Core answer: a trustworthy take-home-pay calculator passes four checks: city-specific social-insurance rates, all seven special additional deductions, cumulative-withholding individual income tax, and a full breakdown of the result. Sanity test: ¥20,000/month in Beijing with no deductions nets about ¥14,660.
The four checks
| Check | Pass | Common flaw |
|---|---|---|
| Social insurance | city presets + custom | one national rate |
| Special deductions | all 7 selectable | only the ¥5,000 threshold |
| Tax algorithm | 7 brackets + quick deduction | single-rate estimate |
| Breakdown | insurance/fund/tax/net listed | one bare number |
Working out ¥20k in Beijing
Beijing employee rates: pension 8% + medical 2% + unemployment 0.5% + housing fund 12% = 22.5%, i.e. ¥4,500. Taxable = 20,000 − 4,500 − 5,000 = ¥10,500, in the 10% bracket with a 210 quick deduction — about ¥840/month on average (lower early in the year under cumulative withholding). Take-home ≈ 20,000 − 4,500 − 840 = ¥14,660; roughly ¥176k per year.
| Monthly (Beijing, no deductions) | Insurance + fund | Avg tax | Take-home |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¥10k | 2,250 | ~83 | ~7,667 |
| ¥15k | 3,375 | ~365 | ~11,260 |
| ¥20k | 4,500 | ~840 | ~14,660 |
| ¥30k | 6,750 | ~2,090 | ~21,160 |
What moves your take-home
- City: fund rates 5-12%; the same salary nets differently by hundreds across cities
- Contribution base: actual salary vs minimum base can differ by a thousand a month
- Special deductions: child education ¥2,000/child, mortgage interest ¥1,000, elderly care up to ¥3,000
- Bonus taxation: separate vs merged annual bonus can differ by thousands
Example: the real gain from a 30% raise
¥15k → ¥20k in Beijing: nominal +¥5,000 (+33%), but take-home rises from ¥11,260 to ¥14,660 — only +¥3,400 (+30%), because the marginal bracket jumps from 3% to 10%. Negotiate in after-tax terms; if the new offer is in another city, fold in its insurance rates and bases too.
Example: three deductions, ¥7.7k/year saved
¥20k/month in Beijing with one child (¥2,000), a first-home mortgage (¥1,000) and elderly care as an only child (¥3,000): ¥6,000/month of deductions. Taxable drops from 10,500 to 4,500, monthly tax from ~¥840 to ~¥200 — about ¥640 more per month, ¥7,700 per year. Many never file these and voluntarily overpay.
Common mistakes
- "Net = gross − tax": social insurance (up to 22.5%) is the bigger bite — deduct it before tax.
- "Tax should be flat across months": cumulative withholding makes later months jump brackets — a shrinking paycheck is not a payroll error.
- "Housing fund is a loss": it is fully yours, and the employer matches it — a 12% contribution is effectively a 12% raise.
- "Deductions apply automatically": they must be filed in the tax app and updated after job changes or a new child.