- As of 2025, China’s tax-treaty network covers 114 countries and regions — including 90 Belt and Road partners — among the largest in the world.
截至 2025 年，中国税收协定网络已覆盖 114 个国家和地区（含 90 个共建”一带一路”伙伴），居世界前列。- A treaty reduces the 10% domestic WHT: a typical dividend article gives 5% where the beneficial owner holds ≥25% of the payer’s capital, else 10%; interest/royalty often 10%, 7% or lower.
协定下调 10% 的国内预提税：典型股息条款在受益所有人持有支付方≥25% 资本时适用 5%，否则 10%；利息/特许权使用费常降至 10%、7% 或更低。- The beneficial-owner (BO) test (SAT Announcement [2018] No. 9) is the key gate for dividend/interest/royalty relief; adverse factors include passing 50%+ of income upstream within 12 months and no substantial activities.
受益所有人（BO）测试（国家税务总局公告 2018 年第 9 号）是股息/利息/特许权使用费享受待遇的关键关卡；不利因素包括 12 个月内将 50% 以上所得向上游转付、无实质性经营活动。- A look-through rule lets a dividend recipient that fails the BO test still qualify if the person holding 100% of its shares qualifies and meets the conditions.
穿透规则允许股息收款人自身未通过 BO 测试时，若持有其 100% 股份的人符合条件并满足要求，仍可被视为 BO。- A safe harbour directly recognises as BO a treaty government, a listed company in that state, a resident individual, or an entity 100% held by one of those.
安全港直接将缔约对方政府、对方上市公司、居民个人或被其之一 100% 持有的实体认定为 BO。- Relief is claimed by self-assessment (SAT Announcement [2019] No. 35) — no pre-approval; the payer applies the reduced rate, supported by the recipient’s tax-residence certificate and BO evidence.
待遇按自行判断、申报享受办理（国家税务总局公告 2019 年第 35 号）——无事前审批；支付方在扣缴时适用降低后税率，并以收款人税收居民身份证明与 BO 证据为支撑。- The principal-purpose test and domestic general anti-avoidance rules can deny relief where a structure’s main purpose is to capture a treaty rate.
若架构主要目的为套取协定税率，主要目的测试与国内一般反避税规则可否定待遇。- Documentation must be contemporaneous (board records, financials, fund-flow, residence certificate) — assembled before payment, not reconstructed after an audit.
资料须及时齐备（董事会记录、财务报表、资金流向、居民证明）——应在付款前整理，而非审计后重建。
Tax treaty benefits for foreign investors | 外商投资企业的税收协定待遇
Overview
China is party to one of the world’s largest networks of bilateral tax treaties (agreements for the avoidance of double taxation, DTAs). For a foreign investor, a treaty is the principal tool for reducing the 10% statutory withholding tax on China-sourced dividends, interest and royalties, and for shaping exposure to Chinese tax on other cross-border income. A treaty does not automatically apply, however — the recipient must be a treaty resident and, for dividend/interest/royalty articles, must pass the “beneficial owner” test. Relief is now claimed on a self-assessment basis rather than by prior approval. This article explains the network, the beneficial-owner test, the claim procedure, and the traps that cause otherwise valid claims to fail.
China’s tax treaty network
As of 2025, China’s tax-treaty network covers 114 countries and regions — including 90 Belt and Road partners — making it one of the largest in the world by count. The network has been built up since the 1980s and is continuously updated; new or revised agreements with economies such as Chile, Italy, Romania and New Zealand were added in recent years. Each treaty sets maximum (“limit”) rates that China (the source state) may charge on outbound passive income, and these limits are almost always at or below the 10% domestic statutory rate. A typical dividend article, for example, permits a 5% rate where the beneficial owner is a company directly holding at least 25% of the payer’s capital and 10% otherwise; interest and royalty articles commonly reduce to 10%, 7% or lower. Treaties also contain non-discrimination, permanent-establishment and mutual-agreement (dispute-resolution) provisions that matter for structuring.
The beneficial-owner test
The key gate for dividend, interest and royalty relief is the “beneficial owner” (BO) test, governed by SAT Announcement [2018] No. 9 (*Issues concerning “beneficial owner” in tax treaties*). A beneficial owner is a person that has the ownership of, and control over, the income or the rights/properties generating it. In judging whether an applicant qualifies, the tax authority conducts a comprehensive, case-by-case analysis against adverse factors, including: (a) an obligation to pass on 50% or more of the income to a third-country resident within 12 months of receipt; (b) conduct of no substantial business activities (substantial activities include real manufacturing, trading or management — passive holding alone is not enough unless it is substantial investment-holding management); (c) the income being untaxed or effectively taxed at a very low rate in the residence jurisdiction; (d) conduit loan or deposit arrangements mirroring the relevant loan; and (e) conduit IP transfer arrangements mirroring the relevant licence.
