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Tax Information : Employers

Hot Topics  
  E-Seminar for Employers  
  How to complete and when to submit employer's return  
  Housing Benefits  
  Employee assigned to work overseas or to work in Hong Kong  
  Employee about to leave Hong Kong  
What you need to know as an employer  
  Employer's Obligations  
    Keeping payroll records  
    Reporting remuneration paid to an employee  
    Meaning of  "Employee"  
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  Completing and submitting your employer's return and notification forms  
    How to obtain employer's return and notification forms  
    How to complete and when to submit  
    Extension to submit annual employer's return  
    Submitting employer's return and notification forms in computerized format  
    Supplements / Amendments to information previously reported  
  Employee's income  
  Penalty on non-compliance  
What you need to do  
  Payments to local persons who are non-incorporated service providers  
  Payments to non-resident entertainers or sportsmen  
  Payments to non-residents (other than entertainers or sportsmen)  
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  Average exchange rates of major currencies for Salaries Tax purpose  
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Employee assigned to work overseas or to work in Hong Kong
 
Company carrying on business in Hong Kong is obliged to file Form I.R.56B for all its employees, irrespective whether the employee rendered services in or outside Hong Kong, so long as their total income exceeded the limit as laid down in Note 1 of Notes and Instructions for forms B.I.R.56A and I.R.56B. You may provide additional information in the remarks column (item 14 of the Form I.R.56B); e.g. the employee stationed in the Beijing office and had visited Hong Kong for less than a total of 60 days during the relevant year of assessment.
 
Where an employee of a company is partly paid by an overseas subsidiary because of the services rendered outside Hong Kong for that subsidiary, the Hong Kong company should report in item 11 of the Form I.R.56B the aggregate amount of income paid by the Hong Kong company and the overseas subsidiary. In addition, the amount paid by the overseas subsidiary should be stated again in item 13 in Form I.R. 56B. An employer should report the full remuneration accrued to an employee irrespective of whether the respective employee is entitled to claim exemption from Salaries Tax or not. An employee who wish to claim full / partial exemption of income or relief, may lodge his claim in his Tax Return- Individuals.
 
Sometimes a person may be assigned or seconded to the Hong Kong office by the overseas parent company. The employer to be named in item 1 of Form I.R.56B will be the Hong Kong company.
 
It may not be uncommon that employees are paid in foreign currencies. Since Salaries Tax is charged in Hong Kong dollars, the sums reported in Form I.R.56B should also be expressed in Hong Kong dollars. The average exchange rates of major foreign currencies could be obtained from the IRD Web site at http://www.ird.gov.hk/tax/ind_stp.htm; or through the 24-hour Fax-A-Form System by dialing 2598 6001.
 
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Employee about to leave Hong Kong

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Employee about to leave Hong Kong

 
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Employer's Obligations
   
(1)
Keeping payroll records

You have to maintain payroll records of your employees and keep these records for at least 7 years. For details, see

   
(2)
Reporting remuneration paid to an employee

You need to report remuneration paid to employees by submitting annual Employer's Return (B.I.R. 56A and I.R. 56B) and the following Notification Forms:

For details, see:

   
(3)
"Meaning of  Employee"

See


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Completing and submitting your employer's return and notification form
   
(1)
How to obtain employer's return and notification forms

Normally, we will send B.I.R. 56A and I.R. 56B (Employer's Return) to employers on the first working day of April each year.

If you do not receive B.I.R. 56A and I.R. 56B forms by mid April, or the original forms have been lost / damaged, or you need more I.R. 56B forms or other forms (I.R. 56E, I.R. 56F, I.R. 56G, I.R. 56M and I.R. 6036B), you can contact us for these forms. You may complete the I.R. 6163 and send it to us by mail or by fax. The forms requested will be sent to you once we received your request. You may also download the I.R.56B form, I.R.56F form, I.R.56M form and I.R.6036B form.

First time employer

If you are a new employer and have not received B.I.R. 56A and I.R. 56B forms by mid April, you can contact us for the forms. You can inform us by completing I.R. 6163 and send the completed form to the Department by mail or by fax. The form will be sent to you once the Employer's file has been opened. I.R. 6163 can also be obtained through the 24-hour Fax-A-Form Service (2598 6001).

   
(2)
How to complete and when to submit

You should read carefully the Notes and Instructions accompanying B.I.R. 56A. A "NIL" return of B.I.R. 56A is still required even if you have no employees or pensioners chargeable to Salaries Tax. To avoid duplication in reporting employee's income, no I.R. 56B is required for those employees of whom an I.R. 56F or I.R. 56G has been submitted before.

How to Complete When to Submit Number of copies to be submitted to IRD
Specimen of Completed B.I.R. 56A
Specimen of Completed I.R. 56B		 Within 1 month from the date of issue of B.I.R. 56A.

1 copy of B.I.R. 56A

A CD Rom / diskette containing the data of all I.R.56Bs together with a signed control list

OR

1 copy of I.R. 56B in respect of each employee
Specimen of Completed I.R. 56E Within 3 months of commencement of employment of an employee.

