The rule
The IRD's table of notification forms gives the IR56E one deadline: within 3 months of commencement of employment of an employee, 1 copy per employee[1]. The duty applies if you anticipate that the employee is likely to be chargeable to salaries tax[2]. You can file the paper form or use the Employer's Return e-filing services, and after filing you give the employee a copy[1].
A worked example
The IRD's own example: a company employs a bookkeeper on 3 April 2025. If she is likely to be chargeable to salaries tax, the company files one copy of a completed IR56E, or files it electronically, by 3 July 2025[2]. When the annual Employer's Return for that year arrives in early April 2026, the company completes an IR56B for her if she is on the payroll on 31 March 2026, and gives her copies of both forms[2].
| Step | When |
|---|---|
| Employment starts | 3 April 2025 |
| IR56E filed | By 3 July 2025 |
| Employer's Return for the year received | Early April 2026 |
| IR56B filed with the BIR56A, if still employed on 31 March 2026 | Within 1 month from the date of issue of the BIR56A |
When you are not sure the employee will be taxed
You often cannot tell whether a new employee will end up paying salaries tax. The IRD's examples settle the common cases: if the employee's income does not exceed the basic allowance but she is married and her husband's income is unknown to you, file the IR56E; and if she is single but part-time and you do not know whether she has other part-time or principal employment, file it too[2]. In practice an IR56E is the safe default for married and part-time hires, the same groups the IR56B list covers regardless of amount[2].
Identity card or passport
The IR56E identifies the employee. Give the Hong Kong Identity Card number if one has been allotted, even if the physical card is still pending, so the IRD does not open a second tax file[3]. If the employee has no number yet, use the passport number and place of issue, and write to the IRD with the identity card number as soon as it is known[3][2].
What starts on the first hire
The IRD says an employer's tax obligations commence when you hire the first employee[2]. From then you keep a record of each person's particulars, whether the job is full-time or part-time, the capacity they are employed in, cash pay, non-cash benefits, MPF contributions, the contract and the period of employment, and you tell the IRD about changes such as a move from full-time to part-time[2]. A new company that has not received an Employer's Return by mid-April should ask for one with Form IR6163[2].
The MPF clock is separate
The IR56E is a tax form and has nothing to do with MPF. The MPF enrolment deadline runs on its own count: employers must enrol full-time and part-time employees aged 18 to 64, other than exempt persons, within the first 60 days of employment, counted in calendar days[4]. So for a new hire the MPF deadline always comes before the IR56E one.
If the IR56E is late
The IRD warns of heavy penalties for not complying with these obligations[1]. Its penalty policy lists a fine of HK$10,000 for an employer who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with the reporting requirements in section 52(2) and (4) to (7) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, and the court may order the act to be done within a specified time[5]. The IRD page describes no separate procedure for a late IR56E, so contact the IRD if the 3 months have passed.
Rules, forms and figures can change, and the official pages listed below are the authority wherever this summary differs from them.