How to Become a Hong Kong Tax Resident in 2026: Tests, Steps, Certificate

Last reviewed: November 2026 · Reviewed by Stéphane Gombauld, tax expert, technologist and digital nomad

You are moving to Hong Kong and want to know when you become "tax resident" and what that changes. After reading, you will know the tests the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) applies, the 2026/27 rates and the paperwork, in order.

Hong Kong tax residency in 2026: the key figures

What changed for 2026

• Higher allowances from 2026/27. The 2026-27 Budget tax measures raise the basic allowance from HKD 132,000 to HKD 145,000 and the married person's allowance from HKD 264,000 to HKD 290,000. The Legislative Council passed them on 13 May 2026.
• One-off reduction for 2025/26. Salaries tax for 2025/26 is cut by 100%, capped at HKD 3,000 per person. It does not apply to 2026/27, the year most new arrivals are filing for.
• Digital certificates for the Mainland. Since 10 November 2025, certificates of resident status for the Mainland arrangement are issued as PDFs to your eTAX inbox.

Is this guide for you?

Read on if you…

• are relocating to Hong Kong with a job, a company or a freelance business and need to know when you count as resident;
• need a certificate of resident status to claim treaty relief or to prove to your old country that you left;
• split your year between Hong Kong and elsewhere and want to understand the 180-day, 300-day and 60-day rules.

Probably not your case if you…

• visit Hong Kong a few weeks a year for a foreign employer – the 60-day rule, not residence, decides your tax;
• are planning your departure rather than your arrival – read our guide to ceasing Hong Kong tax residency.

Does tax residency even matter in Hong Kong?

Less than almost anywhere else. Hong Kong runs a territorial system: tax follows where income comes from, not where you live. The Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112, "IRO") has three heads of tax: salaries tax, profits tax and property tax.

• Salaries tax. Section 8(1) charges income from employment "arising in or derived from" Hong Kong. Section 8(1A) extends it to pay for services rendered in Hong Kong, as the IRD explains in DIPN 10 on the charge to salaries tax.
• Profits tax. It applies to Hong Kong-sourced profits from a business carried on in Hong Kong. Profits from abroad are not taxed, even if remitted, and gains on capital assets are excluded.
• No capital gains tax for investors. Our capital gains tax guide for Hong Kong explains when a sale becomes trading.

So why care about residence? Three reasons.

1. Treaty access. Claiming relief under a double taxation agreement (DTA) needs a certificate of resident status.
2. Your old country. Most tax offices let you go only when you prove residence elsewhere.
3. Your company. A Hong Kong company run from Bali may be taxed where it is managed.

Who counts as a Hong Kong tax resident?

There is no single domestic residence rule for individuals. The tests come from Hong Kong's DTAs and the IRD's certificate of resident status practice.

Here's the catch on employment. The IRD decides source with the Goepfert factors: where the contract was negotiated, concluded and enforceable, where the employer is resident, and where you are paid. A foreign employment with more than 60 days of visits is taxed only on the Hong Kong days.

Each treaty has its own wording, so the IRD tells you to check the residence article of the relevant DTA. Resident in two countries? The treaty tie-breaker decides: permanent home, then centre of vital interests (family and economic life), then habitual abode, then nationality. Our Hong Kong tax treaties guide covers the partners.

How do you get a Hong Kong certificate of resident status?

A certificate of resident status (CoR) is the IRD's written confirmation that you are a Hong Kong resident for a given treaty and period. The steps:

1. Pick the treaty partner and period. One application per partner. A single application covers at most three calendar years of claim.
2. Check you meet a test: ordinarily reside, more than 180 days, or more than 300 days over two years.
3. Use the individual form. IR1314A for the Mainland arrangement, IR1314B for every other DTA partner. IR1313A and IR1313B are for companies, partnerships and trusts.
4. File online through the Individual Tax Portal under eTAX, or post it to the Assessor (Tax Treaty), Inland Revenue Centre, Kai Tak.
5. Wait. The IRD's target is a decision within 21 working days of a properly completed application.
6. Receive it. Mainland certificates arrive as a PDF in your eTAX inbox. Other partners get a paper certificate by post.

Good news: the IRD's FAQ confirms there is no fee. For the Mainland, a certificate for one calendar year generally also covers the next two, unless your circumstances change.

How much tax do you pay once you live in Hong Kong?

Salaries tax is the lower of two results. Progressive rates apply to net chargeable income (income minus deductions minus allowances). The standard rate applies to net income (income minus deductions, no allowances).

The IRD allowances and rate table sets the standard rate at 15% on the first HKD 5 million of net income and 16% on the rest. It only bites on high salaries. Mandatory MPF contributions are deductible up to HKD 18,000 a year. More in personal tax deductions and benefits in Hong Kong.

