Yes. Foreign visitors can claim a China shopping departure tax refund (离境退税) in 2026. Buy at a marked tax-refund shop. Same person, same day, same shop, VAT invoice of at least RMB 200. Ask for the official application form at the till. Keep the goods with you. At the departure port, Customs checks the items and stamps the form. The refund agent in the isolation area then pays you in yuan. Cash is allowed up to RMB 20,000. Above that, bank transfer only. Transfer itself has no official cap. The 2025 SAT rewrite dropped the old 11 percent rate. The live rule is invoice amount times the prescribed refund rate, minus the agent fee. I will not invent a percentage. Alipay can receive the refund at some agent points. Beijing Tax, Bank of China Beijing, and Alipay put tap-to-pay payout on three downtown instant-refund desks. MOFCOM also told agents to pay by mobile wallet, card, or cash. That is not every airport counter. Finish Alipay for foreigners 2026 at home, then search 入境人士退税 in the app. I am Frank Zhang. I live in Suzhou.
Who qualifies, what you need, how you get paid
| Question | Official rule (2025–2026) | How I use it |
|---|---|---|
| Who qualifies | A foreigner, or a Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan resident, on the mainland no more than 183 days in a row | Count from the last entry date on the passport |
| What you need | ID, VAT ordinary invoice or e-invoice, and a 《离境退税申请单》 from a registered tax-refund shop | Ask for the form. A till receipt is not the form |
| Minimum spend | RMB 200, same person, same day, same shop | Two shops on the same day do not add together |
| Cash vs card vs Alipay | Cash or bank transfer if the refund is RMB 20,000 or less. Transfer only above that. MOFCOM lists mobile payment. SAT-reported Alipay payout is at some desks, not every port | Ask the agent which rail they run today |
Who can claim
SAT defines 境外旅客 as foreigners and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents who have lived on the mainland continuously for no more than 183 days. The ID must show, or let the system collect, your last entry date.
The shop cannot issue the form if you cannot prove that date, if the purchase is more than 183 days after that entry, or if the invoice is dated before you last entered. At the agent window, departure must also sit within 183 days of that entry, and the purchase must sit within 90 days of departure.
Goods must be personal items you bought yourself in a registered tax-refund shop. SAT excludes the prohibited or restricted exit list, VAT-exempt shop goods, and later Finance, Customs, or SAT lists. The goods leave with you. No goods at Customs, no stamp.
You do not need a special shopping visa. If you are on 240-hour visa-free transit, the refund clock is still the SAT 90-day and 183-day tests, not the NIA stay clock. Do not mix those two policies.
What to do in the shop
Look for the official SAT tax-refund shop sign. Pay as you normally would. WeChat Pay for foreigners 2026 and a foreign card both work at many tills. The refund is later, not a discount at checkout.
Then ask for two things: the VAT ordinary invoice or electronic ordinary invoice, and the 《离境退税申请单》. SAT’s 2025 revision accepts the e-invoice. The shop opens the form in the national system, checks your ID, and stamps it. Under RMB 200 same-day same-shop, they must refuse.
Keep the goods unused and easy to show. A sealed bag helps where a city runs a “one form, one pack” pilot. Guangzhou tax authorities have described that model. I will not pretend every city uses it.
At the airport or port
SAT still puts Customs first. Present the goods, the form, and your ID. After the stamp, go to the refund agent in the isolation area. The agent matches your ID to the form and pays in yuan.
Formula: invoice amount (VAT included) × prescribed refund rate, then minus the agent fee. SAT no longer prints 11 percent. I will not invent the fee. Read the slip before you sign.
Cash is a choice only at RMB 20,000 or less. Over that, bank transfer. MOFCOM’s April 2025 notice (商消费发〔2025〕84号) raised that cash cap and told agents to add mobile payment and cards where risk controls allow.
Can Alipay actually pay it out?
Yes, at some desks. Not as a nationwide airport default I can cite from Alipay’s own global help site.
MOFCOM’s 2025 six-ministry notice tells agents to pay by mobile wallet, bank card, or cash. A September 2025 SAT provincial report says Beijing Tax, Bank of China Beijing, and Alipay opened tap-to-pay (碰一下) refund at three downtown “buy now, refund now” collection points. Staff scan your Alipay collection code. Search 入境人士退税 in the app to pull it.
I did not find a live global.alipay.com tourist page that says every China departure counter can do this. Alipay+ Tax Refund is a different product: VAT in other countries going into wallets. Do not treat that as China 离境退税.
Set Alipay up before you fly. At the desk, ask “cash, card, or Alipay?” If they only do cash or a card transfer, take that. UnionPay for foreigners 2026 is the plastic backup if the phone dies.
Buy now, refund now (即买即退)
This is a second rail, not a skip of Customs.
SAT announcement 2025 No. 9 rolled 即买即退 out in regions that already run departure refund. At a participating shop you sign an agreement, place a credit-card pre-authorization, get the form, and receive a yuan prepayment equal to the expected refund. You still take the goods, form, invoice, and ID to Customs, then to the isolation-area agent. Leave on time from the promised port and the agent lifts the hold. Miss the port or fail the claim, and the agent can take the prepayment back through that card.
A July 2026 SAT service notice says that from 1 September 2026, shops can upload your ID so the issuing-city agent reviews online and the departure-city agent finishes. That is inter-city processing. It is not “skip Customs.” Beijing’s write-up also described higher local limits. Those are Beijing details, not a national SAT table.
What is current in 2026
- From 27 April 2025: RMB 200 same-day same-shop floor. Cash cap RMB 20,000. E-invoice accepted.
- 即买即退 is a national SAT product in places that already run the policy.
- 2026 SAT service work: electronic forms can move online. A national refund service code lets you pre-fill data and see progress. Inter-city 即买即退 handling is scheduled from 1 September 2026.
I will not paste a city-by-city airport list. SAT did not put one in these notices. The agent sits in the departure port’s isolation area.
Official sources
- SAT announcement 2025 No. 11, and the restated 离境退税 measures
- MOFCOM and five other ministries, 商消费发〔2025〕84号
- SAT announcement 2025 No. 9, 即买即退
- Gov.cn note on the 2025 SAT revision
- SAT provincial report: Beijing Alipay tap-to-pay refund desks
- SAT 15 July 2026 service notice
Ready to shop, then leave on time
The refund is paperwork plus a port window. The trip still needs a route that fits your dates, hotels and trains booked, and someone on WhatsApp or WeChat if a booking slips.
LocalKey is customized independent travel. Two lanes: Self-Guided, with bookings, an app roadbook, and WhatsApp or WeChat support; or Tailor-Made, with a private car and an optional guide. Not a group tour.
Send a travel enquiry when the refund plan is clear and you want the rest of the independent trip written down.