This is a beta course, so its structure, chapters, and examples may continue to change.
Tax Incentives and Reductions
Using incentives in a compliant way means paying less tax than you should not have to pay. Be sure to check your own status, the nature of your income, and the applicable conditions.
- Special additional deductions: children’s education, continuing education, serious illness treatment, housing loan interest or rent, and support for the elderly.
- Commercial health insurance / deferred pension insurance pilot schemes: in some regions, premiums within the limit can be deducted.
- Donations: qualifying charitable donations can be deducted within the limit.
- Small and micro businesses / sole proprietorships: the VAT small-scale threshold and reduced levy rates; reduced or fixed-rate income tax (depending on the policy in force).
- High-tech enterprises and technology-based SMEs: corporate income tax incentives and super-deduction of R&D expenses.
- Specific industries such as software and integrated circuits: VAT refunds on collection, “two years exempt, three years halved” income tax treatment, and so on (subject to the documents in force).
- Confirm your status and eligibility: the nature of your income, your industry, your scale, and your qualifications (such as a high-tech certificate).
- Check the validity period and the exact terms of the policy: the amounts, the percentages, the limits, and any filing or approval requirements.
- Keep the supporting documents: contracts, invoices, payroll sheets, deduction information, filing forms, and evidence for claiming the incentive.
- File on time: tick or fill in the relevant incentive fields on the return, and complete any filing formalities required.
- Relying on an incentive you heard about second-hand without checking the latest terms or the regional differences.
- Claiming the deduction but not keeping the documents, so that you cannot prove it later.
- Applying the incentives for business income to comprehensive income, or the other way round.