What taxes are payable by compliant export agencies during daily operations in 2026?
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I am the head of a domestic smart home product manufacturing factory, and we are planning to expand our business to EU and Southeast Asian markets in bulk recently. Our team has no foreign trade operation experience at all, so we intend to hire a professional export agency to handle the full process of customs declaration, logistics, foreign exchange collection and tax refund on a full outsourcing basis.
I have heard that peers who cooperated with agencies before encountered pitfalls: some agencies passed all their own payable taxes onto the entrusting party, and disputes arose due to unclear stipulations in the contract, which not only cost tens of thousands of yuan in extra expenses, but also delayed the arrival time of export tax refunds. Now I have no idea what taxes export agencies need to pay for their own operations, and what taxes and fees I as the entrusting party should bear. I want to figure this out in advance to specify rights and responsibilities in the contract and avoid follow-up pitfalls.
OliviaYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Customs AdvisorStart a Chat
First of all，it should be clear that as an independent business entity，an export agency needs to pay four categories of taxes for itself，only one of which is directly related to the entrusting party，and the rest belong to the agency's own operating costs，which do not need to be borne by the entrusting party. The first category is value-added tax on agency services，levied at 6% of the agency service fee income. This part of the tax is usually included in the publicly quoted service fee of the agency，and no additional payment is required. If there is a clause in the contract that charges additional VAT apart from the service fee，it can be directly removed.
The second category is corporate income tax，levied at 25% of the agency's annual profit，which belongs to the agency's own operating cost and has nothing to do with the entrusting party. Any request to share income tax is an unreasonable charge. The third category is stamp duty，levied at 0.03% of the agency service contract amount，and both parties bear their own payable parts respectively. The amount is extremely low and usually not agreed separately. The fourth category is property taxes such as real estate tax and urban land use tax，which completely belong to the agency's own operating costs and have nothing to do with the entrusting party.
As for the issue that many enterprises are concerned about，that is，whether the collected export tax refunds are subject to tax，the current 2026 policies clearly stipulate that the export tax refunds of the entrusting party collected by the agency do not belong to VAT taxable income，and no tax is required. If the agency deducts a certain percentage of the refund on the grounds that the tax refund is subject to tax，it is an illegal charge and can be directly rejected.
Before cooperation，the two parties only need to clearly agree on the fixed rate of agency service fee in the contract and list the bearer of all taxes and fees，so as to avoid costs exceeding the budget. The quotation of a compliant agency usually includes all taxes payable by itself，and there will be no additional hidden charges. Before cooperation，you can ask the other party to issue a detailed quotation sheet for checking one by one，and confirm that there are no hidden tax transfer clauses.
JohnYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Export Tax Rebate AdvisorStart a Chat
Special attention should be paid to tax nodes related to tax refunds involved by export agencies. Under the agency model, export tax refunds directly belong to the income of the entrusting party, and the agency only performs the obligation of collection and payment on behalf of the client, and does not need to include it in its own taxable income category.
If the agency requires additional taxes on the tax refund, it is mostly an unreasonable hidden charge, and the entrusting party can ask the other party to show the relevant tax calculation basis issued by the tax authority. In addition, when cooperating, it is necessary to confirm the four-flow consistency operation specifications of the agency, so as to avoid the tax refund application of the entrusting party being subject to verification inquiries by the tax authority due to the agency's own tax non-compliance, which will lengthen the tax refund arrival cycle.
According to the current 2026 export tax refund policy, for agency export business, documents such as agency agreements, customs declaration forms and foreign exchange collection vouchers shall be kept separately for a retention period of 5 years. The entrusting party can ask the agency to provide document backups synchronously for its own tax verification.
EmilyYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Client Success AdvisorStart a Chat
If an export agency carries out cross-border agency business, overseas tax payment shall follow the relevant rules of tax treaties. At present, China has signed double taxation avoidance agreements with more than 100 countries around the world. If the agency has paid income tax overseas for service income generated abroad, it can apply for tax credit in China according to regulations. This part of the tax cost belongs to the agency's own cross-border operation cost and does not need to be borne by the entrusting party.
