From salaries to side gigs and audits: how to navigate Hong Kong's tax system
The tax filing season in Hong Kong is in full swing, with June 2 marking the deadline for most individuals. Tax audits have come under scrutiny recently after at least 20 journalists raised concerns about 'unreasonable' reviews targeting them and their families.
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) Commissioner dismissed these claims, stressing that assessment procedures were applied uniformly and did not target specific industries or individuals based on their background.
The Post provides a guide on what to pay attention to regarding filing requirements, with insights from taxation experts on the recent audit controversy.
1. How to file your tax return and what are the key deadlines?
The government issued the Individual Tax Returns for 2024-25 on May 2, 2025, requiring taxpayers to report their salaries, rental income from solely owned properties and profits from sole-proprietorship businesses.
The tax return must be filed within one month from the date of issue, or within three months if the taxpayer solely owned an unincorporated business during the year of assessment.
An automatic extension of one month will be given for filing the tax return for the year electronically through a service called eTAX.
An eTAX account holder can file their taxes online as long as they do not claim an exemption on their income, does not own any sole proprietorship business with gross income of more than HK$2,000,000, has not claimed double taxation relief, or has not obtained an advance tax ruling for that year.
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