China codifies VAT withholding on service payments to natural persons: MOF/STA Announcement No. 28 (2026)
- MOF–STA Announcement No. 28 (2026), published on 3 September 2026, releases the Administrative Measures on Withholding of VAT by Domestic Entities for Natural Persons, effective 1 November 2026, with natural persons self-assessing under Article 44 of the VAT Law Implementing Regulations for services rendered between 1 January and 31 October 2026.
财政部、税务总局公告2026年第28号（2026年9月3日发布）公布《境内单位代扣代缴自然人增值税管理办法》，自2026年11月1日起施行；2026年1月1日至10月31日期间自然人发生的相关应税交易，由自然人按《增值税法实施条例》第四十四条自行申报纳税。
- A domestic entity that pays consideration to a natural person for specified services — R&D, software, design, consulting, broadcasting/audiovisual production, cultural services or education services — is the withholding agent and must deduct VAT at the applicable levy rate when paying.
境内自然人提供研发服务、软件服务、设计服务、咨询服务、广播影视节目（作品）制作服务、文化服务、教育服务等符合规定的应税交易时，支付价款的境内单位为扣缴义务人，须在支付价款时代扣增值税。
- Withholding is triggered when a natural person’s single-transaction (or same-day) sales value with one withholding agent reaches the per-transaction VAT threshold; no deduction is required where the natural person has already paid the tax.
自然人与单一扣缴义务人发生符合规定的应税交易，当次（日）销售额达到按次纳税起征点的，扣缴义务人应当在支付价款时代扣增值税；自然人已缴纳税款的，无需再代扣。
- The withholding agent must also deduct surcharges together with VAT, declare within 15 days from the first day of the month following the taxable transaction, and keep books, vouchers, identity information and transaction records on file.
扣缴义务人扣缴增值税时应同时扣缴附加税费；解缴税款的计税期间为一个月，应自应税交易发生次月一日起十五日内办理扣缴申报并缴纳税款；并按规定保存代扣代缴账簿、凭证及自然人身份信息、交易信息等资料。
- Where a natural person qualifies for a VAT exemption or the transaction falls below the threshold, the withholding agent still files the relevant declaration to the competent tax authority; platform-based workers covered by platform enterprises’ assistance schemes are outside the scope.
自然人与单一扣缴义务人发生符合规定的应税交易但未达按次起征点、或适用免征增值税政策、或按第三条无需代扣的，扣缴义务人仍应办理申报；属于互联网平台内从业人员、由平台企业按规定代办申报的，不适用本办法。
- For foreign-invested companies, the change institutionalises a duty that previously fell unevenly on payers of fees to individual consultants and freelancers, and signals tighter enforcement attention to B2B2C-style service payments alongside the new VAT Law framework in force since 1 January 2026.
对外资企业而言，该办法把以往对个人顾问、自由职业者付款时参差不齐的扣缴义务制度化，也表明在新《增值税法》自2026年1月1日施行后，监管部门对面向自然人的服务性付款给予更严关注。
China codifies VAT withholding on service payments to natural persons: MOF/STA Announcement No. 28 (2026) | 中国将”向自然人付服务费代扣增值税”成文：财税28号公告发布《境内单位代扣代缴自然人增值税管理办法》
Overview
On 3 September 2026, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration jointly published Announcement No. 28 (2026), which releases the Administrative Measures on Withholding of VAT by Domestic Entities for Natural Persons (《境内单位代扣代缴自然人增值税管理办法》). The Measures take effect on 1 November 2026. They are framed under the VAT Law of the People’s Republic of China (in force since 1 January 2026), the VAT Law Implementing Regulations (State Council Order No. 826) and the Law on the Administration of Tax Collection.
The headline rule is straightforward: from 1 November 2026, when a domestic entity in China pays consideration to an individual (a “natural person”) for a defined list of services, the payer becomes the VAT withholding agent and must deduct VAT at the applicable levy rate at the time of payment. This is a quiet but structural change in how VAT on services supplied by individuals is collected — it moves the collection duty from the individual to the paying enterprise.
