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🧧 Year-End Bonus Tax Calculator

Compare "separate taxation" vs "combined with comprehensive income" for your year-end bonus, see which is cheaper, and get warned about cliff-point thresholds.

⚠️ Based on the current China individual income tax law and the year-end bonus preferential policy (extended through Dec 31, 2027)

Step 1: Enter your annual salary details (used as the taxable base for the bonus comparison)
Special additional deductions (check the box, then enter the amount)
Annual comprehensive taxable income (excluding the bonus) —
Recommended method
—
Separate taxation: bonus tax — Combined taxation: tax attributable to bonus — Applicable rate (separate taxation) —
Savings from choosing the better method — Bonus take-home after tax (recommended method) —

⚠️ Cliff-point trap: one extra yuan of bonus can cost you thousands more in tax

Separate taxation looks up the rate using bonus÷12, then applies that single rate to the entire bonus. Crossing a threshold jumps the whole bracket, so take-home pay can actually drop. Try to avoid the small range just above each threshold below.

Threshold (RMB) Take-home at threshold Take-home at threshold+1 Change in take-home

Rate table for bonus separate taxation (bonus÷12 matched to the monthly rate table)

Corresponding bonus range (RMB) Rate Quick deduction
GUIDE

Learn more

01

Two ways to tax a China year-end bonus

Through Dec 31, 2027, a resident individual's annual one-time bonus can be taxed either (1) separately — not merged into comprehensive income, using bonus÷12 to find the rate bracket and applying the monthly quick deduction — or (2) merged into that year's comprehensive income. You can only pick one method per tax year. Separate taxation usually wins if your regular salary already sits in a high bracket; combined taxation usually wins if your comprehensive taxable income is low (or near zero), since it lets you use the lower brackets and any unused deductions.

02

Why one extra yuan can cost thousands more in tax

Separate taxation is a full-amount bracket, not a marginal one: whichever bracket bonus÷12 falls into, the ENTIRE bonus is taxed at that single rate (adjusted by the quick deduction). So crossing a threshold by even 1 yuan jumps the whole bonus into the next bracket. Example: a 36,000 RMB bonus is taxed at 3% for 1,080 RMB (take-home 34,920); a 36,001 RMB bonus is taxed entirely at 10% with a 210 RMB quick deduction, for 3,390.1 RMB tax (take-home 32,610.9) — one extra yuan of bonus costs about 2,309 RMB in take-home pay. The same trap recurs at 144,000, 300,000, 420,000, 660,000, and 960,000 RMB, with the loss growing larger each time — up to roughly 88,000 RMB at the highest threshold. Check whether your bonus lands near a threshold before it is paid, and negotiate the amount if needed.

03

Current special additional deduction amounts (2023 revision, still in force in 2026)

Child education: 2,000 RMB/month per child (raised from 1,000 in Sept 2023); infant/toddler care under 3: 2,000 RMB/month per child (same increase); continuing education: 400 RMB/month for degree programs, or a flat 3,600 RMB/year for professional qualification training; housing loan interest: 1,000 RMB/month (first-home loan only, up to 240 months); housing rent: tiered by city — 1,500 RMB/month in municipalities/provincial capitals/cities with over 1 million registered urban residents, 1,100 or 800 RMB/month in smaller cities (split again at the 500k/1M population mark); elderly support: 3,000 RMB/month for an only child, or shared among siblings up to 1,500 RMB/month per person; serious illness medical: the portion of out-of-pocket, medical-insurance-catalog expenses over 15,000 RMB is deductible up to a cap of 80,000 RMB/year (claimed by the individual, spouse, or minor child). Housing loan interest and housing rent cannot both be claimed.

04

How the bonus choice affects annual reconciliation

Your bonus taxation choice affects the March-June annual reconciliation of comprehensive income the following year. Choosing separate taxation keeps the bonus out of comprehensive income entirely, so there is nothing further to true up for it at reconciliation. Choosing combined taxation merges the bonus with salary and other comprehensive income for annual recalculation — you might owe extra if it was under-withheld during the year, or get a refund if deductions were not fully used. It is worth simulating both methods in the official tax app's reconciliation section before filing.

Frequently asked questions

Should I always choose separate taxation for my bonus?
Not necessarily. If your comprehensive taxable income from salary — after social insurance, the basic deduction, and special additional deductions — is very low, zero, or negative, merging the bonus into comprehensive income often saves more tax by using the lower brackets and any unused deduction room. Compare both methods with this calculator.
Why does take-home pay drop when the bonus is just 1 yuan higher?
Because separate taxation applies a single rate to the WHOLE bonus rather than taxing it marginally. Once bonus÷12 crosses into the next bracket — at 36,000/144,000/300,000/420,000/660,000/960,000 RMB — the entire bonus jumps to the new rate, and the tax increase can outpace the extra bonus, so take-home pay falls.
Until when does the bonus preferential policy apply?
Under current rules, separate taxation for the year-end bonus is extended through December 31, 2027. Starting January 1, 2028, a resident's annual one-time bonus will be merged into that year's comprehensive income with no separate-taxation option — check the latest State Taxation Administration announcement to confirm.
Can I use separate taxation for the bonus more than once a year?
No. Within one tax year, each taxpayer may apply the separate-taxation preference to only one annual one-time bonus. If multiple year-end-type bonuses are paid in the same year, only one can use separate taxation — the rest must be merged into comprehensive income.