The 3 accounts after discharge: a lump-sum discharge payment, service years counted as work seniority, and 20000 yuan a year off the tax if you work for yourself

After discharge there are 3 accounts. The first is a lump-sum discharge payment for people who take the self-employment path. It is paid by years of active service, and it is increased if you were decorated. The second is service years counted as work seniority, with contribution years combined with the years before enlistment and after discharge. The third is tax: if you open a shop and run a business yourself, for 3 years you pay less tax each year within a cap of 20000 yuan, and the cap can be raised by at most 20%.

Cost

No money. At discharge the military transfers out your social insurance (社保) relationship and the money. You then continue it at the social insurance agency in the place of placement (the window that handles social insurance).

Benefit

The first is in the Regulations on the Placement of Veterans. They say: "For discharged non-commissioned officers and conscripts who take the self-employment path, a lump-sum discharge payment is paid according to the years of active service." Who pays: "It is specially arranged by central finance. The specific standard is set by the veterans affairs department of the State Council and the political work department of the Central Military Commission together with the finance department of the State Council... and is adjusted when appropriate." The extra percentage is in 5 tiers. A medal or an honorary title adds 25%. A first-class combat merit or a first-level commendation adds 20%. A second-class combat merit, a first-class merit, or a second-level commendation adds 15%. A third-class combat merit or a second-class merit adds 10%. A fourth-class combat merit or a third-class merit adds 5%. The regulations also say: "A veteran who has not found work in time may apply according to law to the human resources and social security department at the place of hukou (户口) for unemployment insurance benefits. Years of active service are treated as insured contribution years, except for veterans placed by retirement or as dependents." Treated as contribution years means those years count as if you had paid, even though you paid nothing. The second is in the Law on the Protection of Veterans: "A veteran's years of active service are counted as work seniority, and after discharge they accumulate with the years worked at the employer." Work seniority is the number of years of work. The years of service and the years after discharge are added on. The law also says that years of active service and the pension, medical, and unemployment contribution years before enlistment and after discharge are "combined according to law," and that "the active-service experience of discharged non-commissioned officers and conscripts is treated as grassroots work experience." The Military Insurance Law: "A service member's years of active service are treated as contribution years of employee basic medical insurance, and are combined with the contribution years of employee basic medical insurance before enlistment and after leaving active service." The third is Announcement No. 14 of 2023 from the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. The announcement covers discharged soldiers on the self-employment path who engage in individual business: "Within 3 years (36 months, the same below), deduct in order, at a cap of 20000 yuan per household per year, from the value-added tax, urban maintenance and construction tax, education surcharge, local education surcharge, and individual income tax actually payable that year. The cap may be raised by at most 20%." Deduction means subtracting in order from those taxes owed that year, down to the cap. It is not money paid to you. For an enterprise that hires them, "the fixed standard is 6000 yuan per person per year, and it may be raised by at most 50%." The period of implementation is January (1) 1, 2023 through December (12) 31, 2027. If the 3 years are not finished when the period ends, the benefit can continue until the 3 years are up (nationwide).

Notes

The regulations only say the amount is set separately by the competent departments. The official figure that can be found is "4500 yuan for each full year of active service" in a 2020 article on the Ministry of Veterans Affairs website. The same article also says "adjusted when appropriate." The extra percentages in that article no longer match the current regulations. Follow the regulations. In an August (8) 2024 article, the Guizhou provincial department of veterans affairs, under the new regulations, still writes: "The standard now in force is: 4500 yuan for each full year a soldier serves." TODO (to be verified: no formal standard document was found; the confirmation only goes as far as a provincial department still writing this in August (8) 2024). Do not mix this with a local lump-sum economic subsidy. That is another sum, set and paid by the locality. For example, Yantai paid 6000 yuan for each year of service to people discharged in 2024. New figures in guides mostly have no source, and some simply mix the two sums together. During a conscript's service, the family can also receive a separate family preferential allowance. The Military Service Law only says "the standard is set by the local people's government, and central finance gives a fixed subsidy." For the amount, ask the county people's government that approved your enlistment. The tax sum is the most tax you can pay less each year, not money paid into your hands. If the business does not get going, you will not use the full amount, so the benefit magnitude of the whole item is set only at "medium." The Regulations on Promoting Employment and Entrepreneurship of Veterans, in force from August (8) 1, 2026, add a further rule: a skilled-worker occupational qualification certificate earned during service is valid nationwide after discharge.

Sources · 5

1. 国务院、中央军委 (2024). 退役军人安置条例（国务院、中央军委令第 787 号，第二十一、二十二、七十四、八十一、八十五条）. gov.cn/gongbao/2024/issue_11526/202408/conten…
2. 退役军人事务部 (2020). 关于一次性退役金的十个问题（转载《中国退役军人》2020 年第 10 期）：「基本标准。士兵服现役每满一年，发给4500元」「退役金标准适时调整」. mva.gov.cn/sy/zzxc/202011/t20201113_43153.html
3. 贵州省退役军人事务厅 (2024). 一次性退役金增发，重要变化！：「现在执行的标准是：士兵服现役每满一年，发给4500元」. tyjrswt.guizhou.gov.cn/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/zdlyxx…
4. 烟台市牟平区人民政府 (2025). 答复中引《烟台市退役军人事务局、烟台市财政局关于调整自主就业退役士兵一次性经济补助标准的通知》：「2024年退出现役的每服役一年补助6000元」. muping.gov.cn/art/2025/11/10/art_105032_29602…
5. 全国人大常委会 (2020). 退役军人保障法（第四十二、四十四、五十条）. mod.gov.cn/gfbw/fgwx/flfg/16048597.html（国防部刊登）；全国人大常委会 (2012). 军人保险法（第十六、二十三条）. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=2c909fdd678bf1790167…（国家法律法规数据库）；财政部、税务总局、退役军人事务部 (2023). 关于进一步扶持自主就业退役士兵创业就业有关税收政策的公告（2023 年第 14 号）. gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202308/content_68964…