China Restores the 20% Tax on Foreign Individuals’ Dividend Income from FIEs: MOF/STA Announcement No. 27 (2026)
- From 1 September 2026, dividend and bonus income that a foreign individual derives from a foreign-invested enterprise (FIE) is subject to individual income tax under the “interest, dividends and bonuses” category, taxed at a flat 20% rate, ending the exemption in place since 1994.
自 2026 年 9 月 1 日起，外籍个人从外商投资企业（FIE）取得的股息红利所得，按”利息、股息、红利所得”项目缴纳个人所得税，适用 20% 税率，终结了自 1994 年起实施的免税安排。
- FIEs must withhold and remit the tax when distributing dividends to foreign individuals, and file the return within 15 days of the month following the payment.
外商投资企业向外籍个人支付股息红利时应当代扣代缴税款，并于支付所得的次月 15 日内申报纳税。
- Where the FIE fails to withhold, the foreign individual must pay the tax by 30 June of the year following the income, or by any deadline set by the tax authority.
外商投资企业未扣缴税款的，取得股息红利的外籍个人应当在取得所得的次年 6 月 30 日前缴纳税款；税务机关通知限期缴纳的，须按期缴纳。
- The prior exemption — Article 2(8) of the 1994 circular (Caishui Zi No. 20) — is repealed simultaneously with the new Announcement.
原免税依据《财政部 国家税务总局关于个人所得税若干政策问题的通知》（财税字〔1994〕20号）第二条第（八）项，随本公告同步废止。
- Policymakers frame the change as advancing tax fairness and the unified national market, while closing avoidance routes that let some domestic firms convert status to capture the exemption.
主管部门将此调整定位于维护税制公平统一、推进全国统一大市场建设，并堵塞部分内资企业借变更企业性质套取免税的漏洞。
- For FIEs and foreign shareholders, the practical steps are to update withholding routines, communicate the tax impact to foreign individuals, and reassess holding structures — noting the tax paid in China is generally creditable against home-country liability.
对 FIE 与外籍股东而言，实操要点在于更新代扣代缴流程、向外籍个人说明税务影响并重新评估持股架构；专家提示在华所缴个税通常可抵免母国税负，实际税负总体不增。
China Restores the 20% Tax on Foreign Individuals’ Dividend Income from FIEs: MOF/STA Announcement No. 27 (2026) | 外籍个人从外商投资企业取得股息红利恢复按20%征税：财政部、税务总局2026年第27号公告解读
On 1 September 2026, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued Announcement of the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration on Matters Concerning the Individual Income Tax Policy for Foreign Individuals’ Dividends (Announcement No. 27 of 2026). The Announcement makes a single, consequential change: from the same day, dividend and bonus income that a foreign individual receives from a foreign-invested enterprise is no longer exempt and is instead taxed as “interest, dividends and bonuses” under the Individual Income Tax Law, at the statutory 20% rate.
What the Announcement says
The Announcement contains three operative clauses:
- Taxation at 20%. Dividend and bonus income received by a foreign individual from an FIE is taxed as “interest, dividends and bonuses”, applying the 20% rate.
- Withholding by the payer. When an FIE distributes dividends to a foreign individual, it must withhold and remit the tax, and file the return by the 15th day of the month following the payment. If the FIE fails to withhold, the foreign individual must pay by 30 June of the year following the income, or by any deadline imposed by the tax authority.
- Effective date and repeal. The Announcement takes effect on 1 September 2026, and Article 2(8) of the 1994 circular (*Caishui Zi No. 20*) — the original basis for the exemption — is repealed at the same time.
Why the change now
The exemption originated in 1994, in the early stage of China’s reform and opening up, when differential tax treatment was used to attract foreign capital and played a positive role at the time. As a high-level socialist market economy has taken shape, foreign investors increasingly weigh the overall business environment — rule of law, market scale and industrial supply chains — rather than tax gaps between domestic and foreign capital. Against the building of a unified national market and the gradual clean-up of tax preferential policies, the two ministries concluded that the exemption no longer fits the current situation.
Officials and experts also point to two structural concerns. First, genuine tax fairness: a domestic and a foreign investor receiving the same dividend from the same company should not face materially different treatment. Second, avoidance: some domestic enterprises reportedly converted themselves into FIEs and then distributed large dividends to capture the exemption, shifting assets and eroding the base. Ending the preference closes that route.
Crucially, the actual burden on foreign individuals is widely expected to be unchanged. Under worldwide taxation systems common in Europe and the United States, a foreign individual shareholder would have declared the China-source dividend to their home country even while exempt in China, then topped up the difference. With the exemption removed, the individual income tax paid in China is generally creditable against the home-country liability, so the net effect is neutral. As one tax expert noted, the policy also restores China’s share of tax rights that had been ceded under the old rule.
Impact on FIEs and foreign individuals
For foreign-invested enterprises, the change reintroduces an withholding obligation at the point of dividend distribution to foreign individuals. Finance and HR teams should update dividend and payroll tax routines, confirm the payer’s duty to withhold and file within the statutory window, and reflect the grossing-up and remittance mechanics in shareholder communications.