The scope of services captured
The Measures apply where a natural person provides any of the following services (collectively, “the prescribed taxable transactions”):
- R&D services (研发服务);
- software services (软件服务);
- design services (设计服务);
- consulting services (咨询服务);
- broadcasting, film and television programme (work) production services (广播影视节目（作品）制作服务);
- cultural services (文化服务); and
- education services (教育服务).
The precise boundaries of these service categories follow MOF–STA Announcement No. 9 (2026) on the specific scope of VAT taxation; any later adjustments to that scope apply automatically. In plain terms, the list covers the services most commonly bought by companies from individual consultants, freelancers and independent professionals — technology, creative and knowledge work.
Who is the withholding agent
The withholding agent is the domestic entity that pays the consideration as the purchaser of the taxable transaction. “Domestic entity” is any unit within China that pays; “consideration” includes the full value expressed in monetary or non-monetary economic benefits. The practical universe is therefore any Chinese company, foreign-invested enterprise included, that pays fees to individuals for the listed services.
When VAT must be withheld
The triggering rule is transactional:
- Where the natural person’s sales value in a single transaction (or on a single day) with one withholding agent reaches the per-transaction VAT threshold (按次纳税起征点), the agent must withhold VAT when paying.
- If the natural person has already paid the VAT, the agent does not withhold again.
- Where the transaction is exempt from VAT, falls below the threshold, or otherwise does not require withholding under Article 3, the agent must still file a declaration with the competent tax authority for that transaction.
Where the natural person qualifies for a VAT preferential policy, the natural person must inform the withholding agent and truthfully provide the supporting information; the agent calculates the tax to be withheld accordingly.
How withholding and payment work
- Surcharges ride along. When withholding VAT, the agent simultaneously withholds the related surcharges (附加税费).
- Period and deadline. The tax assessment period is one month. The agent must complete the withholding declaration and pay the tax within 15 days from the first day of the month following the month in which the taxable transaction occurred.
- Invoices. Where VAT has been withheld, the natural person applying to the tax authority to issue a special invoice on their behalf does not pay VAT again. Where the natural person has not applied for invoice issuance, the agent may send an invoicing reminder for the natural person to confirm and apply.
- Corrections. If the amount to be withheld changes due to sales discounts, suspension or returns, the agent must correct the declaration of the withholding period concerned.
- Information duties. The agent must provide the natural person, on request, with records of the tax withheld and the declarations made. The agent calculates and declares on the basis of information supplied by the natural person and must not alter it unilaterally; where the agent discovers the information is inconsistent with reality and the natural person refuses to correct it, the agent reports to the competent tax authority.
- Record-keeping and confidentiality. The agent keeps withholding ledgers, lawful vouchers, identity information, transaction information and settlement/payment records, and must keep confidential the natural person’s identity information and any information relevant to preferential-policy eligibility.
Exceptions and consequences
Two carve-outs matter in practice:
- Platform workers. Where a natural person is a worker on an internet platform, transacts through the platform and qualifies under the rules under which platform enterprises handle declaration assistance for platform workers, the Measures do not apply — the platform enterprise continues to handle the matter under its own assistance scheme.
- Transition period. For services rendered between 1 January and 31 October 2026, the natural person self-assesses under Article 44 of the VAT Law Implementing Regulations; the withholding regime only starts from 1 November 2026.
Non-compliance carries consequences under the Tax Collection Administration Law and related rules: failing to withhold, failing to declare, under-paying or failing to pay withheld tax, or borrowing or impersonating another person’s identity, exposes the agent to the competent tax authority’s handling.
What this means for foreign-invested companies
- Map your payments to individuals. Companies that engage individual consultants — for market research, translation, design, software development, training or audiovisual content — should review which payments fall inside the seven service categories. Those categories will be withheld on from 1 November 2026.
- Budget for the levy and the surcharge. Where the per-transaction threshold is met, the company must gross down or fund the VAT and surcharges on top of the agreed fee, and decide contractually whether the fee is VAT-inclusive or exclusive.
- System readiness. Payables and procurement systems should be configured to flag payments to individuals in the listed services, compute the deemed sales value and levy rate, and generate the monthly withholding declaration by the 15th of the following month.
- Invoicing workflow. Agree in advance with individual suppliers whether they will apply to issue invoices after withholding, to keep the paper trail clean for input-side and Fapiao compliance.
