Tax refunds for visitors in Shanghai: how much you get back, and how to claim it

The short answer. If you are a foreign visitor and you spend at least 200 yuan in one registered tax-refund store on one day, you can get part of the VAT back when you leave China. The refund is generally 9% of the price (for goods taxed at the standard rate) or 6% (for goods taxed at the lower rate), after a 2% handling fee. Ask the shop for the refund form and invoice when you pay, keep the goods unused, leave China within 90 days, and have the goods checked by Customs at the airport before you go through security. You collect the money at a refund counter after security. Many stores can now pay you the refund on the spot (“refund upon purchase”), secured on your credit card, as long as you leave from a Shanghai port within 28 days.

Policy changed several times in 2025 and 2026. Older guides that quote a 500-yuan minimum, a 10,000-yuan cash limit or a 110,000-yuan instant-refund cap are out of date.

Who can claim

The national rules define an eligible “overseas traveller” as a foreign national, or a resident of Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan, who has lived on the Chinese mainland for no more than 183 days in a row. In practice for Shanghai that means:

You hold a foreign passport, or a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan residents.
You leave the mainland no more than 183 days after your most recent entry.
You leave no more than 90 days after the purchase date (28 days for refund upon purchase; see below).

If you live and work in China, you are not eligible, even with a foreign passport, once you pass the 183-day line.

What qualifies

The shop. Only registered tax-refund stores (退税商店, tuìshuì shāngdiàn) can issue the form. Look for a “Tax Free” or 退税商店 sign at the entrance or the till, or ask “Can I get a tax refund form?” before you pay. Many department stores, malls and brand shops in the main shopping districts are registered; small shops and market stalls usually are not, so ask.
The amount. At least 200 yuan, on the same day, in the same store, as of 27 April 2025 (it was 500 yuan before). Two purchases of 120 yuan in the same store on the same day add up; 150 yuan in each of two stores does not.
The goods. Personal items you take out of China, unused and unconsumed when you leave. The national rules exclude goods on China’s export prohibition and restriction lists and goods sold without VAT. Food you eat in China, a meal, a hotel bill, a show ticket or a spa treatment never qualify, because they are services or are consumed here.
How they leave. In your hand luggage or checked baggage, through a port that handles tax refunds (listed below).

How much you get back

The Shanghai government’s guide gives the formula:

refund = invoice amount (including VAT) × (refund rate − 2% handling fee)

The refund rate is 11% or 8%, depending on the VAT rate of the goods, so what you actually receive is generally 9% or 6% of the price on the invoice. Which rate applies depends on the goods; the shop or the refund counter can tell you. The final amount depends on what Customs verifies at the port: if you used one item, that item drops out and the rest can still be refunded.

Worked example. You buy a jacket for 2,000 yuan. At the standard rate: 2,000 × (11% − 2%) = 180 yuan back. On a 200-yuan purchase, you get 18 yuan, which may not be worth a queue at the airport.

Refunds are paid in yuan. Up to 20,000 yuan of refund you can choose cash or bank transfer; above 20,000 yuan, it is bank transfer only (the cash limit was 10,000 yuan before 27 April 2025). Shanghai’s refund service also pays to Alipay, which the city says was the first third-party platform it supported. Cash in yuan is easy to spend in the airport but awkward to change back at home, so think about which you want before you reach the counter.

The standard refund, step by step

1. In the shop. Show your passport (or Mainland Travel Permit) when you pay and ask for the tax-refund application form (离境退税申请单) and the invoice (发票). The shop issues both on the spot. Check that your name and passport number are correct. Keep both papers with the goods.

2. Keep the goods unused. Leave the tags on and keep them in their packaging if you can. Customs checks the goods against the form.

3. At the departure port, before check-in and security: Customs. Go to the Customs tax-refund inspection point (locations below) with the goods, the form, the invoice and your passport. Do this before you check in any bag that holds the goods, because Customs may want to see them. Since 1 July 2026, forms for refund sales under 10,000 yuan are only checked at random; forms of 10,000 yuan or more are checked one by one. Since the same date the form and invoice can also be confirmed electronically, so paper is no longer the only route, but keep it with you.

