How to get a housing fapiao in Beijing.
After receiving a notice out of the blue that we’d all need to provide ‘housing fapiao’ to our HR department, I’ve been through all of the palaver of actually getting one. Beyong telling us that we needed one, our own HR didn’t know anything useful until after I’d already completed the process. Even with no information and a very reluctant letting agent I still managed to get it done.The major problem with this is that almost everyone rents their apartment themselves, as an individual. However, employers (and whichever government department) increasingly need a fapiao in the company name, not in your name. You cannot get a fapiao in your employers name using your individual housing contract because it has your name on it! As far as anyone is concered, your employer has nothing to do with the rental. I’ve met people and spoken to friends in a similar situation. If this is to become the norm in Beijing then it would a lot easier if companies just took on the housing contracts themselves.
Options for getting a fapiao
You really have three options. Option one and two are the best. I wouldn’t go with option three at all. I also wouldn’t attempt to do this on your own. You really need either your letting agent or HR department to go to the tax office.
Option 1: Get a housing fapiao for your own house.
Company nameFapiao title (开票抬头) Tax number (税号)Address (地址)Bank branch address (开户行)Bank account number (账号)
However, one agent wrote this all up into a document called a ‘fapiao explanation’. HR seemed to like this so made everyone one and then had it stamped. Here is an example I made.
Important note.Another thing to bare in mind is that different tax offices will interpret the requirements in different ways or be more/less strict than other officies. The above might not be all that you need in order to complete the process. Unless your HR department are vastly experience, you might want to listen to your letting agent as to the requirements. Our HR department sent an long list of about 15 documents that we’d need. At that point I’d already completed the whole process with just the above.
Option 2: Get a housing FaPiao for another apartment.It’s possible that your landlord or a previous tenant already got a fapiao for your apartment for the period you want one. I’ve also heard of people whose landlords took issue with taking a fapiao out on their apartment. In this instance, it’s likely your agent can just make a fapiao for another apartment on their books. The only potential stumbling block would be if your employer has your address and they notice (or care) that the two don’t match up. You could tell them up front what you’re going to need to do or just say you’ve moved house. You are the best judge.
Option 3: Buy a housing fapiao from somewhere.
It’s a bad idea. Essentially, you’d take this option if you had no other option. You need to ask around and find a letting agent (or someone) who would be willing to just sell you a housing fapiao. You run the risk of being sold fake fapiaos and there isn’t anything you can do about it. The agent will just take a percent of the total cost of the fapiao as a fee (probably around 5-8%).
If you do go down this route and want to check your fapiao is legit, I’d reccomend using this site to check your fapiao before you pay any money. Just get them to send you a photo of the fapiao once they’ve got it so you can plug in the information.
https://inv-veri.chinatax.gov.cn
I am not really sure the legality of any of these options. Option number one is definitely common practice and number two seems to be the standard ‘plan B’ in Beijing at least. Option three is definitely dodgy.
After receiving a notice out of the blue that we’d all need to provide ‘housing fapiao’ to our HR department, I’ve been through all of the palaver of actually getting one. Beyong telling us that we needed one, our own HR didn’t know anything useful until after I’d already completed the process. Even with no information and a very reluctant letting agent I still managed to get it done.The major problem with this is that almost everyone rents their apartment themselves, as an individual. However, employers (and whichever government department) increasingly need a fapiao in the company name, not in your name. You cannot get a fapiao in your employers name using your individual housing contract because it has your name on it! As far as anyone is concered, your employer has nothing to do with the rental. I’ve met people and spoken to friends in a similar situation. If this is to become the norm in Beijing then it would a lot easier if companies just took on the housing contracts themselves.
Options for getting a fapiao
You really have three options. Option one and two are the best. I wouldn’t go with option three at all. I also wouldn’t attempt to do this on your own. You really need either your letting agent or HR department to go to the tax office.
Option 1: Get a housing fapiao for your own house.
- Housing contract (original)
- Your company tax information / 开票说明 Fapiao explanation
Company nameFapiao title (开票抬头) Tax number (税号)Address (地址)Bank branch address (开户行)Bank account number (账号)
However, one agent wrote this all up into a document called a ‘fapiao explanation’. HR seemed to like this so made everyone one and then had it stamped. Here is an example I made.
- Landlord identification
- Property ownership certificate
- 三证合一 (Three in one)
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Option 2: Get a housing FaPiao for another apartment.It’s possible that your landlord or a previous tenant already got a fapiao for your apartment for the period you want one. I’ve also heard of people whose landlords took issue with taking a fapiao out on their apartment. In this instance, it’s likely your agent can just make a fapiao for another apartment on their books. The only potential stumbling block would be if your employer has your address and they notice (or care) that the two don’t match up. You could tell them up front what you’re going to need to do or just say you’ve moved house. You are the best judge.
Option 3: Buy a housing fapiao from somewhere.
It’s a bad idea. Essentially, you’d take this option if you had no other option. You need to ask around and find a letting agent (or someone) who would be willing to just sell you a housing fapiao. You run the risk of being sold fake fapiaos and there isn’t anything you can do about it. The agent will just take a percent of the total cost of the fapiao as a fee (probably around 5-8%).
If you do go down this route and want to check your fapiao is legit, I’d reccomend using this site to check your fapiao before you pay any money. Just get them to send you a photo of the fapiao once they’ve got it so you can plug in the information.
https://inv-veri.chinatax.gov.cn
I am not really sure the legality of any of these options. Option number one is definitely common practice and number two seems to be the standard ‘plan B’ in Beijing at least. Option three is definitely dodgy.
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