There are two helpful mechanisms. A look-through rule lets a dividend recipient that itself fails the BO test nevertheless be treated as a BO if the person directly or indirectly holding 100% of its shares does qualify and meets specified conditions. A safe harbour spares certain applicants from the full analysis: a government of the other contracting state, a company resident and listed in that state, an individual resident of that state, or an entity 100% held by one or more of those, is directly recognised as a BO. The 100% holding must be met at any time within the 12 months before the dividend. Agents or mere nominees are explicitly not BOs, but a shareholder receiving a dividend or a creditor receiving interest in their own right is not treated as merely collecting on behalf of another.
How to claim treaty relief
Since SAT Announcement [2019] No. 35, treaty benefits are claimed on a self-assessment basis: the non-resident determines its own eligibility and enjoys the benefit, then retains supporting materials for follow-up administration — there is no pre-approval step. In practice the payer applies the reduced rate when withholding, supported by the recipient’s tax-residence certificate (税收居民身份证明) for the relevant year and the BO evidence described above. For dividends, the residence certificate must cover the year of income (or the prior year). Where the applicant relies on the look-through or safe-harbour route, additional residence certificates for the intermediate holder(s) are required. The payer still files the withholding return within seven days and completes any outbound-payment tax recordal where the remittance threshold applies (see *Withholding tax on outbound payments*). Hong Kong and Macao are covered by the Mainland–HK and Mainland–Macao arrangements, which apply the same BO logic, with HK residence evidenced under the relevant SAT announcement.
Watch-outs
Claims fail for predictable reasons. A holding company with no real functions, no employees and no risk that simply passes most income upstream will be challenged as a conduit. Treaties cannot be used to import a low-tax residence merely to capture a rate — the authority may apply the treaty’s principal-purpose test or domestic general anti-avoidance rules where the main purpose was to obtain the benefit. Documentation must be contemporaneous: board records, financial statements, fund-flow records, and the residence certificate should be assembled before the payment, not reconstructed after an audit. Finally, the reduced rate is only as good as the underlying treaty’s limit — confirm the specific article and rate for the relevant jurisdiction rather than assuming “5% for dividends” applies universally.
What to do next
- Map your inbound China income to the relevant treaty article and confirm the applicable limit rate for the jurisdiction.
- Confirm the recipient is a treaty resident and obtain a current tax-residence certificate before the payment.
- Run the beneficial-owner analysis (adverse factors, look-through, safe harbour) and keep the file.
