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1.
Q:
Mr. X is an eligible incoming talent. On 19 October 2022, he entered into a provisional agreement for sale and purchase (PASP) to acquire a residential property at a purchase price of $10M. On that date, he did not own any other residential property in Hong Kong. He paid BSD and AVD at Part 1 of Scale 1 rate for the property acquired. Assuming that he all along remains the owner of the property, what is the amount of stamp duty refundable to him after he has become a HKPR?
A:
According to the proposal in the 2022 Policy Address, the amount of stamp duty refundable is computed as follows:
| Consideration ($) | Rate | Amount ($) | |
| BSD | 10,000,000 | 15% | 1,500,000 |
| AVD (Part 1 of Scale 1) | 10,000,000 | 15% | 1,500,000 |
| Total stamp duty paid | 3,000,000 | ||
| Less: AVD (Scale 2) | 10,000,000 | 3.75% | 375,000 |
| Stamp duty refundable | 2,625,000 |
2.
Q:
Mr. X is an eligible incoming talent and does not own any residential property in Hong Kong. Assuming that on 1 November 2022, he enters into a PASP to acquire a residential property (Property A) at the purchase price of $10M. He acquires another residential property on 1 May 2023 (Property B) at the purchase price of $20M. He pays BSD and AVD at Part 1 of Scale 1 rate in respect of both properties. He all along remains the owner of both properties. What is the amount of stamp duty refundable to him after he has become a HKPR?
A:
One of the conditions for refund is that on the date of acquisition of the property concerned, the eligible incoming talent does not own any other residential property in Hong Kong. Hence in the present case, Mr. X is not entitled to apply for refund of stamp duty in respect of his second property (i.e. Property B) since he has been holding the first property (i.e. Property A) all along. Mr. X is only entitled to apply for refund of stamp duty in respect of his first property (i.e. Property A) and the stamp duty refundable to him is $2,625,000 (see Example 1 above).
3.
Q:
Mr. X and Ms. Y are eligible incoming talents and do not own any residential property in Hong Kong. Assuming that on 1 November 2022, Mr. X enters into a PASP to acquire a residential property (Property A) at the purchase price of $10M. Mr. X and Ms. Y jointly acquires another residential property on 1 May 2023 (Property B) at the purchase price of $20M. BSD and AVD at Part 1 of Scale 1 rate are paid at the time of acquisition of both properties. They have not sold any of the properties. What is the amount of stamp duty refundable to them after they have become HKPRs?
A:
In this case, only Mr. X is entitled to apply for refund of stamp duty in respect of his first property (i.e. Property A) and the stamp duty refundable to him is $2,625,000 (see Example 1 above). Mr. X and Ms. Y are not entitled to apply for refund of stamp duty in respect of Property B. This is in line with the existing legislation where HKPRs have to pay AVD at Part 1 of Scale 1 rate under a similar situation.