China’s 90-Day Tax Exemption for Foreign-Paid Work
Without Chinese domicile, up to 90 full days in a calendar year can qualify foreign-paid employment income for exemption, if no Chinese employer bears the cost.
Last verified: October 2026
If you are domiciled in mainland China, this short-stay exemption does not apply. Without domicile, pay for work there can be exempt when you spend no more than 90 full days in the calendar year, a foreign employer pays it, and no Chinese employer or establishment bears the cost.
- Who can qualify
- Individuals without domicile in mainland China
- Limit
- No more than 90 full days
- Counting window
- 1 January to 31 December
- Payment condition
- Foreign-paid earnings not borne by a Chinese employer or establishment
- Legal basis
- Individual Income Tax implementing regulations, Article 5; Announcements 2019 Nos. 34 and 35
The rule
The exemption concerns qualifying employment income, not every kind of income you receive. Having your salary transferred from an overseas bank does not settle the question: a Chinese entity may ultimately bear the cost through a recharge or another arrangement.
At 90 days the short-stay condition is still met. Above 90 but below 183 days, pay attributable to work in mainland China is generally taxable whether paid locally or abroad. The change is not limited to earnings for day 91 onward. A tax treaty may provide different relief with its own conditions.
How to count full days
Use complete calendar days for the domestic 90-day residence count. Arrival and departure dates do not count. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are outside this mainland count.
Only complete calendar days count
Arrive 1 MarchLeave 5 March
3 full days
Commuter example. You live in Hong Kong and travel to Shenzhen each weekday, returning to Hong Kong every evening. None of those visits contains a full calendar day in mainland China, so they contribute zero full days to this presence count. That does not by itself exempt your earnings from tax.
Do not use this full-day count to apportion taxable salary. The rules for working days are different: for some cross-border roles, a partial mainland day is half a working day.
Beyond the day count
Domicile is habitual residence through household registration, family or economic ties. Without domicile, 183 full days establish tax residence. A further six-year rule can bring foreign-source, foreign-paid income into tax: in a 183-day year, the preceding six years must each reach 183 days without a single absence exceeding 30 days. A shorter year or an absence over 30 consecutive days breaks the sequence.
Directors and senior managers have special rules for Chinese-paid remuneration. The employer, cost allocation and any treaty entitlement still need to be checked separately from days.
AtlasDays tracks China’s 90-day count automatically
The China 90-Day Tax Exemption tracker counts full days in China mainland in each calendar year, excluding arrival and departure days. It tracks the presence condition, not who bears your salary, treaty eligibility or the six-year rule.
Get AtlasDaysFAQ
Is the 90th day allowed?
Yes. The domestic short-stay condition is no more than 90 full days in the calendar year, alongside the domicile and payment conditions.
Is foreign payment alone enough?
No. The income must meet the foreign-employer condition and must not be borne by a Chinese employer or establishment.
Are full days also used to apportion taxable salary?
Not necessarily. The residence-day count and the rules for allocating salary to working days are different.
About this article: AtlasDays provides general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your circumstances, so never rely on it alone: check the linked official source or ask a qualified professional.