Tax Study Urges Precise Targeting of 15% Corporate Income Tax Incentive

To strengthen enterprises' independent innovation capacity, foster new technologies and new business forms, and promote economic transformation and upgrading, China applies a 15% corporate income tax rate to high-tech enterprises, compared with the standard rate of 25%, while some localities also provide fiscal rewards. To enjoy the incentive, an enterprise must pass high-tech enterprise qualification certification. Regulations including the Administrative Measures for the Recognition of High-Tech Enterprises have established a complete certification mechanism. In 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology explicitly proposed revising the administrative measures for high-tech enterprise recognition.

Data from the State Taxation Administration show that in the first half of 2026, tax cuts, fee reductions and refunds under the main existing policies supporting scientific and technological innovation and manufacturing development totaled RMB 1.91 trillion. Of this, policies supporting the cultivation and development of high-tech enterprises and emerging industries, including the reduced 15% corporate income tax rate for high-tech enterprises, accounted for about RMB 252 billion in tax cuts.