None of these filings is hard, but each has a deadline, and they are easy to miss in year one. Every date and figure below comes from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) or the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), linked to the page it came from.
| Obligation | Deadline or figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| BIR56A issue date | Normally the first working day of April each year, so April 2027 for the year ending 31 March 2027 | [1] |
| Employer's Return (BIR56A + IR56B) | Within 1 month from the date of issue of Form BIR56A | [1] |
| No employee to report | Tick the box "NO", sign the BIR56A and file it within 1 month | [1] [2] |
| Who needs an IR56B (as listed for 2025/26) | Single and paid $132,000 or more a year; married, part-time staff and directors regardless of amount | [2] |
| IR56E, new employee | Within 3 months of commencement of employment | [1] [2] |
| IR56F, employee leaving the company | 1 month prior to the cessation of employment | [1] |
| IR56G, employee leaving Hong Kong | At least 1 month before the expected departure date; withhold all amounts due until a letter of release | [1] [2] |
| Employer failing the filing duties without reasonable excuse | Fine of $10,000 | [5] |
| Payroll and business records | Kept for at least 7 years | [2] |
| MPF enrolment | Within the first 60 days of employment, counted in calendar days | [3] |
| MPF mandatory contributions | Employer 5% and employee 5% of relevant income | [4] |
| MPF relevant income levels (monthly paid) | Minimum $7,100 (below it, only the employer contributes); maximum $30,000 ($1,500 each) | [4] |
| MPF contribution day (monthly paid) | The 10th day of each month | [4] |
The annual Employer's Return (BIR56A + IR56B)
The IRD normally issues the Employer's Return (form BIR56A) on the first working day of April each year [1]. For the year ended 31 March 2026, the returns were issued on 1 April 2026 [1]; the return for the year ending 31 March 2027 is the one that arrives in April 2027. You must complete and file it within 1 month from the date of issue, together with a form IR56B for each reportable employee [1].
The IR56B reports the employee's name, Hong Kong Identity Card number, capacity, period of employment and everything you paid them in the year: salary, bonuses, commissions, allowances and certain benefits. For 2025/26, the IRD listed the employees you must report: an employee who is single and paid an annual income of $132,000 or more, and any employee who is married, a part-time staff member or a director, regardless of amount [2]. Report income in Hong Kong dollars even if you pay in another currency [1]. The BIR56A and every IR56B are signed by the same responsible person [1], and after filing you give each employee a copy of their form [1].
A nil return is still a return. If you have no employee or pensioner to report, tick the box "NO" and sign the BIR56A before filing it [1]; the IRD says you must lodge it within 1 month even if you do not hire any employee [2]. If you should be filing IR56Bs but have not received a BIR56A by mid-April, request one with Form IR6163 [1]. You do not file an IR56B for an employee if an IR56F or IR56G has already been submitted for them for the same year [1].
The event-driven IR56 forms
Beyond the annual return, three events trigger their own forms [1] [2]:
- New hire: IR56E, within 3 months of the employment starting, if you anticipate the employee is likely to be chargeable to salaries tax.
- Employee leaving the company: IR56F, 1 month prior to the cessation of employment (the form also covers an employee's death).
- Employee leaving Hong Kong: IR56G, at least 1 month before the expected departure date, filed in two copies.
The IR56G carries a rule that surprises many first-time employers. From the date you file it until the employee produces a "letter of release" issued by the IRD, you should withhold all amounts due to be paid to them, including salary, commission, bonus and reimbursements [2]. The IRD issues the letter once the employee's taxes are settled, and still issues one if the employee turns out to be exempt [2]. Paying out a departing employee's final salary before tax clearance can leave the employer exposed.
Each of these forms can be filed on paper or through the IRD's Employer's Return e-filing services, and the IRD encourages employers to file online through the eTAX platform [1].
Employees pay their own salaries tax
Hong Kong has no monthly pay-as-you-earn withholding: employers do not deduct income tax from each pay packet. Employees are assessed on their own tax returns. Your job as employer is reporting: the BIR56A, the IR56B and the event forms are how the IRD knows what to assess, and a copy of each completed form goes to the employee so they can complete their own return correctly [2]. The one exception to "employers do not withhold" is the IR56G rule above.
MPF enrolment and contributions
Except for exempt persons, employers must enrol both full-time and part-time employees aged 18 to 64 who have been employed for a continuous period of 60 days or more in an MPF scheme within the first 60 days of their employment [3]. The 60 days are calendar days, counted from the first day of employment, and enrolment is done through the eMPF Platform [3]. Signing a series of contracts shorter than 60 days does not avoid the duty [3].
