China VAT Return — 增值税申报表 (General & Small Taxpayer)

Confirm whether the entity is a 一般纳税人 (general taxpayer) or 小规模纳税人 (small taxpayer), as this determines the entire computation path. Collect the 18-digit 纳税人识别号 (TIN), filing frequency (monthly or quarterly), and the prior-period 增值税申报表 if available. Small taxpayers use a simplified 3% (or temporarily 1%) gross-receipts calculation with no input credit; general taxpayers use the full credit mechanism.

Categorise all sales for the period by VAT rate: 13% (goods, tangible asset leasing), 9% (transport, construction, real estate, agricultural products), 6% (modern services, telecom, financial services), zero-rated exports, and exempt supplies. For each revenue stream confirm whether a 增值税专用发票 (special VAT invoice) was issued through the Golden Tax System. Conservative default is 13% for unclassified supplies. Calculate Lines 1–6 of the 增值税申报表.

Collect all purchase invoices for the period and confirm which are 增值税专用发票 (special VAT invoices) verified in the Golden Tax System — only these generate an input credit. Ordinary invoices (普通发票) produce no credit. Apply the 360-day certification window rule and calculate any input VAT not deductible (进项税额转出) where purchases relate to exempt activities or non-business use. Populate Lines 7–9 of the return.

Compute net VAT payable as output VAT minus net input VAT (Line 10), then apply any VAT reduction or exemption credits (Line 11, e.g. small-enterprise relief, software enterprise rebate). If input exceeds output, the excess is carried forward (Line 12) — refunds require a separate 出口退税 process and are out of scope here. Produce the final tax-due figure on Line 13 and the tax payment voucher amount.

Submit the completed 增值税申报表 through the provincial 电子税务局 (Online Tax Bureau) portal before the 15th of the following month (monthly filers) or 15th of the month following the quarter (quarterly and small taxpayers). Confirm the filing acknowledgement number, then arrange payment of net VAT due via the linked bank account. Retain all special invoices and the filed return for at least 10 years per 税收征管法 requirements.