12,000?
No. The higher value allowance is for qualifying resident travelers arriving from Hong Kong or Macao. A person normally settled outside mainland China is a nonresident for this check, regardless of citizenship.
Can I use the arrival-shop allowance for goods bought overseas?
No. The separate abroad ceiling still applies. Buying at an overseas duty-free shop does not make that purchase a mainland port arrival-shop purchase.
Which tobacco and alcohol limits apply?
The current annex gives ordinary arrivals 400 cigarettes OR 20 cigars OR 500 g tobacco; from Hong Kong/Macao, 200 OR 10 OR 250 g. Alcohol at 12% ABV or above is limited to 1,500 ml, or 750 ml from Hong Kong/Macao. These products also count toward the value allowance. Mixed tobacco needs Customs review.
How are frequent travelers and vaping products handled?
More than one entry within 15 days is frequent travel. The annex allows 40 cigarettes OR 2 cigars OR 40 g tobacco, and vaping limits of one device, one pod/combined product and 2 ml liquid, once daily. It gives no duty-free allowance for alcohol at 12% or above. Minors do not receive these exemptions. Ordinary vaping limits are 2 devices, 6 pods/combined products and 12 ml; Hong Kong/Macao limits are 1, 3 and 6 ml.
What is outside this checker?
Special customs areas, transport crew, special exemptions, commercial quantities and specially regulated goods need individual review. Hengqin’s first-line crossing is not the standard Hong Kong/Macao allowance route; its second-line mainland crossing has separate provisions in No.7. Mail, courier purchases, prohibited goods and inspection/quarantine permissions are not assessed here.
Are the tax rates still 13%, 20% and 50%?
Those are the composite rates in annex 1 of the current framework. Classification matters: for example, ordinary clothing is in the 20% group, while tobacco and alcohol are in the 50% group. Certain medicines and vehicles follow separate import treatment. Do not apply one rate to an unclassified mixed basket.

Sources

Last reviewed 2026-11-14; next review due by 2027-01-15. The method is written out above so you can check our math.