What the form is
The BIR56A is the cover return of the annual Employer's Return. The IRD normally issues it on the first working day of April each year, and the returns for the year ended 31 March 2026 were issued on 1 April 2026[1]. It is filed together with a Form IR56B for each person you report, within 1 month from the date of issue of the BIR56A[1]. The year it covers is the salaries tax year, 1 April to 31 March of the following year, whatever date your accounts close on[1][4].
When a nil return is required
Once you have received a BIR56A, the IRD says you must complete it and lodge it within 1 month even if[2]:
- you do not hire any employee;
- the business has not commenced; or
- the business has ceased.
A nil return is the same form with the answer NO. The BIR56A asks you to tick YES or NO to say whether you have anyone to report on Form IR56B; with no employee or pensioner to report, you tick NO and sign the BIR56A before filing it[1]. There is no separate nil form to ask for.
| Your position | What you file | When |
|---|---|---|
| Staff to report | The completed BIR56A and 1 copy of Form IR56B for each employee | Within 1 month from the date of issue of the BIR56A |
| No employee or pensioner to report | The BIR56A with the box NO ticked, signed | Within 1 month from the date of issue |
| Payments to freelancers or sub-contractors above the reporting levels | Form IR6036B and the Forms IR56M, under cover of the BIR56A | Together with Form BIR56A |
A nil return can still carry IR56M forms
Having no employees does not always mean having nothing to report. If you paid local unincorporated service providers above the IRD's reporting levels, Form IR6036B and the Forms IR56M go in under cover of the BIR56A; when there is no IR56B to submit, you tick No on the BIR56A and attach them[3]. The levels are payments of more than HK$25,000 a year to consultants, agents, brokers and freelancers, and more than HK$200,000 a year to sub-contractors[1].
Who signs it
The BIR56A is signed by the proprietor of a sole proprietorship, the precedent partner of a partnership, the company secretary, manager or director of a corporation (or its provisional liquidator or liquidator), or the principal officer of a body of persons, and a non-resident person may appoint an agent[1]. Where IR56Bs go in on paper, the BIR56A and each IR56B are signed by the same responsible person, and paper forms must carry original signatures: photocopies, fax copies and scanned copies are not accepted[1].
If no BIR56A arrived
If you employ people who should be reported on IR56B and you have not received a BIR56A by mid-April, request one with Form IR6163, sent to the IRD by post, email or fax[1]. For the year of assessment 2025/26 the IRD put that point at mid-April 2026[2]. A lost or damaged original can be replaced with a duplicate obtained through the IRD website[1].
How to file
You can file on paper, delivered in person or by post, or through the IRD's Employer's Return e-filing services, and the IRD encourages employers to file online through the eTAX platform[1]. Since 1 April 2024 the IRD no longer accepts IR56B records on a storage device; they go through the e-filing services instead[1].
If you do not file
The IRD warns that heavy penalties may be incurred for not complying with an employer's obligations[1]. Its penalty policy lists prosecution under section 80(1) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance against an employer who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with the requirements of section 52(2) and (4) to (7): a fine of HK$10,000, and the court may order the employer to do the act it failed to do within a specified time[5].
Before you send it
- Check the YES or NO answer matches what is in the envelope or the upload.
- Confirm who signs, and that the same person signs every paper IR56B.
- Keep a copy and the filing date with your payroll records, which the IRD expects to be kept for at least 7 years[2].
Rules, forms and figures can change, and the official pages listed below are the authority wherever this summary differs from them.