Laws of the People's Republic of China

The State Administration of Taxation

Circular of the State Administration of Taxation on the Question Concerning the Handling of Taxation Related to the Drawing and Use of Housing Public Accumulation Funds by Enterprises with Foreign Investment and Their Employees

GuoShuiFa [1994] No.165

July 26, 1994

The tax bureaus of various provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and municipalities separately listed on the State plan, and various sub-bureaus of the Offshore Oil Tax Administration:

In line with the unified planning of the State Council, implementation measures for reform of the housing system have been published one after another in various localities. The question concerning taxation handling related to the drawing, receiving and use of various housing subsidies or housing public accumulation funds by enterprises with foreign investment (hereinafter referred to as enterprises) and the employees of the Chinese side (hereinafter referred to as individuals) is hereby clarified as follows:

I.

The handling of taxation related to the drawing of various housing subsidies or housing public accumulation funds (including voluntary housing public accumulation funds) by enterprises and individuals in accordance with relevant stipulations as set in the housing system of national or local government.

(1)

In areas which have not as yet carried out reform of the housing system, the housing subsidies drawn by enterprises in accordance with the original stipulations of financial departments and labor departments may be regarded as the deducting items for calculating the enterprise's current payable tax on the income amount and be itemized in the current cost expenses.

(2)

In areas where reform of the housing system has been introduced, when an enterprise has drawn various kinds of housing public accumulation funds in accordance with the proportion set by the national or local government, if an enterprise has drawn various types of workers' welfare funds in accordance with related regulations before the calculation and collection of enterprise income tax, the book balance of that workers' welfare funds drawn each year by the enterprise, after paying for the expenditures for other stipulated purposes than paying for workers' housing expenditures shall be turned into housing public accumulation funds; when there is no book balance or the book balance is not enough to carry down the housing public accumulation funds drawn in the current year, only then can the deficiency be itemized as the period costs and expenses before income tax is calculated and collected.

(3)

The housing public accumulation funds drawn by an enterprise and an individual in accordance with the proportion stipulated by the national or local government and actually paid to a designated organization may not be included in the individual's current wage and salary income when individual income tax is calculated and levied.

II.

The handling of taxation related to an enterprise and an individual who use the housing subsidies or housing public accumulation funds as referred to in Article 1 of this Circular

(1)

The housing expenditures such as the expenses on housing purchase and construction, expenses on housing repair and expense on rentals actually paid by the enterprise to individuals shall be itemized in the individual's housing subsidies or housing public accumulation funds that have been drawn.

(2)

The already drawn housing public accumulation funds received by an individual (including the part drawn by the enterprise and the part drawn by an individual) shall be included in the individual's current wage and salary income in accordance with the amount actually received for the calculation and payment of individual income tax. But the various housing expenditures actually paid by an individual (including expenditures on the purchase and construction of houses and expenditure on rents), which conform with the uses stipulated by the national and local governments and for which effective and legal payment certificates can be provided, after examination and verification by the competent taxation authorities, may be deducted from the amount actually received, the part that exceeds the amount actually received cannot be deducted from the current wage and salary income.

III.

The handling of taxation related to the drawing and use of various housing subsidies or housing public accumulation funds by an enterprise and an individual, that exceed the proportion stipulated by the national or local government

(1)

The various housing subsidies or housing (supplementary) public accumulation funds drawn by an enterprise itself, that exceed the proportion as set by the national or local government cannot be listed and spent as the enterprise's current costs and expenses.

(2)

If the housing expenditures such as expenses on housing purchase and construction, housing repair expense and rental expense actually paid by the enterprise to individuals are not enough to be itemized in that individual's housing subsidies or housing public accumulation funds drawn in accordance with the proportion stipulated by the national or local government, the expenditure paid by the enterprise in accordance with the resolution of the board of directors of the enterprise may be included in the enterprise's current costs and expenses in light of an effective and legal payment certificate. But at the same time, it should be included in the individual's current wage and salary income for the calculation and levying of individual income tax.

(3)

The housing public accumulation funds drawn by an individual that exceeds the proportion set by the national or local government cannot be deducted from the individual's current wage and salary income when individual income tax is calculated and paid.