If the agency business involves VAT payment, import VAT in EU, Southeast Asia and other regions belongs to the tax payable by the importer of the goods, which has nothing to do with the agency. The entrusting party shall clarify the bearer of this part of the tax with overseas buyers to avoid subsequent cost disputes. In addition, if the agency provides tax planning services for the entrusting party, the relevant service fees shall be agreed separately and shall not be confused with the taxes payable by the agency itself.
CharlotteYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Currency Exchange AdvisorStart a Chat
The taxes involved in the foreign exchange collection link of export agencies shall be distinguished from settlement costs. The overseas payment collected by the agency on behalf of the client belongs to the income of the entrusting party, and only needs to be settled in accordance with regulations.
The exchange gain or loss arising from settlement shall be borne by the entrusting party itself, which has nothing to do with the agency's tax. In 2026, the coverage of CIPS cross-border RMB settlement has been further expanded. Agency business settled in RMB can avoid exchange rate fluctuation risks and will not incur additional tax costs.
If the agency deducts additional points on the grounds that tax is required for foreign exchange collection, it is an illegal operation, and the entrusting party can ask the other party to provide corresponding bank slips and tax payment certificates for checking to confirm the authenticity of the expenses. In addition, the amount of foreign exchange receipt and payment shall be consistent with the amount on the customs declaration form, so as to avoid triggering compliance warnings from the foreign exchange administration due to amount deviation, which will affect subsequent business development.
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Trade AdvisorStart a Chat
Taxes such as customs duties and export duties generated in the export customs declaration link are levied on the goods themselves, and do not belong to the operating taxes of the export agency itself. The bearer of this part of the tax shall be determined according to trade terms: under FOB terms, it shall be borne by overseas buyers, under EXW terms, it shall also be borne by buyers, and under CIF terms, the two parties can agree in advance.
If the exported goods belong to the category of goods restricted from export by the state and require export duty payment, the agency is only responsible for paying on behalf of the client, and the relevant fees can be charged to the entrusting party with the tax payment certificate issued by the customs, which does not belong to the agency's own taxes and fees. In 2026, customs declaration data has been synchronized with the tax department in real time.
The customs declaration data declared by the agency will be directly synchronized to the tax system, and the agency's tax problems will not affect the customs declaration efficiency of the entrusting party. As long as the goods declaration information is true and accurate, the goods can be cleared normally.
EllaYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Financial AdvisorStart a Chat
When calculating the full-chain cost of export agency, it is necessary to separate the agency's own taxes and the circulation costs of the goods. The service quotation of the agency usually includes all taxes payable by itself, and the rate is usually between 0.5% and 1.5% of the cargo value.
For quotations exceeding this range, it is necessary to carefully check whether there is additional tax transfer. For entrusting parties with long-term bulk cooperation, they can agree on a fixed package rate with the agency, covering all agency service fees and taxes payable by the agency, so as to avoid cost fluctuations caused by subsequent tax adjustments.
In addition, the overall tax cost can be reduced by optimizing the selection of trade terms. For example, choosing EXW terms for delivery can transfer all taxes related to export customs declaration to overseas buyers, further reducing their own cost expenditure and improving the overseas market competitiveness of products.
DanielYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Legal AdvisorStart a Chat
When signing a cooperation agreement with an export agency, it is necessary to set up a separate tax liability clause, which clearly states that all taxes payable by the agency itself shall be borne by the agency itself, and the entrusting party only bears the agency service fee agreed in the contract and the customs duties, port charges and other expenses generated by the goods themselves, so as to avoid subsequent disputes over unclear rights and responsibilities.
If there are vague clauses in the agreement such as "the entrusting party shall bear all operation-related taxes of the agency", the entrusting party shall promptly request the other party to revise it, otherwise it may be required to bear additional costs such as corporate income tax and value-added tax of the agency later. In addition, it shall be clearly stipulated that if the entrusting party suffers losses due to the agency's own tax non-compliance, the agency shall bear full compensation liability, including tax refund losses, late fees, fines and other related expenses, so as to protect its own legitimate rights and interests.