Tax residence in China for Pakistani taxpayers

China makes you a resident individual if you have a domicile there or stay 183 days or more in a calendar year, counting only full 24-hour days. Foreigners resident for fewer than six consecutive years can keep foreign income paid from abroad out of Chinese tax. Pakistan counts its own tax year of 1 July – 30 June under s. 82 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. Where both countries claim you, the 1989 Pakistan–China Agreement decides.

Check your status: Pakistan and China

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under Pakistan's Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, compared with the law of China and the tax treaty.

When China treats you as a tax resident

China does not decide tax residence by nationality: Chinese citizens and foreigners are judged by the same test — a domicile in China, or, without a domicile, 183 days or more in China in a calendar year.

«Domicile» means habitual residence in China by reason of household registration, family or economic interests. It is a legal criterion, not a count of days. Most Pakistanis working in China have no domicile there and are judged by the 183-day test.

An individual without a domicile who stays in China for 183 days or more in aggregate in a calendar year (the 183rd day included) is a resident individual. Only days on which you are in China for a full 24 hours count.

The «six-year rule» does not change residence; it only decides whether foreign-source income paid by foreign payers — for example, income from Pakistan — is taxed in China.

You habitually reside in China by reason of household registration, family or economic interests, so you have a domicile in China. Under Art. 1 of the Individual Income Tax Law you are a resident individual of China, taxed on income from sources inside and outside China (including Pakistan) however many days you spent there; foreign tax can be credited within the limit of Art. 7.
You have no domicile in China but stayed there for 183 days or more in this calendar year, so you are a resident individual of China (Art. 1). Because you also had 183 days in each of the six preceding years with no single absence of more than 30 days, all your income — including income from Pakistan — is taxable in China.
You have no domicile in China but stayed there for 183 days or more in this calendar year, so you are a resident individual of China (Art. 1). Because in at least one of the six preceding years you had fewer than 183 days or a single absence of more than 30 days, foreign-source income paid by foreign entities or individuals (for example, rent or salary paid from Pakistan) is exempt in China after a filing with the tax authority (Implementation Regulations, Art. 4); Chinese-source income and foreign income paid by Chinese payers remain taxable.
You have no domicile in China but stayed there for 183 days or more in this calendar year, so you are a resident individual of China (Art. 1). Whether your foreign income is also taxed in China depends on the «six-year rule»: if you had 183 days in each of the six preceding years (counted from 2019) with no single absence of more than 30 days, all income is taxable; otherwise foreign-source income paid by foreign payers is exempt after a filing.
You stayed in China for 183 days or more in this calendar year, so you are a resident individual of China whether or not you have a domicile there (Art. 1). With a domicile, all income from inside and outside China is taxable; without one, foreign-source income paid by foreign payers may be exempt under the «six-year rule» (Implementation Regulations, Art. 4).

When you are a nonresident

You have no domicile in China and stayed there for fewer than 183 days in this calendar year, so you are a non-resident individual (Art. 1): China taxes only your income from sources in China. Salary for work done outside China is not Chinese-source income; with no more than 90 days in China, salary for work in China paid by a foreign employer and not borne by its Chinese establishment is exempt (Implementation Regulations, Art. 5).

Where the rules of China clash with Pakistani tax rules

Collision: Pakistani citizen resident in both countries. Under s. 82(d) of the Income Tax Ordinance a Pakistani citizen stays resident in Pakistan unless present in one other country for more than 182 days in the Pakistani tax year and a resident taxpayer there. China can make you resident with 183 days in its calendar year, or with a Chinese domicile, while you are still resident in Pakistan — for example because your days in China fall in two Pakistani tax years, or because you are a government employee posted abroad (s. 82(c)). Then the residence article of the 1989 Pakistan–China Agreement decides. Keep a Chinese Tax Resident Certificate or a Pakistani certificate of residence (rule 19A) for the year concerned.