1 copy of I.R. 56E in respect of each employee

Specimen of Completed I.R. 56F 1 month prior to the cessation of employment of an employee. 1 copy of I.R. 56Fin respect of each employee
Specimen of Completed I.R. 56G At least 1 month before the expected departure date of an employee. 2 copies of I.R. 56G in respect of each employee
Specimen of Completed I.R. 6036B
Specimen of Completed I.R. 56M
Notes on How to complete Form I.R. 56M		 Together with B.I.R. 56A.

1 copy of I.R. 6036B

1 copy of I.R. 56M in respect of each person

 
Note : After filing, the employer should pass 1 copy of the completed form (I.R. 56B/56E/56G/56M) to the employee or person concerned and also retain a copy for his own reference.
You can also obtain the above specimens through the 24-hour Fax-A-Form service (2598 6001).

Points to Note when making annual employer's return
(a) Prepare payroll information
  • For 1 April to 31 March of the following year.
  • Update personal particulars.
  • Ascertain the annual remuneration for each employee in accordance with the categorization of income for reporting on I.R. 56B.
   
(b)

Decide format for filing

B.I.R. 56A plus

  • Paper I.R. 56Bs (must use the printed form of IR56B provided by IRD, download the form from IRD web site or obtain the form from the Fax-A-Form Service 2598 6001. The download form and fax-a-form must be printed on white plain A4 size paper; printed information must be complete and legible; and each form must be signed by the same responsible person); or
  • IRD software for I.R. 56B plus Control List (must use IRD software, version 3.4); or
  • Your software for I.R.56B plus Control List (must obtain prior approval from us).
   
(c)

How to complete B.I.R. 56A

  • Must be signed by Proprietor / Precedent Partner / Secretary, manager, director or liquidator for a corporation / Principal Officer for a body of persons.
  • Must submit a signed Control List, if filed I.R. 56Bs via diskettes /
    CD-ROMs.
  • Must complete and declare the number of I.R. 56Bs submitted (Number required for both paper and softcopies of I.R. 56Bs. Insert ¡¥Nil¡¦ in the space for number if there is no employee to report.)
   
(d)

Completed B.I.R. 56A and I.R. 56Bs must be submitted together

  • Check to ensure all forms are duly signed.
  • If filing by software, attach a signed Control List. The person who signs the B.I.R. 56A should also sign on every page of the Control List.
  • Photocopies or fax copies are NOT acceptable.
(3)
Extension to submit B.I.R.56A and I.R. 56B

If you have difficulties in meeting the deadline, you may apply for an extension to submit B.I.R. 56A and I.R. 56B. Applications for extension should be in writing and supported by reasonable grounds. In your application letter, please state your employer's file number, the company's name, the year of assessment concerned, the time required and details of the reasons in support.

   
(4)
Submitting employer's return and notification forms in computerized format

You can submit I.R. 56B forms in computerized format. You may develop your own software (prior approval from us is required) or use the IRD Software for I.R. 56B. You may also develop your own software (prior approval from us is required) for submitting I.R. 56E / 56F / 56G / 56M in computerized format.

For details, see:

Electronic Services : Submission of Employer's Return of Remuneration and Pensions in Computerized Format

   
(5)
Supplements / Amendments to information previously reported

If you wish to amend the information previously reported, you may either furnish a revised form or a written notification of amendment.

For details, see:

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Employee's Income
 

Income

 

Housing Benefits
  Holiday Journey Benefits
  About Termination Payments
  Contract gratuity, deferred pay and arrears of pay (including relate-back)
  Share Awards and Share Options
MPF and Recognized Occupational Retirement Schemes

 

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Penalty on non-compliance

Heavy penalties may be incurred for not complying with the above obligations or for making incorrect return. For details, see

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Payments to local persons who are non-incorporated service providers

You need to submit Forms I.R. 56M and I.R. 6036B to report payments made to the following local persons:

(a) Consultants, agents, brokers and freelance artistes, sportsmen, writers etc Payments in excess of $25,000 per annum
(b) Sub-contractors Payments in excess of $200,000 per annum

For further information, see

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Payments to non-resident entertainers or sportsmen

You need to submit Form I.R. 623 to report payments made to a non-resident entertainer or sportsman.

For further information, see

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Payments to non-residents (other than entertainers or sportsmen)

You need to report payments made to a non-resident (other than entertainer or sportsman) by way of a letter and provide the following information and document(s) in connection with the non-resident:

  • Personal particulars (such as name, nature of travel document and passport number, day-time contact telephone number, postal address in Hong Kong and overseas).
  • A copy of the contract made and the nature of service rendered.
  • The dates and amounts of payments made or expected to the made and periods covered by the payments.
  • Date of departure from Hong Kong.

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Useful Information

See

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2003 | Important notices | Privacy policy Last review date: 14 July 2009