Social Security: Rules and Costs for Foreign Employers in China

Updated: 16 October 2026 · Out2China Team

To budget an employee’s social insurance in China, identify the city, contribution month and employee category first. Calculate each scheme using its own contribution base and rate, then add the employer amounts to gross salary. Housing provident fund is a separate calculation. A single national percentage cannot replace this work.

What to collect before making the calculation

• The Chinese employing entity, employee work location and contribution-registration city.
• The contribution month and the wage basis applicable to each scheme. Do not assume today’s salary is always the registered contribution wage.
• The scheme-specific floor and ceiling, employer and employee rates, and any fixed supplements.
• The employer’s assessed work-injury rate and the registered housing-fund rates.
• Employee category and any applicable special arrangement. For foreign employees, check nationality, local registration requirements and any applicable social-security agreement before applying an exemption.

City, scheme and period: examples from the 2026 data

These rows cover the stated items, rather than a complete payroll profile for every city. In Tianjin, for example, the maintained dataset still separates unresolved current unemployment-rate evidence and medical supplements from verified items. The table must not be used to infer a complete contribution total.

A reproducible Beijing budget

Assume October 2026 gross salary and contribution wages of RMB 15,000, ordinary housing-fund contributions of 5% on each side, and an illustrative employer work-injury rate of 0.2%. The salary is inside both displayed base ranges.

Employer budget: 15,000 + 4,725 = RMB 19,725. Employee balance: 15,000 − 2,328 = RMB 12,672 before individual income tax. Service fees, benefits and other adjustments are separate. The injury rate is an assumption requiring the employer’s actual assessment. Rate evidence: Beijing’s August 2026 official confirmation.

Use the calculator, then reconcile to the filing record

Run the social-insurance and housing-fund calculator with the same city, wage and assumptions. The employment-cost calculator adds employer contributions to salary. Read each result’s source period, assumptions and unresolved items. A reference parameter is not a confirmed current filing value.

For each scheme, apply the relevant wage basis within its floor and ceiling, multiply by the rate, and add any fixed amount. Keep employer contributions separate from employee deductions. Avoid counting maternity twice when it is included in the medical rate.

Monthly control checklist

• Reconcile declared contribution wages and employee status to the payroll input.
• Check annual base changes and their effective months; retain any adjustment calculation.
• Match employer contributions, employee deductions and payment receipts to the payslip and ledger.
• Record the source and approval for an assumed rate, exception or employee-category decision.

If you already have a Chinese employing entity, discuss payroll administration. If you need an employing entity for the role, compare an EOR arrangement. Confirm the actual employer and responsibilities before the employee starts.