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Coordinated Action Beginning August 1
The State Taxation Administration announced on August 1 that ”double-random” tax audits will be launched simultaneously for e-commerce live streamers and online store owners across all 31 provinces nationwide.
Focus the audit on the e-commerce transaction records submitted by all platforms for the 2025 fiscal year and the first half of 2026, with a particular emphasis on verifying whether the reported revenue matches the actual transaction records.
Reported Cases (Q1–Q2 2026): Seven top live-streamers were ordered to pay back a total of 743 million yuan in taxes,Highest Single-Case Tax Back Payment and Late Payment Penalties: 195 million yuanThe
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Four Types of Self-Inspection Checklists
Category 1: Completeness of Sales Revenue. All income earned from 2024 to 2026—whether through online platforms, WeChat, Alipay, or private accounts—must be reconciled with tax filings. Failure to report income will result in a fine of 5 times the amount underreported (based on the 50% formula) plus a daily late payment penalty of 0.05%.
Category 2: Authenticity of Costs and Expenses. Product procurement, fake order services, marketing campaigns, and return discounts—every invoice and bank statement must match up.
Category 3: Live-streaming tips, spot fees, and commissions. MCN contractors should conduct self-inspections regarding income tax withholding on service compensation; sole proprietorships and studios should conduct self-inspections regarding business income.
Category 4: Cross-Platform Revenue Summary. Data from seven platforms—Douyin, Kuaishou, Video Account, Xiaohongshu, Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo—has been integrated,“If you don't report it here, someone else will”—that's no longer the case.The
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Three Categories of High-Risk Populations
Group 1: Cross-platform streamers with multiple accounts. One person with five accounts—what used to be merely a tool for ”inflating numbers” will become a key focus for audits in 2026.
Group 2: MCN professionals who receive payments via corporate or personal bank cards. Funds from personal accounts were diverted to private accounts, and when downstream order-padding service providers were investigated, the case was traced back to them.
Group 3: Live-streamers who are small-scale taxpayers. For businesses with monthly sales exceeding 150,000, the ”individual tax filing” method is no longer viable; they must switch to the audited accounting tax collection method.
04
The Right Path to Compliance
initial step: Contact a tax and financial advisor to reconcile the 2024–2025 tax return data with the platform transaction records, and proactively file amended returns for any discrepancies (the grace period for avoiding penalties typically allows for voluntary reporting up to 60 days before an audit).
Step 2: Starting in 2026, live-streaming sales and store sales will be consolidated under either ”audit-based taxation” or ”fixed-rate taxation,” and MCN entities and studios must complete their registration.
third step: After consolidating cross-platform revenue, implement a monthly automated reconciliation system (costing approximately 2,000–5,000 yuan per year) to prevent future omissions.
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