4. After security: the refund counter. Take your passport (and the stamped form, if you have a paper one) to the refund agency counter in the departure area, and choose cash, bank transfer or Alipay.

Refund upon purchase (即买即退)

Many Shanghai stores now offer refund upon purchase (即买即退, jí mǎi jí tuì): the refund agency pays you the refund at the shop, on the day you buy, instead of at the airport.

How it works:

In the store, you sign a service agreement and give a credit card in your own name that supports pre-authorisation (a hold, like a hotel deposit).
You receive the refund in yuan on the spot.
Before you leave China, you still take the unused goods, form, invoice and passport to Customs at the port, as in the standard process.
If you leave on time and everything checks out, the hold on your card is released and the refund is yours.

The conditions, from the Shanghai government’s FAQ:

You spend between 200 and 222,200 yuan in the same store on the same day. Above 222,200 yuan, use the standard refund.
You leave China through a Shanghai port within 28 days (inclusive) of the purchase, and within 183 days of your last entry. The 28-day limit was set nationally in May 2026.
Since 1 September 2026, refund upon purchase works across cities: you can buy in one place and leave from a port elsewhere, where the local refund agency checks your identity.

What can go wrong: if you turn out not to be eligible, the advance is taken back from your card. If you leave late, or from a port that does not handle refunds, the agency recovers the advance through the pre-authorisation within three working days of the departure date you agreed. You can still claim through the standard process when you do leave.

Use refund upon purchase if you are certain of your flight date. If your plans may change, the standard refund is safer, because it does not tie up your credit limit and has the 90-day window.

Where to claim in Shanghai

These are the official departure ports for tax refunds, with the Customs point and refund counter at each, from the Shanghai tax service’s list. Check the page again before you travel; counters move.

Port	Customs inspection	Refund counter	Hours
Pudong Airport, Terminal 1	3rd floor, near the joint inspection area (before security)	After security, turn left, about 500 m, near Gate 19	Counter 24 hours
Pudong Airport, Terminal 2	3rd floor, near the joint inspection area (before security)	After security, turn right, about 200 m, near Gate D83	Counter 24 hours
Hongqiao Airport, Terminal 1	2nd floor, near the international departures entrance (before security)	After security, across from Gate T09	7:00 to the last flight
Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal (Hongkou)	Joint inspection hall	Same hall	Departure days only
Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal (Baoshan)	1st floor main hall	2nd floor	Departure days only
Shanghai Railway Station	1st floor, joint inspection hall	Same place	Departure day, 16:15–17:30

At Hongqiao the official list names only Terminal 1. The railway-station counter is on the same list, for international departures by train; check that it is still staffed before you rely on it. If you leave China from another city, claim at that city’s departure port.

Pudong Terminal 2 also has self-service kiosks in the public departure area for purchases of 10,000 yuan or less, which tell you whether Customs needs to see your goods. Allow extra time at the airport for the Customs point and the counter; we have not timed the queues ourselves.

Tax refund is not duty-free

They are different systems.

Tax refund gives back part of the VAT on goods you buy at normal prices in ordinary city shops. You pay the full price first.
Duty-free shops (免税店) sell goods without the taxes in the first place, mainly in the airport after security. You cannot claim a tax refund on something you bought duty-free.

Prices in airport duty-free are not automatically lower than city prices after a refund; compare if it is a big purchase.

Common mistakes

No form from the shop. You cannot get the form later. Ask at the till.
Checked the bag first. Go to Customs before check-in, with the goods.
Opened or used the goods. A used item is excluded; Customs refunds what it can verify.
Split across stores. The 200-yuan minimum is per store, per day.
The wrong card for refund upon purchase. You need a credit card that allows a pre-authorisation.
Leaving from a city without a counter, or late. For refund upon purchase, the advance is taken back.

For paying in shops in the first place, see how to pay in Shanghai and paying with a foreign card.