- Platform relationships. If your business sells through internet platforms that assist platform-based workers with declaration, confirm the platform’s scheme covers your arrangement so that the new withholding duty is not duplicated.
Practical steps
- Inventory contracts with individual service providers active in 2026 and identify the service category of each.
- Update template agreements to state whether fees are inclusive or exclusive of VAT and who handles invoice issuance.
- Configure finance systems with the relevant commodity and service codes so withholding can be computed at payment.
- Train finance staff on the monthly declaration deadline (15th of the month following the transaction month) and on the surcharge obligation.
- For 2026 transactions before 1 November, ensure individuals self-assess where required under the transition rule, and document that the enterprise is not the withholding agent for that period.
Sources
- 国家税务总局政策法规库 — 财政部 税务总局关于发布《境内单位代扣代缴自然人增值税管理办法》的公告（2026年第28号，含办法全文）: https://fgk.chinatax.gov.cn/zcfgk/c102416/c5252181/content.html
- 国家税务总局海南省税务局 — 财政部 税务总局公告2026年第28号转发页: https://hainan.chinatax.gov.cn/xxgk_6_1/03166923.html
- 国家税务总局黑龙江省税务局 — 政策文件列表（2026-09-03发布 28号公告）: http://heilongjiang.chinatax.gov.cn/col/col8059
- 国家税务总局安徽省税务局 — 增值税法及实施条例适用问答（起征点、免税等征管口径）: https://anhui.chinatax.gov.cn/art/2026/9/1/art_22415_1322652.html
Related reading
- see also: non-taxable transactions and input-VAT deductibility under the 2026 VAT Law (vat-non-taxable-input-deduction)
- see also: how labour-dispatch and service fees are treated for VAT where foreign firms pay Chinese entities (labour-dispatch-vat)
中国将”向自然人付服务费代扣增值税”成文：财税28号公告发布《境内单位代扣代缴自然人增值税管理办法》
概述
2026年9月3日，财政部、国家税务总局联合发布公告2026年第28号，公布《境内单位代扣代缴自然人增值税管理办法》。办法自2026年11月1日起施行，依据《中华人民共和国增值税法》（2026年1月1日起施行）、《中华人民共和国增值税法实施条例》（国务院令第826号）及《中华人民共和国税收征收管理法》等制定。
核心规则很直接：自2026年11月1日起，境内单位向个人（自然人）支付规定的服务价款时，付款方成为增值税扣缴义务人，须在付款时代扣增值税。这是增值税服务税收集收方式的一次安静而结构性的调整——纳税义务从个人身上转移到付款企业身上。
纳入范围的服务
办法适用于自然人提供以下服务（合称”符合规定的应税交易”）：
- 研发服务；
- 软件服务；
- 设计服务；
- 咨询服务；
- 广播影视节目（作品）制作服务；
- 文化服务；以及
- 教育服务。