What else to know

Different tax years: 1 July – 30 June and the calendar year. Pakistan counts days in its tax year (1 July – 30 June); China counts days in the calendar year and only days with a full 24 hours in China. A stay from September to April can be more than 182 days in one Pakistani tax year but fall below 183 days in each of two Chinese years — and the reverse. Keep entry and exit stamps and count both periods separately.
183 days in China: usually non-resident in Pakistan. If you spent more than 182 days in China in the Pakistani tax year and China treats you as a resident individual, a Pakistani citizen is no longer resident under s. 82(d), and a non-citizen is not resident under s. 82(a) with fewer than 183 days in Pakistan. Pakistan then taxes only Pakistan-source income (s. 101), for example rent from property in Pakistan or profit on Pakistani bank deposits; China taxes your worldwide income, with a credit for the Pakistani tax.
Six-year rule: Pakistani income of foreigners resident in China. If you have no domicile in China and are resident only because of 183 days, foreign-source income paid by foreign entities or individuals — such as rent from Pakistan or salary paid by a Pakistani employer for work outside China — is exempt in China unless you have had six consecutive 183-day years (counted from 2019) without a single absence of more than 30 days. One trip out of China of more than 30 days restarts the count. The exemption requires a filing with the Chinese tax authority and does not cover income paid by Chinese payers.
Working in China while resident in Pakistan. China treats pay for work physically done in China as Chinese-source income wherever it is paid. Domestic law exempts it only if you stay no more than 90 days in the calendar year and the pay comes from a foreign employer and is not borne by its establishment in China (Implementation Regulations, Art. 5); the employment article of the Pakistan–China Agreement may extend this to longer stays if you are a treaty resident of Pakistan — check its 183-day condition and how the days are counted. In Pakistan, salary earned in China is exempt if Chinese tax on it was withheld by the employer and paid to the Chinese tax authority (s. 102); otherwise Pakistan gives a credit for Chinese tax (s. 103).
How double tax is relieved between Pakistan and China. If you are resident in Pakistan, Chinese tax on Chinese-source income is credited against Pakistani tax on that income, computed separately for each head of income; unused credit is lost and the Chinese tax must be paid within two years after the end of the Pakistani tax year (s. 103). If you are resident in China, Pakistani tax on Pakistan-source income is credited within a limit computed for Pakistan separately, with a five-year carry-forward; China needs a Pakistani tax payment certificate (IIT Law, Art. 7; Implementation Regulations, Arts. 21–22) — the Competent Authority of Pakistan issues one under rule 19B. The treaty's own relief article applies on top of these rules.
Pakistani government posting to China. Federal and Provincial Government employees and officials posted abroad remain resident in Pakistan under s. 82(c), and their government salary is Pakistan-source income (s. 101). Whether China may tax it depends on the government-service article of the Pakistan–China Agreement and on diplomatic privileges; this package does not model that article.
Year of arrival or departure: no split year in either country. China decides residence for the whole calendar year and has no split-year rule; Pakistan decides it for the whole tax year of 1 July – 30 June. A Pakistani citizen who leaves Pakistan during a tax year and stays abroad for the rest of it is exempt in Pakistan on salary earned abroad in that year (s. 51(2)); a citizen returning after four non-resident years is exempt on foreign-source income in the year of return and the next year (s. 51(1)).
Social security: no Pakistan–China agreement found. Pakistan is not among the 13 countries with which China has signed bilateral social security agreements. Each country applies its own contribution rules: a foreigner employed in China generally joins the Chinese social insurance system, and there is no certificate of coverage to keep you in a Pakistani scheme instead. Social security is outside the income tax treaty.

How dual residence is resolved

If both countries treat you as a resident, Art. 4(2) of the treaty applies: Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income (1989) — signed on 15 November 1989. The tests are applied in order — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, and finally mutual agreement between the tax authorities.

Terms you will come across in China

居民个人 (resident individual): a person with a domicile in China or 183 days or more in China in a calendar year; taxed on worldwide income
住所 (domicile): habitual residence in China by reason of household registration, family or economic interests
六年规则 (six-year rule): exemption of foreign income paid from abroad for foreigners without domicile until six consecutive 183-day years
综合所得 (comprehensive income): wages, service fees, author's remuneration and royalties taxed together at 3%–45%
年度汇算 (annual reconciliation): annual settlement of individual income tax, filed between 1 March and 30 June
《中国税收居民身份证明》: China Tax Resident Certificate issued by the Chinese tax authority for treaty purposes

Questions

Which tax treaty applies between Pakistan and China?

The Agreement signed on 15 November 1989 and in force since 27 December 1989, amended by protocols of 2000, 2007 and 2016. Pakistan lists it as covered by the MLI. Its residence article decides where a person resident in both countries is treated as resident.

I work in China on a project for 200 days in a calendar year. Am I resident there?

Yes. 183 days or more in China in a calendar year makes you a resident individual, even without a domicile. If you were not resident in China for six consecutive years, foreign-source income paid from abroad, such as rent from Pakistan, can remain exempt in China after a filing.

Is there a social security agreement between Pakistan and China?

