BEIJING – China has started charging a 13% value-added tax (VAT) on condoms, birth control pills, and other contraceptives from 1 January 2026. The change ends a VAT exemption that had lasted for more than 30 years.
The decision sits within a wider VAT reform package signed off on in late 2024. Under the update, contraceptives have been removed from the exemption list, while tax relief has been offered for childcare services, marriage-related activities, and elderly care.
Officials are signalling that they want to make having children easier, and to make avoiding pregnancy a little less convenient, as the country faces a worsening demographic crunch.
For decades, China pushed strict birth control. The one-child policy, in place from 1979 to 2015, relied on easy access to contraception, heavy fines, and, in some cases, forced procedures to slow population growth. Condoms and oral contraceptives were VAT-free from 1993 to keep prices low and use high.
Now the direction has changed. Birth numbers have fallen sharply, and China’s population has dropped for three years in a row. In 2024, the country recorded 9.54 million births. That was slightly higher than 2023, but still about half the figure from ten years earlier.
The total population slipped to about 1.408 billion, with deaths continuing to outnumber births. India became the world’s most populous nation in 2023.
Health Worries and the Risk of Side Effects
Some demographers see the new contraceptive tax as more of a signal than a practical tool. It lines up with other pro-birth policies, including longer parental leave, childcare subsidies worth 90 billion yuan ($12.7 billion) in 2024, and plans to fully reimburse childbirth costs by 2026.
Public health specialists have raised concerns straight away. They warn that even a small price rise can reduce contraceptive use, which can lead to more unplanned pregnancies and more sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.
“Condoms help prevent both pregnancy and infection,” said a Beijing-based reproductive health advocate. “If they cost more, even by a little, some younger people and low-income groups may use them less.”
There is already a reason for concern. Condom use among couples is estimated at 9%, with many people relying on intrauterine devices or sterilisation instead. China reported more than 670,000 syphilis cases and 100,000 gonorrhoea cases in 2024, and abortion rates remain high.
Critics also say the tax lands harder on women, who often carry most of the burden for contraception. Some see it as another step towards the state shaping private choices about reproduction.
Online Reactions Mix Anger with Jokes
On social media, the response has swung between frustration and ridicule. On Weibo and other platforms, users compared the small extra cost of taxed condoms with the far higher cost of raising a child.
A typical pack of condoms priced at 40 to 60 yuan ($5.70 to $8.50) might rise by only a few yuan. Even so, many users argued that the price of contraception is not what stops people from starting families.
One user joked that condoms would still cost less than a month of formula, while another said the extra few yuan was nothing compared with the millions it can take to raise a child. A 28-year-old office worker in Shanghai summed up a common view: higher prices for contraception would not change decisions about parenthood when the wider costs are so high.
Many analysts agree the VAT change is unlikely to lift fertility rates in any meaningful way. The pressure comes from living costs, housing, work demands, and education expenses, not the price of birth control.
A 2024 report by the Beijing-based YuWa Population Research Institute put the average cost of raising a child to age 18 at around 538,000 yuan ($76,000). That equals about 6.3 times China’s per capita GDP, a higher ratio than the United States (4.11 times) or Japan (4.26 times). In large cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, the cost can pass 1 million yuan.
China’s Ageing Population Pressures
The report points to heavy spending on education in a highly competitive system, where private tutoring and top schools can drain household budgets. It also highlights the strain on women who try to balance long working hours with parenting. Many face a wage drop of 12 to 17% after having a child, along with a steep fall in free time.
Independent demographer He Yafu said the key issue is not cheap contraception. He argued that housing costs, schooling, and poor work-life balance are pushing young people away from having children.
China’s population is ageing fast. People aged 60 and over now make up more than 20% of the country. Some estimates suggest older adults could reach half the population by 2100. A smaller workforce could weigh on growth, pensions, and long-term social stability.
While the contraceptive VAT has grabbed attention, many experts say real progress depends on tackling the basics. That includes more affordable housing, fairer sharing of childcare, better support for working mothers, and flexible working policies.
A young couple in Guangzhou captured the mood in a simple line: they want children one day, but only when life feels stable. For now, the new tax looks unlikely to change behaviour, and it underlines how hard it is to steer birth rates through top-down policy in a modern, urban society.