Employer and employee each contribute 5% of the employee's relevant income, subject to minimum and maximum relevant income levels, which for monthly paid employees are currently $7,100 and $30,000 [4]. Below $7,100 the employee contributes nothing but the employer still pays 5%; above $30,000 each side pays $1,500 a month [4]. For monthly paid employees the contribution day is generally the 10th day of each month, so September's contributions are paid on or before 10 October [4].
New employees get a contribution holiday: no employee contribution for the first 30 days of employment and any incomplete wage period that follows, but the employer's contributions run from the first day [4]. The first contributions are due on or before the contribution day after the calendar month in which the 60th day of employment falls [4]. The MPFA adjusts the relevant income levels from time to time, so check its page before each payroll year.
Filing the Employer's Return, step by step
- Keep the payroll record every pay run. Who: the employer. By when: each month; the IRD expects payroll records to be kept for at least 7 years [2].
- Enrol each new employee in MPF. Who: the employer, through the eMPF Platform. By when: within the first 60 days of employment [3].
- File an IR56E for each new employee likely to be chargeable. Who: the employer. By when: within 3 months of commencement of employment [1].
- Pay MPF contributions. Who: the employer, deducting the employee's share. By when: the 10th day of each month for monthly paid staff [4].
- File an IR56F or IR56G when someone leaves. Who: the employer. By when: 1 month prior to cessation for an IR56F; at least 1 month before departure for an IR56G, withholding all amounts due until the letter of release [1] [2].
- Receive the BIR56A. Who: the IRD issues it. By when: normally the first working day of April 2027 for the year ending 31 March 2027; if it has not arrived by mid-April and you have employees to report, request it with Form IR6163 [1].
- Prepare an IR56B for each reportable employee. Who: the employer. By when: before the BIR56A deadline; the IRD's IR56 Forms Preparation Tool can prepare the data file from 1 March each year [1].
- Sign and file the BIR56A with the IR56Bs, then give each employee a copy. Who: the same responsible person signs every form. By when: within 1 month from the date of issue of the BIR56A [1].
If you miss a filing
The IRD warns that heavy penalties may be incurred for not complying with these obligations or for making an incorrect return [1]. An employer who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with the reporting requirements of section 52 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance can be prosecuted under section 80(1), subject to a fine of $10,000, and the court may order the employer to do the act it failed to do within a specified time [5]. An incorrect return is a separate offence under section 80(2), subject to a fine of $10,000 and a further fine of treble the amount of the tax undercharged [5].
The pattern to notice
All of these filings are generated from one thing: a clean payroll record of who was employed, when, and exactly what they were paid. Kept properly through the year, the April filing season is an export; reconstructed in April, it is a scramble. The IRD lists what that record should hold: personal details, terms of employment, cash and non-cash remuneration and MPF contributions [2].
How Suma handles this
Suma is accounting software. It does not compute salaries tax, produce the employer's forms or run your provident fund; those stay with you or your payroll provider. What it does is keep the books those filings are checked against:
- Double-entry books with 4-digit account codes, so salaries, allowances and fund payments each post to their own account, and every edit is a void and a re-create rather than a silent overwrite.
- A bank feed through Finverse that brings each salary and fund payment from the business bank account into the books.
- Receipts and documents vaulted against the books, such as a payslip run or a fund remittance statement, attached to the entry they support.
- A year-end pack exported to our partner CPA firm, with more than 40 years in practice, under a hash the server computes, and a filed year locked against edits afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
When is the IR56B deadline for 2026/27?
The IR56B goes in with the BIR56A, within 1 month from the date of issue of the BIR56A [1]. The IRD normally issues the BIR56A on the first working day of April each year [1], so for the year ending 31 March 2027 the deadline falls about a month after the first working day of April 2027. The exact date is the one printed on your return; for the year ended 31 March 2026, the returns were issued on 1 April 2026 [1].
Do I have to file a BIR56A if I had no employees?
Yes. If you receive a BIR56A, you file it within 1 month even if you do not hire any employee [2]. If you have no employee or pensioner to report, tick the box "NO" and sign the BIR56A before filing it [1]. Ignoring a return because there is nothing to report is still a failure to file.
What is the IR56E deadline?
File an IR56E within 3 months of the commencement of employment [1], if you anticipate that the employee is likely to be chargeable to salaries tax [2]. It is separate from the MPF enrolment duty, which has its own 60-day deadline [3], so a new hire usually triggers both within their first quarter.
What is the difference between IR56F and IR56G?
An IR56F reports an employee whose employment is ending (or who has died) and is due 1 month prior to the cessation of employment [1]. An IR56G reports an employee who is leaving Hong Kong for good or for a substantial period, is due at least 1 month before the expected departure date, and requires you to withhold all money due to them until the IRD issues a letter of release [1] [2].
General information current as of 15 October 2026. This is not tax, legal or accounting advice. Deadlines and MPF thresholds change; confirm the current position with the IRD, the MPFA or a licensed practitioner.