No such agreement appears in the list of China's 13 bilateral social security agreements, so each country applies its own contribution rules.

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

Individual Income Tax Law of the PRC (as amended on 31 August 2018), Art. 1 — An individual who has a domicile in China, or who has no domicile but resides in China for an aggregate of 183 days or more in a tax year, is a resident individual and is taxed on income from sources inside and outside China. An individual with no domicile who does not reside in China, or resides there for less than 183 days in aggregate, is a non-resident individual taxed only on income from sources in China. The tax year is the calendar year, 1 January – 31 December.
Implementation Regulations of the Individual Income Tax Law (State Council Decree No. 707), Art. 2 — Having a domicile in China means habitually residing in China by reason of household registration (hukou), family or economic interests.
Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Levy of Individual Income Tax (Guoshuifa [1994] No. 89), Art. 1 — Habitual residence is a legal criterion for deciding whether a taxpayer is resident or non-resident; it does not mean actual residence or residence during a particular period. A person who lives abroad to study, work, visit relatives or travel and must return to live in China when that reason ends has China as his or her place of habitual residence.
Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 34 of 2019 — For an individual without domicile, days of residence are counted as days of stay in China: a day counts if the individual stays in China for a full 24 hours that day; a day of less than 24 hours does not count. If the individual has resided 183 days or more in a year and, in each of the preceding six consecutive years, also resided 183 days or more without any single absence of more than 30 days, income from sources inside and outside China is taxable; otherwise foreign-source income paid by foreign entities or individuals is exempt. The six years are counted from 2019 onwards.
Implementation Regulations of the Individual Income Tax Law, Art. 4 — Where an individual without domicile has resided in China for 183 days or more in each year for fewer than six consecutive years, foreign-source income paid by foreign entities or individuals is exempt upon filing with the competent tax authority; a single absence of more than 30 days in any year restarts the count.
Implementation Regulations of the Individual Income Tax Law, Art. 3 — Unless otherwise provided, income from services performed in China by reason of office, employment or contract is income from sources in China, wherever it is paid.
Implementation Regulations of the Individual Income Tax Law, Art. 5 — An individual without domicile who resides in China for no more than 90 days in aggregate in a tax year is exempt on the part of China-source income that is paid by a foreign employer and not borne by the employer's establishment or place in China.
Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 3 of 2020 (IIT on foreign-source income) — Income from services performed outside China is foreign-source income. Foreign comprehensive and business income is combined with Chinese income of the same kind; other categories are computed separately. The credit limit is computed per country (region); excess credit can be carried forward for five years; no credit without a valid tax payment certificate; tax spared under a treaty is treated as paid. Residents declare foreign-source income between 1 March and 30 June of the following year.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 82(a) — An individual is a resident individual for a tax year if present in Pakistan for a period of, or periods amounting in aggregate to, 183 days or more in the tax year (1 July – 30 June).
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 82(d) (inserted by the Finance Act, 2022; consolidated text amended up to 30.06.2026 listed by FBR) — A citizen of Pakistan is also a resident individual if he or she is not present in any other country for more than 182 days during the tax year, or is not a resident taxpayer of any other country. Applies from tax year 2023.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 82(c) — An individual is a resident individual for a tax year if he or she is an employee or official of the Federal Government or a Provincial Government posted abroad in the tax year — regardless of days in Pakistan.
Pakistan–China Agreement (1989), as amended by the protocols of 2000, 2007 and 2016 — Income tax agreement in force since 27 December 1989; amended by three protocols. The text of its residence, employment and relief articles was not read for this package — check the FBR or STA copy.
Income Tax Rules, 2002, rule 19A — A resident who needs a certificate of residence for a treaty country applies to the Competent Authority of Pakistan (FBR, Islamabad) in the prescribed form with proof of foreign income, CNIC, NTN and the latest return; a separate application and certificate for each tax year; decision within 45 days.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 101 — Salary is Pakistan-source to the extent it is received from employment exercised in Pakistan (wherever paid) or is paid by or on behalf of the Federal, a Provincial or a Local Government in Pakistan (wherever the employment is exercised). Dividends of resident companies, profit on debt and royalties paid by residents, rent and gains on immovable property in Pakistan, gains on shares of resident companies and pensions paid by residents are Pakistan-source; everything else is foreign-source.
