How to Format a Chinese Address for Your U.S. Tax Return

Why the U.S. Address Format Falls Short for Chinese Residences

Chinese addresses often use compounds (xiao qu), building number, unit/entrance number, and room number instead of simple street names for most urban residential addresses. IRS Forms allows only 35 characters on the main line and 5 in the Apt box, and even worse in some states (e.g., Maryland’s 30 characters total) make entering the full address often impossible.

Who may be Affected?

Individuals in China with US citizenship/residency (e.g. expats/English teachers), non-residents with US sourced income (e.g. investors waiting for EB-5 green card) and many businesses (e.g. holding inventory in US for sale) have US filing requirements and must file with the IRS and state departments. Since China Post technically delivers mail everywhere in China, taxpayers cannot simply use a PO Box from US for forms such as 1040, 1040-NR, 1065 and 1120 according to their respective instructions.

Common Challenges When Using Postal Mails in China

• Addresses will exceed the 35 character limits most of the time without abbreviation.
• The same English spelling may leads to multiple addresses, and the same address may be noted in different spellings. (e.g. Dazhalan/Dashilan/Dashilaner in Beijing)
• Due to the diminishing utilization of postal service, many mailboxes not maintained are in poor condition.
• Many landlords do not provide mailbox keys to tenants. (Not on purpose, they might have simply lost it because mails are not used in average daily life in China)

Key Findings from Yayuncun Branch and 11185

We took a field trip to the China Post Yayuncun (Asian Games Village) branch in Beijing to speak with the employees about this issue.

• Based on the conversations at the Yayuncun post branch and calls to 11185 (China Post Hotline), there is no official English translation for every address in Mainland China.
• All official guidance requires multiple address lines, which is not applicable to US tax filings.
• Bldg-Unit-Room goes first. Then enter pinyin spelling for compounds (xiao qu) — no English or unofficial translations (even if your compound has fancy French names by the developer). Skip district name if you have to.
• Always verify the correct 6-digit postal code.

Step-by-Step Guide to Completing Your Address

• Confirm the full Chinese address. Some cities have standardized building name posted on the side of the building.
• Convert to Pinyin without the tone marks but double check on possible exceptions (Shanxi and Shaanxi province would have the same spelling if not followed)
• Try to trim the address to fit on the main line.
• Double check the entire address with the local post branch. Some may take note of your translated address.

Practical Tips

• Do not enter Building-Unit-Room in the Apt box; it won’t fit and removing hyphens will confuse matters.
• Some post office allow even further abbreviation. Double check with them before using this method.
• For provincial-level municipalities, use the city name (e.g., Beijing, Shanghai) in the state/province field and enter district name as city.
• You may omit the street name when the compound name is unique (e.g., “Anhuili 3 hao” in postcode 100101).
• If you cannot enter your address at all, use your cell phone number and contact your post office for assistance.

Example 1 (made up room numbers)

• Hard to Deliver: Bldg 4, 114 North 4th Ring Road East, APT 1404, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 1000101
• Easy to Identify: 4-1404 BEISIHUANDONGLU 114 HAO, CHAOYANG, BEIJING, 100101
• In this example, the unofficial translation does not help post staff identify the compound but only causes more confusion even though it looks similar to US address format (it's not USPS that delivers your mail after all). By keeping the compound name with HAO (number), it is much easier to determine which number is for which part of the address.

Example 2 (made up room numbers)

• Original: BLDG 14 UNIT 4 ROOM 414 YANG CHUN GUANG HUA FENG SHU YUAN, HAIDIAN, BEIJING, BEIJING 100081
• Trimmed: 14-4-414 YANGCHUNGUANGHUAFENGSHUYUAN, HAIDIAN, BEIJING, 100081
• In this case, Haidian is entered as city and Beijing is entered as Province. For this particular compound, we have seen addresses with extreme abbreviation like YCGHFSY which still get delivered but do not endorse or recommend this risky method.

Why can't I just use my friend's address in US?

First, providing false information on tax returns is never a good idea. Addresses are used to determine tax matters such as filing status and various credits. Using incorrect address may lead to under or overpayment of taxes. Second, states with aggressive stances on residency such as California and New York often come after people who file taxes using their state's addresses. You may receive notices and bills even if you have never set foot in that state. While you may not actually be liable for those bills, it takes significant amount of time and money to resolve such issues. In addition, your friend may also encounter issues with third parties such as landlords or insurance companies.