MundoKit

China tourist tax refund calculator

Enter one store’s eligible invoices for one day, your travel dates and the agency fee. Get a potential refund amount and a checklist of conditions to confirm.

Inputs
Mapping effective April 1, 2019. Ask the store if the category is unknown.
CNY
13% VAT → 11% refund. VAT-inclusive amounts from ONE designated store on ONE purchase date. Ask the store for the refund category; this is not the VAT rate.
%
2% is documented in Shanghai’s guide. Confirm your agency’s fee; it is not assumed nationwide.
Supported purchases: April 27, 2025 onward; Shanghai instant-refund check: September 1, 2026 onward.
Qualifying visitors are foreign nationals and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, staying no more than 183 consecutive days in mainland China. Overseas residence alone does not qualify a mainland Chinese passport holder. Eligible goods exclude VAT-exempt goods and prohibited or restricted exports.

Results

Departure-refund checklist
Conditions unmet or unconfirmed
Potential net refund if eligible
CNY 90.00
Gross refund / agency fee
CNY 110.00 / CNY 20.00
Latest departure under date checks
2027-02-12
Date checks (calendar-date differences)
CheckDaysLimit
Purchase to departure790
Entry to departure20183
  • Confirm overseas-visitor, eligible-goods and designated-store eligibility.
  • Confirm goods are unused and accompany you at departure.
  • Confirm documents and a designated departure port.
  • The potential amount is arithmetic, not an approved refund. Complete the required Customs and refund-agency procedures.
  • Run separate calculations for different stores or purchase dates. Do not combine them to meet the minimum.

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

This calculator supports ordinary purchases from April 27, 2025 and Shanghai instant-refund purchases from September 1, 2026. Earlier purchases are rejected; historical policies are not modeled. The April 27, 2025 change reduced qualifying spending to CNY 200 per store per day. 13% VAT maps to an 11% refund and 9% VAT maps to an 8% refund (effective April 1, 2019). Select one category or both. Enter only eligible VAT-inclusive invoices in the refund categories confirmed by the store.

gross = 11% category × 0.11 + 8% category × 0.08 net = gross − total invoices × agency fee ÷ 100

Shanghai’s September 2026 guide uses a 2% invoice-based fee. The editable example is not a nationwide fee quote. The checklist also checks unused goods, documents and departure arrangements.

Dates use calendar-day differences, with the purchase or entry date as day zero. We compare against the 90-day purchase and 183-day entry windows; confirm deadline counting with the agency if departing at a boundary. Money is displayed to two decimals, without intermediate rounding.

Worked examples

CNY 1,000 in the 11% category

With a 2% example fee, gross refund is CNY 110, fee is CNY 20 and potential net refund is CNY 90. Entry November 1, purchase November 14 and departure November 21, 2026 give 20 days since entry and 7 since purchase.

Mixed-category basket from one store on one day

CNY 600 at 11% and CNY 400 at 8% produce CNY 98 gross. A 2% invoice-based fee is CNY 20, leaving CNY 78, subject to eligibility.

Below the minimum

CNY 199 at 11%, less a 2% example fee, gives CNY 17.91 arithmetically. The same-store/day minimum is not met, so this is not an eligible refund estimate.

Frequently asked questions

Who qualifies as an overseas visitor, and which goods qualify?
Foreign nationals and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan qualify if they stay no more than 183 consecutive days in mainland China. Overseas residence alone does not qualify a mainland Chinese passport holder. Personal goods bought in person at a designated refund store must be unused; VAT-exempt goods and prohibited or restricted exports are excluded.
Is the refund 11% or 9%?
11% is a refund category, not the net receipt. With an invoice-based 2% agency fee, the net is 9%; the 8% category yields 6%. Do not substitute the goods’ VAT rate for the refund category.
Can I combine different stores to reach CNY 200?
No. The minimum applies to purchases at the same store on the same day. Run a separate calculation for each store/day.
Does instant refund mean I can skip departure formalities?
No. The May 12, 2026 national notice sets a 28-day departure period. The advance remains conditional on completing the agreed departure process.
What is the Shanghai instant-refund ceiling?
The Shanghai tax authority lists CNY 222,200 of same-store/day purchases, alongside a signed agreement and a credit card supporting preauthorization. This is a local purchase ceiling, not a national refund cap.
Can I finish an instant refund in another region?
From September 1, 2026, coordinated processing is supported where the agencies agree and compliance conditions are met. Confirm your actual departure port with both agencies. An arbitrary port pair is not automatically compatible.

Sources

Last reviewed 2026-11-14; next review due by 2026-12-14. The method is written out above so you can check our math.