For foreign individual shareholders, the headline 20% is not a new surcharge on top of other tax but the standard rate already applied to domestic investors. Those who previously relied on the exemption should review their home-country filing position, quantify the foreign tax credit, and confirm whether bilateral tax treaties alter the outcome.
The Announcement does not disturb other preferential regimes — for example, the Greater Bay Area 15% individual income tax subsidy or Hainan Free Trade Port talent tax concessions — each of which continues under its own specific rules.
Compliance checklist
- Map current and planned dividend distributions to foreign individuals and identify any pending payments crossing the 1 September effective date.
- Update the FIE’s withholding and declaration process; confirm the 15-day post-payment filing deadline is built into the calendar.
- Brief foreign individual shareholders on the change and the availability of foreign tax credits in their home jurisdiction.
- Reassess holding structures where the exemption had been a deciding factor, and document the rationale.
- Monitor the official MOF/STA pages for the published Announcement text and any implementing guidance.
外籍个人从外商投资企业取得股息红利恢复按20%征税：财政部、税务总局2026年第27号公告解读
新华社北京9月1日电（记者申铖）财政部、税务总局9月1日对外发布公告，明确自9月1日起，外籍个人从外商投资企业取得的股息红利所得，应按照20%税率缴纳个税。
为促进改革开放、吸引外商投资，我国自1994年起对外籍个人从外商投资企业取得的股息红利所得暂免征收个税。随着全国统一大市场的建立，我国正在逐步清理规范税收优惠政策。业内人士表示，取消外籍个人从外商投资企业取得股息红利所得免征个税的政策，有利于维护税制公平统一，推进全国统一大市场建设，还能够堵塞税收漏洞，更好地发挥税收调节作用。
公告要点
财政部、税务总局《关于外籍个人股息红利个人所得税政策有关事项的公告》（财政部 税务总局公告2026年第27号）共三条：
- 按20%征税。 外籍个人从外商投资企业取得的股息红利所得，按照”利息、股息、红利所得”缴纳个人所得税，适用20%税率。
- 支付方代扣代缴。 外商投资企业向外籍个人支付股息红利时，应当代扣代缴税款，并于支付所得的次月15日内申报纳税；企业未扣缴税款的，取得股息红利的外籍个人应当在取得所得的次年6月30日前缴纳税款，税务机关通知限期缴纳的应当按期缴纳。
- 生效与废止。 本公告自2026年9月1日起执行，《财政部 国家税务总局关于个人所得税若干政策问题的通知》（财税字〔1994〕20号）第二条第（八）项同时废止。
政策背景
该项免税政策始于1994年，出台于改革开放初期，在特定阶段对吸引外资发挥了积极作用。但随着高水平社会主义市场经济体制建设不断推进，外资进入我国更关注法治环境、市场规模、产业配套等整体营商环境，继续依靠内外资不平衡的税收政策吸引外资，已与当前的新形势和新要求不相适应。同时，在执行过程中，个别内资企业曾通过先变更为外商投资企业、再大规模分红的方式套取免税优惠、转移资产，形成新的税收漏洞。随着全国统一大市场的建立，我国正在逐步清理规范税收优惠政策，此次取消该免税政策，符合个人所得税法精神，有利于维护税制公平统一。
对外籍个人税负的影响：总体基本不变
多位财税专家提示，取消免税并不等于外籍个人实际税负上升。按照国际税收的基本规则，欧美等主要国家实行居民个人全球所得征税制度，外籍个人股东即便此前在我国享受免税优惠，仍需向其母国就该项所得补缴税款。取消免税后，外籍个人在我国缴纳的个人所得税可以抵免其向母国缴纳的税款，实际税负总体不会增加，反而使我国此前让渡的税收权益回归合理。
对外资企业的影响与合规建议
对外商投资企业而言，本次调整在向外籍个人分配股息环节重新引入了代扣代缴义务。财务与人力资源团队应更新分红及薪酬税务处理流程，确认支付方在法定期限内完成扣缴与申报，并在股东沟通中说明税务影响。
对外籍个人股东而言，20%是与其他中国投资者一致的法定税率，并非额外加征。此前依赖该免税政策的个人，应复核母国申报与税收抵免安排，必要时结合双边税收协定评估最终结果。
需要强调的是，本公告取消的是”外籍个人从外商投资企业取得股息红利”这一专项免税，不影响其他既有优惠——例如粤港澳大湾区15%个税补贴、海南自贸港人才个税优惠等，仍按其专门规定执行。
实操清单
- 梳理当前及计划中的外籍个人分红安排，识别是否跨越9月1日生效节点；
- 更新企业的代扣代缴与申报流程，将支付后15日内申报的时限纳入日历管理；
- 向外籍个人股东说明政策变化及母国税收抵免的可能性；
- 对曾以该免税为关键考量的持股架构进行再评估，并留存决策记录；
- 关注财政部、税务总局官网后续发布的公告原文及配套执行口径。
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