Individual Income Tax Law, Art. 7 — A resident individual may credit income tax paid abroad on foreign-source income against Chinese tax payable, up to the Chinese tax on that foreign income computed under the Law.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 102 — Foreign-source salary received by a resident individual is exempt if the individual has paid foreign income tax on it; tax is treated as paid if it was withheld by the employer and paid to the revenue authority of the country where the employment was exercised.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 103 — A resident taxpayer gets a credit for foreign income tax on foreign-source income equal to the lesser of the foreign tax paid and the Pakistan tax on that income (average Pakistani rate × net foreign-source income), computed separately for each head of income; unused credit is not refunded, carried back or forward; the foreign tax must be paid within two years after the end of the tax year.
Implementation Regulations of the Individual Income Tax Law, Arts. 21–22 — The credit limit is computed separately for each country (region); if tax paid in that country is below the limit, the difference is paid in China; excess can be credited against the unused limit for that country in the following years for up to five years. A tax payment certificate issued by the foreign tax authority for the year concerned is required.
Income Tax Rules, 2002, rule 19B — A non-resident may apply to the Competent Authority of Pakistan for a certificate of tax paid in Pakistan (by deduction, collection or otherwise) for presentation to the tax authority of the country of residence; proof of residence in that country is required.
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, s. 51 — (1) A citizen who becomes resident in a tax year after being non-resident in the four preceding tax years: foreign-source income is exempt in that tax year and the following one. (2) A citizen who leaves Pakistan during a tax year and remains abroad for the rest of it: salary earned outside Pakistan in that year is exempt.
China News Service report on China's social security agreements (reprinted by Guangming Online, 29 October 2025) — Since 2001 China has signed bilateral social security agreements with 13 countries: Germany, South Korea, Denmark, Finland, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Japan, Serbia and Kyrgyzstan.
Individual Income Tax Law, Art. 3 and rate tables — Comprehensive income: progressive rates of 3% to 45% (annual taxable income up to CNY 36,000 at 3%; 36,000–144,000 at 10%; 144,000–300,000 at 20%; 300,000–420,000 at 25%; 420,000–660,000 at 30%; 660,000–960,000 at 35%; above 960,000 at 45%). Business income 5%–35%. Interest, dividends, rental income, gains on transfer of property and incidental income: 20%.
Individual Income Tax Law, Art. 6 — A resident's comprehensive income is taxed on the annual amount less CNY 60,000 and special and other deductions. A non-resident's wages are taxed monthly on the amount exceeding CNY 5,000; service fees, author's remuneration and royalties are taxed per payment.
Individual Income Tax Law, Arts. 10, 11 and 13 — Withholding agents withhold tax on comprehensive income monthly or per payment; residents who must settle file the annual reconciliation between 1 March and 30 June of the following year; foreign-source income is declared in the same period; non-residents' wages are withheld at source without annual reconciliation.
Art. 4 Pakistan–China Agreement (1989) — residence — Residence article of the 1989 Agreement. Its text was not read for this package; the steps below follow the standard OECD order (permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, mutual agreement) and must be checked against the FBR or STA text.
Pakistan — MLI position at deposit, list of Covered Tax Agreements (OECD) — Pakistan lists as covered tax agreements, among others: China — Agreement signed 15-11-1989, in force 27-12-1989, with protocols signed 19-06-2000 (in force 11-10-2000), 17-04-2007 (in force 17-04-2007) and 08-12-2016 (in force 24-04-2017); Japan — Convention signed 23-01-2008, in force 09-11-2008; Bangladesh — Convention signed 15-10-1981, in force 8/7/1987. India is not listed.
FBR — Bilateral full scope treaties — FBR lists the treaties with Bangladesh (original only), China (original and «as modified by MLI», effective 1 September 2022) and Japan (original and «as modified by MLI», effective 1 April 2021); India is not listed.
Third Protocol to the Pakistan–China Agreement (Islamabad, 8 December 2016) — Amends the 1989 Agreement and the Second Protocol (2007) on interest paid to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Silk Road Fund on loans to CPEC energy projects; enters into force on receipt of the later notification. It does not deal with the residence of individuals.
Art. 4 Pakistan–China Agreement (1989) — habitual abode — Standard wording: if the centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if the individual has no permanent home available in either State, he is deemed a resident of the State in which he has an habitual abode.
Art. 4 Pakistan–China Agreement (1989) — Centre of vital interests: the State with which your personal and economic relations are closer.
Art. 4 Pakistan–China Agreement (1989) — nationality and mutual agreement — Standard wording: habitual abode in both States or in neither — the State of nationality; national of both or of neither — mutual agreement of the competent authorities.

Updated 04/11/2026. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. The FBR, other tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law changes with each Finance Act. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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