Recently, there have been reports in various parts of mainland China about the tax authorities investigating old accounts of individual households. In Jiangxi, a deactivated individual business was forced to resume tax registration, while in Hunan, a tax account revealed a similar case of back taxes. On social media platforms, there have been warnings of a “large-scale crackdown on individual households.” Some netizens have criticized this accounting inspection method as nothing more than a money grab.
In recent times, information circulating on social media platforms such as WeChat and Douyin in mainland China indicates that the Chinese Communist Party’s tax authorities are now scrutinizing accounts not only of small and medium-sized enterprises but also of individual households. A circulated notice mentioned that an operator in Jiangxi had undeclared taxable income and outstanding tax-related matters during the operation period.
According to the notice: “Our department will forcibly reinstate your tax registration and we are now informing you.” The individual in question is required to undergo an inspection within five working days and provide evidence such as costs and expenses.
A small business owner in Nanchang, Jiangxi, Mr. Shi, told Epoch Times that some individual businesses in the area have received notifications from the tax authorities for inspection a year after closing their businesses.
He said: “This is outrageous. A friend of mine used to run a breakfast business, but later couldn’t sustain it, so he canceled the license and sold the shop. The tax system retains transaction records and bank receipts, and now the tax bureau wants to investigate his income and make him pay back taxes. But my friend says he paid taxes every year before, so isn’t this extortion?”
A WeChat video blogger mentioned that in Jiangxi, hundreds of individual households have had their tax registrations reinstated and have been summoned for questioning. The blogger did not disclose specific regions or data sources, and the Jiangxi tax authorities have not published related figures.
Another tax account marked as being in Hunan, named “Liu Hai Tax,” disclosed that an individual business under the name of an operator was canceled in the third quarter of 2025. In January 2026, the operator received a notice from the tax authorities to forcibly reinstate tax registration and was required to make retroactive tax payments.
“Liu Hai Tax” stated that the Golden Tax System retains historical data of the main business entities, emphasizing that “cancellation is not the end of responsibility.”
Hengyang resident Qin Lin, who used to engage in individual business, told reporters that many merchants have already exited the market. Since May this year, some individual households have been inspected by the tax authorities for old accounts.
He said: “I heard that the tax authorities have been checking old accounts of individual businesses recently. They checked listed companies before, then small and medium-sized enterprises, and now it’s the turn of individual households.”
A picture captioned “Large-scale crackdown on individual households to be fully launched immediately” has been circulating on mainland China’s social media platforms, listing three types of risks: issuing fake invoices up to the required number or amount; using others’ identities to register as shell individual businesses to inflate costs for companies; issuing invoices for consultation fees and promotion expenses without operating venues, personnel, contracts, and business records.
The picture indicates that if fake invoices reach the relevant standards, they will be handed over to judicial authorities, and from 2026 onwards, it will not be limited to fines. However, the mention of “starting from 2026” and “immediately fully launched” has not been backed by the Chinese National Taxation Administration. There are already regulations for legal proceedings once fake invoices meet the specified standards.
Mr. Cheng, a financial and tax professional in mainland China, told reporters that the Chinese Communist Party’s tax authorities are inspecting business income by cross-checking platform orders, bank statements, and invoicing records while demanding cost verification from individual households. He believes that this requirement is “overbearing.”
He said: “Why should taxpayers provide proof themselves? In fact, all records are in the Golden Tax Phase IV system. They just want you to inadvertently reveal new clues while explaining the situation, so they can continue to pursue taxes, which is despicable.”
The tax authorities’ investigation into individual households’ old accounts has sparked dissatisfaction among mainland Chinese netizens. A netizen from Sichuan commented: “Even if you lie still, you still have to cough up money. There’s no way to make money anymore.”
A netizen from Yunnan, under the pseudonym “Polomi,” wrote: “(The authorities) are short of money, so they’re resorting to old tricks.” Another netizen from Beijing, with the handle “2013662787,” commented: “The sky is falling…”
Some netizens have linked the recent tax collection trend with China’s economic downturn and local fiscal pressures, believing that the tax authorities’ scrutiny of historical accounts will increase the operational burden on individual business owners. The authorities have not yet disclosed the regions, number of individual households involved, or the magnitude of tax payments to be recovered in this inspection.