China Second-Hand Home Transaction Tax Calculator
Every tax on buying or selling a resale home in China, and who pays it.
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- Free preview: the taxes on your home sale in full, with who pays each tax and the rule of the working; every other amount is hidden.
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China · 二手房 National rules for individuals: VAT, surcharges, income tax and deed tax · Sources
Each tax and who pays it
| Tax | Paid by | Amount |
|---|
How it is worked out
Your local tax office applies the assessed income tax rate and the education surcharges, and says whether the surcharge relief applies to the seller: check with it before you sign.
Rules used and official sources
- MOF and STA Announcement 2025 No. 17: VAT on individuals’ home sales (3% under 2 years, otherwise exempt)
- Value-Added Tax Law: VAT outside the price; simplified tax = sales amount × levy rate (art. 7, 14)
- STA explainer: the city maintenance and construction tax on the VAT paid, by location
- MOF and STA Announcement 2023 No. 12: half the surcharges for small-scale VAT taxpayers
- Caishuizi (1999) No. 278: home sales as property transfer income; the 5-year only-home exemption
- MOF, STA and CSRC Announcement 2026 No. 26: the 20% rate of property transfer income, as it applies it to restricted shares
- IIT Implementing Regulations art. 16: original value and reasonable costs
- MOF, STA and MOHURD Announcement 2026 No. 3: income tax refund when you buy another home
- MOF, STA and MOHURD Announcement 2024 No. 16: deed tax rates for a family’s first and second home
- STA Announcement 2021 No. 23: the deed tax base does not include VAT
- Explainer of the Deed Tax Law: the rates stay at 3% to 5%, and each province may set its own
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Tax rules and rates change. This calculator follows the rules described on this page and may not cover every situation. Check the official source or a qualified tax professional before filing or invoicing.
How this tool is checked
- Based on
- the rules of China.
- Sources
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This guide cites 11 sources, among them:
- Tests
- 17 automated tests check its results.
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About the China Second-Hand Home Transaction Tax Calculator
Work out the taxes on buying or selling a resale home (二手房) in mainland China and who pays each: the seller's VAT and the local surcharges on it, the seller's individual income tax, and the buyer's deed tax. A home the seller has held for 2 years or more is exempt from VAT (Announcement 2025 No. 17); the family's only home held 5 years or more is exempt from income tax (满五唯一); and a family's only or second home pays deed tax of 1% up to 140 m² (Announcement 2024 No. 16).
Enter the price, how long the seller has held the home, whether it is the family's only home, what the seller paid for it and the buyer's situation. The calculator shows every tax, the totals for each side, what the seller keeps, the working, and the income tax refund if the seller buys another home in the same city within a year. A ¥3,000,000 home held 3 years, bought for ¥2,400,000, costs ¥120,000.00 in income tax and ¥30,000.00 in deed tax for a first-home buyer of 90 m². Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Without a pass, the free preview shows the taxes on the sale in full, with who pays each tax and the rule of the working; a Pro pass unlocks every amount: each tax, both sides' totals, what the seller keeps, the refund, the working, the summary to copy, the CSV and printing.
How to use it
- Enter the price (the transaction price, VAT included when VAT is due; 300万 works) and how long the seller has held the home, from the purchase date the tax office counts.
- Tick whether it is the seller’s family’s only home. For the income tax, enter what the seller paid for the home with the taxes and fees of that purchase, or choose the assessed method and enter the share of the price your tax office uses.
- Choose where the seller is for the city maintenance tax and, if you know them, enter the education surcharges as a percentage of the VAT.
- Choose the buyer’s situation (the family’s only home, second home or a later one) and the floor area.
- Read every tax and who pays it. With a Pro pass, or after unlocking this result, copy the summary, download the CSV or print it; without one the page shows a free preview.
Examples
VAT exempt; income tax 20% × ¥600,000 = ¥120,000.00; deed tax 1% = ¥30,000.00. Taxes in all ¥150,000.00.