上述服务类别的具体边界按《财政部 税务总局关于增值税征税具体范围有关事项的公告》（财政部 税务总局公告2026年第9号）执行，后续政策调整的按调整后执行。通俗地讲，清单覆盖的是企业最常向个人顾问、自由职业者与独立专业人士采购的服务——技术、创意与知识类工作。
谁是扣缴义务人
扣缴义务人是作为应税交易购买方、支付价款的境内单位。”境内单位”指付款的境内任何单位；”价款”包括货币和非货币形式经济利益对应的全部价款。实际适用面因此很宽：任何中国境内企业——包括外资企业——只要为上述服务向个人付款，即落入范围。
何时必须代扣增值税
触发规则是交易层面的：
- 自然人与单一扣缴义务人发生符合规定的应税交易，当次（日）销售额达到按次纳税起征点的，扣缴义务人应当在支付价款时代扣增值税；
- 自然人已缴纳税款的，扣缴义务人无需再代扣；
- 交易免征增值税、未达起征点或按第三条无需代扣的，扣缴义务人仍应就该笔交易向主管税务机关办理申报。
自然人符合增值税优惠政策适用条件的，应当告知扣缴义务人并如实提供信息资料，由扣缴义务人按有关规定计算应扣缴税额。
扣缴与缴税如何运作
- 附加税费随征。 扣缴增值税时应按规定同时扣缴附加税费。
- 计税期间与期限。 解缴税款的计税期间为一个月；应自应税交易发生次月一日起十五日内向主管税务机关办理扣缴申报并缴纳税款。
- 发票衔接。 已按本办法扣缴增值税的应税交易，自然人申请代开发票时无需再次缴税；自然人未申请代开的，扣缴义务人可向自然人发起开票提醒，由自然人确认后申请代开。
- 更正。 因销售折让、中止或退回导致应扣缴税额变化的，扣缴义务人应更正扣缴当期的扣缴申报。
- 信息义务。 自然人要求提供已扣缴税款与扣缴申报记录的，扣缴义务人应当提供。扣缴义务人按自然人提供的信息计算税款、办理申报，不得擅自更改；发现信息不实而自然人拒绝修改的，应报告主管税务机关。
- 资料保存与保密。 保存代扣代缴账簿、合法凭证以及自然人身份信息、应税交易信息、结算支付记录、优惠适用条件信息资料等，并对自然人身份信息等保密。
例外情形与后果
两个实务例外：
- 平台从业人员。 属于互联网平台内从业人员的自然人，通过平台发生符合规定的应税交易，符合平台企业为平台内从业人员办理代办申报相关规定、由平台企业办理增值税代办申报的，不适用本办法。
- 过渡期。 2026年1月1日至10月31日期间自然人发生的符合规定的应税交易，由自然人按《增值税法实施条例》第四十四条规定自行申报纳税；代扣机制自2026年11月1日才启动。
不合规后果依《税收征收管理法》等处理：应扣未扣、未按规定办理扣缴申报、不缴或少缴已扣税款、借用或冒用他人身份等，均由主管税务机关依法处理。
对外资企业的意义
- 盘点向个人的付款。 聘请个人顾问从事市场调研、翻译、设计、软件开发、培训或视听内容的企业，应排查哪些付款落入上述七类服务——自2026年11月1日起这些类别将被代扣。
- 为税款与附加费做预算。 达到按次起征点的，企业须在约定费用之外承担或补足增值税与附加税费，并在合同中明确费用为含税还是不含税。
- 系统就绪。 应付与采购系统应能标记对个人在列服务的付款，计算视同销售额与适用征收率，并在次月15日前生成扣缴申报。
- 发票流程。 事先与个人供应商约定代扣后是否由个人申请代开发票，保持进项与发票合规链条完整。
- 平台关系。 若通过辅助平台从业人员的互联网平台销售，确认平台代办方案覆盖自身安排，避免扣缴义务重复。
实务建议
- 梳理2026年存续的与个人服务提供者签订的合同，逐一归类服务类型。
- 更新格式合同，明确费用含税与否及发票开具方。
- 在财务系统配置相应商品与服务编码，便于付款时即时计算应扣缴额。
- 培训财务人员掌握月度申报期限（交易次月15日内）与附加税费义务。
- 对2026年11月1日前的交易，确保符合条件时由个人按过渡规则自行申报，并留档证明该期间企业非扣缴义务人。
来源
- 国家税务总局政策法规库 — 财政部 税务总局关于发布《境内单位代扣代缴自然人增值税管理办法》的公告（2026年第28号，含办法全文）: https://fgk.chinatax.gov.cn/zcfgk/c102416/c5252181/content.html
- 国家税务总局海南省税务局 — 财政部 税务总局公告2026年第28号转发页: https://hainan.chinatax.gov.cn/xxgk_6_1/03166923.html
- 国家税务总局黑龙江省税务局 — 政策文件列表（2026-09-03发布 28号公告）: http://heilongjiang.chinatax.gov.cn/col/col8059
- 国家税务总局安徽省税务局 — 增值税法及实施条例适用问答（起征点、免税等征管口径）: https://anhui.chinatax.gov.cn/art/2026/9/1/art_22415_1322652.html
相关阅读
- 见：2026增值税法下非应税交易与进项抵扣（vat-non-taxable-input-deduction）
- 见：外企向境内单位采购劳务派遣与服务的增值税处理（labour-dispatch-vat）