Estimate personal income tax under current rates
This calculator uses a simplified approach that spreads the official annual tax brackets evenly across each month, for a quick estimate of roughly how much tax is due in a given month. In practice, official monthly withholding is calculated cumulatively over the year — using year-to-date income, year-to-date deductions, and tax already withheld — so the same monthly income can produce a different withholding amount early versus late in the year (e.g. early months may owe no tax before cumulative income exceeds the exemption threshold, while later months may be withheld more as cumulative income pushes into a higher bracket). This result is only a quick estimate, not tax advice — refer to the official Individual Income Tax app or tax authority for your actual figures.
This calculator gives a rough estimate of the monthly personal income tax on salary income in mainland China, and of the take-home pay left after your own social insurance contributions and that tax. You enter pre-tax monthly income, the employee share of social insurance and housing fund, and the combined monthly special additional deductions. It applies the fixed 5,000 CNY monthly basic deduction and a seven-bracket progressive rate table, and shows taxable income, the applicable rate, the tax for the month and take-home pay. It is a simplified single-month estimate: it does not use the official cumulative year-to-date withholding method, it does not cover year-end bonuses, freelance fees, royalties or business income, and it cannot replace the figure in the official Individual Income Tax app or from the tax authority.
With the default values (income 15000, insurance 1500, deductions 0): taxable income = 15000 - 5000 - 1500 - 0 = 8,500 CNY. That falls in the 3,000 to 12,000 bracket, rate 10% with a quick deduction of 210, so tax = 8500 x 10% - 210 = 640 CNY, and take-home = 15000 - 1500 - 640 = 12,860 CNY. Add 2,000 CNY of special additional deductions and taxable income drops to 6,500, still in the 10% bracket, so tax becomes 440 and take-home 13,060. A higher-income case: income 40000, insurance 5000, deductions 3000 gives taxable income 27,000, which is in the 25% bracket; tax = 27000 x 25% - 2660 = 4,090 CNY and take-home is 30,910 CNY. These figures were produced by running the same formula the page uses.
The code uses the seven-bracket progressive table converted to monthly amounts: up to 3,000 taxable CNY is taxed at 3%; over 3,000 to 12,000 at 10% (quick deduction 210); over 12,000 to 25,000 at 20% (1,410); over 25,000 to 35,000 at 25% (2,660); over 35,000 to 55,000 at 30% (4,410); over 55,000 to 80,000 at 35% (7,160); and above 80,000 at 45% (15,160). The method multiplies the whole taxable income by the rate of its bracket and subtracts that bracket's quick deduction, which gives the same result as taxing each slice separately and adding them up.
The most common reason is cumulative withholding. When your employer pays you, it takes year-to-date income, subtracts the accumulated 5,000 CNY allowances and deductions, applies the annual rate table, then subtracts tax already withheld in earlier months. If your income early in the year is still below the cumulative threshold you may pay nothing for a few months, and later, as cumulative income climbs into a higher bracket, you pay more. This tool treats each month on its own, so it is a rough guide only. Differences in your insurance base, back pay adjustments and which deductions you have filed also matter.
Enter the total you can deduct each month. The items and amounts (child education, rent, mortgage interest, elderly care, continuing education, serious illness medical expenses, infant care and so on) are set by the State Taxation Administration and the Individual Income Tax app, so check there for the current rules. This tool does not decide whether you qualify; it simply subtracts the number you type from taxable income.
In this tool, yes: if income minus insurance and deductions is not above 5,000, taxable income is 0 and so is the tax. For example, an income of 5000 with everything else at 0 shows taxable income 0, tax 0 and take-home 5,000.
It is not handled here. A bonus can be taxed separately or combined with other income, and those methods need different data and formulas. Use the official app or ask the tax authority or your finance department.
The calculation runs in your browser and is simple arithmetic on the three numbers you enter. The code sends no request containing those amounts to a server and stores nothing; refreshing the page restores the defaults. Because income is personal information, avoid leaving the page open on a shared device.