City district, education surcharges 5% of the VAT
VAT ¥90,000.00 (3% of ¥3,000,000), surcharges ¥10,800.00, income tax ¥117,840.00; deed tax ¥30,000.00. Taxes in all ¥248,640.00.
No VAT and no income tax for the seller; the buyer’s deed tax ¥30,000.00.
Deed tax 2%: ¥60,000.00.
The seller’s VAT and surcharges
An individual selling a home bought less than 2 years before pays VAT at the 3% levy rate on the full amount; a home bought 2 years or more before is exempt (Announcement 2025 No. 17). VAT is outside the price (VAT Law, art. 7 and 14), so the VAT in a price of ¥3,090,000 is ¥3,090,000 ÷ 1.03 × 3% = ¥90,000.
On the VAT come the city maintenance and construction tax, 7% of the VAT in a city district and 5% in a county town (STA), and the education surcharges, whose rate you enter. Small-scale VAT taxpayers pay half of these surcharges up to 31 December 2027 (Announcement 2023 No. 12); tick the box if your tax office treats the sale that way.
The seller’s individual income tax
Income from selling a home is property transfer income (Caishuizi (1999) No. 278), taxed at 20% on the gain: the price before VAT less the original value (what was paid for the home with the related costs) and the taxes and fees paid on the sale (Implementing Regulations, art. 16). 20% is the rate of all property transfer income, the one Announcement 2026 No. 26 also applies to shares. Income from the family's only home, held 5 years or more, is exempt. When the original value cannot be documented, the tax office assesses the tax as a share of the price instead; enter the rate it uses.
A seller who buys another home in the same city within a year of the sale gets the income tax back: all of it when the new home's contract price is at least this sale's transaction price, otherwise in proportion to the two prices; the seller must be one of the new home's owners (Announcement 2026 No. 3, for sales and purchases from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027).
The buyer’s deed tax
For a family's only home: 1% up to 140 m² and 1.5% above; for a second home: 1% up to 140 m² and 2% above, the family being the buyer, the spouse and minor children (Announcement 2024 No. 16). Other purchases pay the rate the province sets, from 3% to 5% (Deed Tax Law). The deed tax base does not include VAT (STA Announcement 2021 No. 23).
Limitations
- National rules for individuals selling and buying ordinary residential homes; your local tax office applies the assessed income tax rate and the education surcharges, and decides whether the surcharge relief applies.
- Holding periods are counted by the tax office from the purchase date on its records; the calculator takes the period you choose.
- The city maintenance and construction tax is worked out at 7% (a city district) or 5% (a county town or town); a seller located in neither pays a different rate, which the calculator does not offer.
- Not covered: homes of companies or individual businesses registered as general VAT taxpayers, commercial property, land VAT, stamp duty, registration and agency fees, and loan costs.
- The income tax refund is an estimate: it needs a purchase in the same city within a year, the seller among the new home’s owners, and the tax office’s review.
- An estimate, not tax advice: the tax office’s assessment at the transfer decides what is paid.
Privacy
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Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, China Second-Hand Home Transaction Tax Calculator shows the taxes on your home sale in full, with who pays each tax and the rule of the working; every other amount is hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded, copied or printed. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
What does 满五唯一 mean?
A home held 5 years or more that is the family’s only home. Income from selling it is exempt from individual income tax. A home held 2 years or more is also exempt from VAT, so such a sale usually leaves only the buyer’s deed tax.
How much VAT is due on a home sold within 2 years?
3% of the price before VAT: the price ÷ 1.03 × 3%, plus the local surcharges on the VAT. A home held 2 years or more is exempt.
How is the seller’s income tax worked out?
20% of the gain: the price before VAT less what was paid for the home (with the costs of that purchase) and the taxes paid on the sale. Without documents of the original cost, the tax office assesses it as a share of the price. The family’s only home held 5 years or more is exempt.
What deed tax does the buyer pay?
1% for the family’s only home up to 140 m² and 1.5% above; 1% for a second home up to 140 m² and 2% above; otherwise the province’s rate of 3% to 5%. It is worked out on the price before VAT.
Are my figures sent anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on a server.