What Is Golden Tax Phase IV Really Checking? Full Analysis of Four Stages

Introduction

Many business owners ask me: “What exactly is Golden Tax Phase IV? I’ve heard it’s powerful, but what makes it so?”

Simply put, Golden Tax Phase IV is the tax authorities’ “intelligent monitoring system.” The previous Golden Tax Phase III mainly relied on invoices for supervision, called “managing tax through invoices”; now Phase IV has been upgraded to rely on big data, called “governing tax through data.”

An analogy:

• Golden Tax Phase III is like a “door access system” — mainly checking whether you have the invoice “pass”
• Golden Tax Phase IV is like “smart cameras + AI analysis” — not only checking your invoices but also your bank statements, social security data, business registration information, even your electricity and water usage

Here’s what Phase IV actually checks, and how it works.

I. Core Concept: From “Managing Tax Through Invoices” to “Governing Tax Through Data”

What Is “Governing Tax Through Data”?

Plain explanation:

Previously, tax authorities mainly checked whether your invoices were correct. If you issued 1 million yuan in invoices, you paid corresponding taxes.

Now it’s different — tax authorities look at your “full picture”:

• How much money flows through your bank accounts?
• How much social security do you pay?
• What’s your electricity and water usage?
• What’s your business registration information?
• Who are your upstream and downstream clients?

Then they compare this data with your declarations. If inconsistencies are found, the system automatically alerts.

Example:

A restaurant declares annual revenue of 2 million yuan, but tax authorities discover through big data:

• The restaurant’s bank account has annual flows exceeding 5 million yuan
• Its electricity usage is 3x that of similar restaurants
• Social security is paid for only 2 people, but it actually has 10 employees

The system automatically determines: This enterprise may be hiding revenue.

This is the power of “governing tax through data” — finding problems without even needing invoices.

II. Four Stages of Golden Tax Phase IV

The workflow of Golden Tax Phase IV can be divided into four stages: Deployment, Screening, Investigation, Evaluation.

Using an analogy:

Think of Golden Tax Phase IV as an “intelligent security check system”:

• Deployment: Setting security rules (what items are prohibited)
• Screening: X-ray scanning all passengers (automatically detecting suspicious items)
• Investigation: Manual inspection of suspicious passengers (bag check)
• Evaluation: Summarizing experience, optimizing security rules (making the system smarter)

Let me explain each stage in detail.

Stage 1: Deployment — Setting “Security Rules”

Plain explanation:

Deployment is when tax authorities define “what to check” and “how to check.”

What specifically?

1. Determine key areas: Which industries to focus on this year? e.g., real estate, e-commerce, live streaming
2. Build risk models: For each industry, what data counts as “abnormal”
3. Schedule timeline: When to check which industry

What do risk models look like?

A simple example:

Restaurant industry risk model:
- If bank flows > declared revenue × 1.5 → flag as "suspicious"
- If electricity usage > industry average × 2 → flag as "suspicious"
- If social security headcount < actual employees × 0.5 → flag as "suspicious"

These models are the “security rules” the system uses to scan all enterprises.

Stage 2: Screening — “X-Ray Scanning”

Plain explanation:

Screening is the most core stage. The system uses the rules above to “scan” all enterprises nationwide, identifying “suspicious” ones.

Three layers of screening:

Layer 1: Initial Screening Pool (Broad Scan)

• Scope: All enterprises nationwide
• Tool: General thermometer model (basic version)
• Result: Identifies “somewhat suspicious” enterprises, e.g., 10 million

Layer 2: Detailed Screening Pool (Deep Scan)

• Scope: 10 million enterprises from initial pool
• Tool: Industry-specific models (advanced version)
• Result: Identifies “quite suspicious” enterprises, e.g., 1 million

Layer 3: Precision Screening Pool (Targeted Lock)

• Scope: 1 million enterprises from detailed pool
• Tool: Manual review + system analysis
• Result: Identifies “highly suspicious” enterprises, e.g., 100,000

What do “coloring” and “matching” mean?

These are two key technologies in screening:

Coloring: Assigning “risk labels” to enterprises

The system assigns different colors based on risk level:

Matching: Cross-data verification

The system compares multiple data points, such as:

• Your declared revenue vs. bank flows
• Your social security headcount vs. actual employees
• Your electricity usage vs. industry average

If data “doesn’t match,” the system raises your risk level.

Stage 3: Investigation — “Bag Check”

Plain explanation:

After screening, the system identifies “highly suspicious” enterprises. Tax authorities then conduct on-site inspections or require enterprises to provide documentation.