Freelancers and sole proprietors pay profits tax instead: 7.5% on the first HKD 2 million of assessable profits and 15% above. A company pays 8.25% and 16.5%. See personal income tax in Hong Kong for the full picture.

Hong Kong has no social security tax. The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) takes 5% from you and 5% from your employer. Above HKD 30,000 of monthly income, each side pays a flat HKD 1,500.

Your Hong Kong move plan: before, during and after

Before you move

1. Secure your visa. Common routes are an employment visa, the Top Talent Pass Scheme or a dependant visa. The Top Talent Pass Scheme Category A needs annual income of HKD 2.5 million or more in the previous year. Categories B and C rely on a degree from an eligible university.
2. Plan your exit at home. Check your old country's departure rules and keep your lease, visa and contract.
3. Choose your structure. Employee, sole proprietor or company? Our legal forms of business in Hong Kong guide compares them.

During the move

4. Register for your identity card. If you are 11 or over and allowed to stay more than 180 days, register within 30 days of arrival.
5. Sign a lease and keep it. A home supports the ordinarily-reside test and any certificate application.
6. Get on the IRD's books. Your employer files form IR56E within three months of your start date. If self-employed, apply for business registration within one month of starting.

After you arrive

7. Track your days across the April-to-March year, not the calendar year.
8. Watch for your tax return (BIR60). You file within one month of issue, or three months if you own a sole proprietorship. E-filing earned an automatic one-month extension for 2025/26.
9. Chargeable but no return received? Section 51(2) IRO requires you to tell the IRD in writing within four months after the basis period ends – by 31 July for a year ending 31 March.
10. Apply for your certificate once you meet a test for the year concerned.

Common mistakes (and what they cost)

• Counting calendar-year days → you think you passed the 180-day test, the IRD counts April to March, and your certificate is refused.
• Using the company form IR1313B for yourself → the application is incomplete and your 21-working-day clock never starts.
• Assuming the treaty 183-day employment rule makes you resident → you stop filing at home, your old country keeps taxing you and adds late-filing penalties.
• Running your Hong Kong company from another country → that country may treat it as resident or as a taxable presence, and tax its profits.
• Missing your notice of chargeability → you breach section 51(2) IRO, the IRD assesses you late and the whole first-year bill lands at once.

Frequently asked questions

How many days do you need to be a tax resident in Hong Kong?

For a certificate of resident status, the IRD accepts more than 180 days in a year of assessment (1 April to 31 March). More than 300 days over two consecutive years, including that year, also works. You can also qualify by ordinarily residing in Hong Kong. For salaries tax itself, days only matter through the 60-day rule and time apportionment.

Does Hong Kong tax foreign income of residents?

No. Hong Kong taxes income arising in or derived from Hong Kong. Salary for a foreign employment with no more than 60 days of Hong Kong visits, foreign dividends and foreign interest stay outside the net for individuals. Profits tax also ignores offshore profits, even when you bring the money into Hong Kong.

What is the Hong Kong 60-day rule?

Section 8(1B) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance disregards services rendered during visits to Hong Kong totalling 60 days or less in the basis period. It helps people employed under a non-Hong Kong employment. Above 60 days, the pay for days worked in Hong Kong becomes taxable. A Hong Kong employment is taxed in full, wherever you work.

How long does a Hong Kong certificate of resident status take?

The IRD aims to issue a decision within 21 working days of a properly completed application. Individuals use form IR1314A for the Mainland and IR1314B for other treaty partners. There is no fee. Mainland certificates arrive digitally in your eTAX inbox; other certificates are posted on paper.

What is the income tax rate for expats in Hong Kong in 2026?

Expats pay the same salaries tax as locals. For 2026/27 you pay the lower of two results. Progressive rates run from 2% to 17% on net chargeable income. The standard rate is 15% on the first HKD 5 million of net income, 16% above. The basic allowance rises to HKD 145,000 from 2026/27.

Related guides

• Ceasing your tax residency in Hong Kong: the exit checklist
• Personal income tax in Hong Kong: rates and filing
• Tax incentives for expats and digital nomads in Hong Kong
• Hong Kong's tax treaties and how to use them
• Hong Kong tax landscape: the overview
• How to become tax resident in Sri Lanka
• How to become tax resident in the Philippines
• All country tax guides

Sources

• Certificate of resident status – Inland Revenue Department
• Certificate of resident status FAQ – Inland Revenue Department
• 2026-27 Budget tax measures – Inland Revenue Department
• Allowances, deductions and tax rate table (PAM 61) – Inland Revenue Department
• DIPN 10: The charge to salaries tax – Inland Revenue Department
• Employer's return and notification forms – Inland Revenue Department
• Top Talent Pass Scheme – Immigration Department
• Mandatory contributions – Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority

This guide is general information, not personalised tax advice. See how we research and review.