- Have the payer apply the reduced rate at withholding, with the residence certificate and BO evidence attached.
- Retain all supporting materials for follow-up administration under the self-assessment regime.
- Avoid pure conduit structures; be ready to defend substance and the principal-purpose test.
Sources
- [SAT Announcement [2018] No. 9 on “beneficial owner” in tax treaties (State Taxation Administration)](https://www.chinatax.gov.cn/chinatax/n810219/n810744/n1671176/n1671186/c3279059/content.html)
- [SAT Announcement [2018] No. 9 — English version (State Taxation Administration)](https://www.chinatax.gov.cn/eng/c102962/c102967/c102997/c103016/c5245852/content.html)
- China’s tax-treaty network now covers 114 countries and regions (State Council Information Office / GMW)
- Applying the limited dividend rate under a tax treaty — beneficial-owner points (Inner Mongolia Tax)
Related reading
- see also: Withholding tax on outbound payments
- see also: Profit repatriation: the basics
- see also: Greater Bay Area: opportunities for SMEs
外商投资企业的税收协定待遇
概述
中国缔结了全球规模最大的双边税收协定（避免双重征税协定，DTA）网络之一。对外国投资者而言，协定是降低中国来源股息、利息、特许权使用费 10% 法定预提税、并塑造其他跨境所得中国税负的主要工具。但协定并非自动适用——收款人须为协定居民，且就股息/利息/特许权条款而言，须通过”受益所有人”测试。待遇现按自行判断、申报享受的方式取得，而非事前审批。本文说明协定网络、受益所有人测试、主张程序，以及导致本应成立的申请失败的陷阱。
中国的协定网络
截至 2025 年，中国税收协定网络已覆盖 114 个国家和地区——其中包括 90 个共建”一带一路”国家和地区——按数量居世界前列。该网络自 20 世纪 80 年代起逐步建立并持续更新，近年来又新增或修订了与智利、意大利、罗马尼亚、新西兰等经济体的协定。每份协定设定了中国（来源国）就对外被动所得可征收的最高（”限制”）税率，这些限制税率几乎都等于或低于 10% 的国内法定税率。例如，典型的股息条款允许在受益所有人是直接持有支付方至少 25% 资本的公司时适用 5%，否则 10%；利息与特许权使用费条款常降至 10%、7% 或更低。协定还包含非歧视、常设机构与相互协商（争议解决）条款，对架构设计同样重要。
受益所有人测试
股息、利息、特许权使用费享受待遇的关键关卡是”受益所有人”（BO）测试，依《国家税务总局关于税收协定中”受益所有人”有关问题的公告》（国家税务总局公告 2018 年第 9 号）执行。受益所有人是指对所得或所得据以产生的权利或财产具有所有权和支配权的人。判定申请人是否合格时，税务机关结合不利因素作个案综合分析，包括：（a）有义务在收到所得后 12 个月内将 50% 以上支付给第三国（地区）居民；（b）未从事实质性经营活动（实质性活动包括制造、经销、管理等真实活动——仅被动持股不足，除非构成实质性的投资管理活动）；（c）所得在居民国不征税或实际税率极低；（d）存在与贷款相近的导管式贷款或存款安排；（e）存在与许可相近的导管式知识产权转让安排。
有两项有益机制。其一是穿透规则（第三条）：股息收款人自身未通过 BO 测试，但若直接或间接持有其 100% 股份的人符合条件并满足特定要求，仍可被视为 BO。其二是安全港（第四条）：缔约对方政府、在缔约对方上市的公司、缔约对方居民个人，或被其一或多方 100% 持有的实体，可直接被认定为 BO，免于完整分析。100% 持股比例须在取得股息前连续 12 个月内任何时候均达到。代理人或名义收款人明确不属于 BO，但股东基于持股取得股息、债权人基于债权取得利息，不被视为”代为收取所得”。
如何主张协定待遇
自《国家税务总局关于发布〈非居民纳税人享受税收协定待遇管理办法〉的公告》（国家税务总局公告 2019 年第 35 号）起，协定待遇按自行判断、申报享受、留存备查的方式办理——无事前审批环节。实务中，支付方在扣缴时适用降低后税率，并以收款人相应年度的税收居民身份证明与上述 BO 证据为支撑。就股息而言，居民证明须覆盖所得年度（或上一年度）。若申请人依赖穿透或安全港路径，还需中间持股人的居民证明。支付方仍须在七日内报送扣缴申报，并在达到汇出门槛时办理对外支付税务备案（见《对外支付的预提所得税》）。香港、澳门依《内地与香港/澳门特别行政区关于对所得避免双重征税的安排》处理，适用同样的 BO 逻辑，香港居民身份依相关国家税务总局公告证明。
注意事项
申请失败的原因可以预见。一家无真实职能、无雇员、无风险、仅将大部分所得向上游转付的控股公司，会被质疑为导管。协定不能被用来”导入”低税居民身份以套取税率——若主要目的为获取待遇，税务机关可适用协定的主要目的测试或国内一般反避税规则。资料须及时齐备：董事会记录、财务报表、资金流向记录与居民证明应在付款前整理，而非审计后重建。最后，降低后税率的有效性取决于基础协定的限制税率——应确认相关管辖区的具体条款与税率，而非假定”股息一律 5%”普遍适用。
下一步建议
- 将你在华的各类所得映射到相应协定条款，并确认该管辖区适用的限制税率。
- 确认收款人为协定居民，并在付款前取得当期税收居民身份证明。
- 开展受益所有人分析（不利因素、穿透、安全港）并留存档案。
- 由支付方在扣缴时适用降低后税率，并附居民证明与 BO 证据。
- 在自行判断、申报享受的事后管理下，留存全部支撑资料。
- 避免纯导管架构；准备就实质性与主要目的测试进行辩护。
来源
- 国家税务总局公告 2018 年第 9 号——税收协定中”受益所有人”有关问题
- 国家税务总局公告 2018 年第 9 号（英文版）
- 我国税收协定网络已覆盖 114 个国家和地区（国新办/光明网）
- 执行税收协定股息条款限制税率时应注意的问题（内蒙古税务）
相关阅读
- see also: 对外支付的预提所得税
- see also: 利润汇出：基础要点
- see also: 粤港澳大湾区：中小企业的机遇