Three investigation types:

1. Transfer to Audit Department (Most Serious)

• Target: Enterprises with dark red/red risk levels
• Handling: Formal audit case; may face penalties, late fees
• Consequence: If criminal activity suspected, case transferred to public security

2. Large Enterprise Department Investigation

• Target: Thousand-household groups, listed enterprises
• Handling: Department consultation, risk investigation and disposition
• Feature: Large enterprises have dedicated management departments; handling is relatively moderate

3. Data Risk Department Investigation (Most Common)

• Target: Enterprises with yellow/blue risk levels
• Handling:
  • Risk reminder: SMS or phone call alerting “possible issues”
  • Risk screening: Requesting documentation and explanations
  • Risk investigation: On-site inspection
  • Risk disposition: Requiring supplementary tax, adjustments

What do investigations check?

Tax authorities typically examine:

1. Revenue completeness: Any hidden revenue?
2. Cost authenticity: Any falsified costs?
3. Invoice compliance: Any false invoices?
4. Related-party transaction reasonableness: Any profit shifting through related-party transactions?

Stage 4: Evaluation — “Summarizing Experience”

Plain explanation:

After investigation, tax authorities summarize experience and optimize risk models, making the system smarter.

What specifically?

1. Statistics review: How many enterprises checked, how much supplementary tax collected
2. Model evaluation: Assess risk model accuracy — which work well, which need improvement
3. Performance incentives: Reward high-performing teams

Why evaluate?

Because tax supervision is a “continuous learning” process:

Each investigation result feeds back into the “deployment” stage, helping tax authorities create better rules.

Example:

Suppose tax authorities discover many restaurants hide revenue through “personal account collections.”

In the next “deployment” round, they would:

1. Strengthen supervision of the restaurant industry
2. Optimize risk models: If bank flows > declared revenue × 1.3 → flag as “suspicious”
3. Increase investigation intensity for “personal account collections”

This is Golden Tax Phase IV’s “self-evolution” capability — more accurate with each check, smarter with each round.

III. Enterprise Response Recommendations

Understanding how Golden Tax Phase IV works, how should enterprises respond?

Recommendation 1: Ensure “Three Flows Consistency”

What is “three flows consistency”?

• Contract flow: Who did you sign with?
• Invoice flow: Who issued you the invoice?
• Fund flow: Who did you pay?

These three must be consistent; otherwise, the system will flag “false invoicing.”

Example:

You sign with Company A, Company A issues you an invoice, but you pay Company B.

System detects: Contract, invoice, and funds inconsistent → flagged as “suspicious”

Recommendation 2: Don’t Use “Personal Accounts for Collection”

Many small businesses use the boss’s personal bank card for collections, thinking tax authorities can’t trace it.

Completely wrong!

Golden Tax Phase IV monitors:

• Enterprise bank flows
• Boss’s personal bank flows
• Shareholders’ personal bank flows

If your personal card frequently receives large transfers, the system automatically alerts.

Recommendation 3: Comply with Social Security Requirements

Previously, many enterprises didn’t pay social security or only paid for a few people.

That’s no longer possible. Phase IV compares:

• Your social security headcount
• Your individual income tax declaration headcount
• Your actual employee count

If data is inconsistent, the system flags you as “suspicious.”

Recommendation 4: Keep Related-Party Transactions Reasonable

Many group enterprises shift profits through related-party transactions:

• Parent companies charging subsidiaries high “management fees”
• Related enterprises selling goods at low prices

Phase IV monitors whether related-party transaction pricing is reasonable; if abnormal, you’ll be asked to provide explanations.

Recommendation 5: Respond Promptly to “Risk Reminders”

If you receive a “risk reminder” SMS or phone call from tax authorities, respond promptly.

Many people think “no formal notice means I can ignore it” — this is wrong.

If you don’t respond, tax authorities will consider you “uncooperative,” potentially escalating to “risk investigation” or even “formal audit.”

IV. Summary

The core logic of Golden Tax Phase IV is:

Use big data to monitor all enterprises → Automatically detect anomalies → Handle by classification and level → Continuously optimize models

Impact on enterprises:

1. Stricter supervision: Problems previously undetectable are now found
2. More intelligent: No need for manual reports; system discovers automatically
3. More precise: Not “one-size-fits-all” but classified and tiered handling

What should enterprises do?

1. Compliant operations: Don’t take chances — the data comparison is hard to hide from
2. Data consistency: Ensure declaration data, bank flows, and invoice data are consistent
3. Prompt response: Handle tax reminders promptly when received
4. Professional support: Engage professional tax advisors when necessary

Remember this:

In the Golden Tax Phase IV era, compliance is the best tax planning.

📌 This article belongs to: Enterprise Lifecycle · Mid-stage (Operations Phase)

🔗 Related Overview: Fiscal and Tax Management from the Enterprise Lifecycle Perspective