Accounting services in Hong Kong: books, audit and every return
We keep the books of your Hong Kong company, draw up the statements for the yearly audit and prepare every return, in one account.
Filing dates
Every 10th MPF contributions for the month before
16 Nov 2026 Profits tax return 2025/26, for a financial year that ended between 1 January and 31 March 2026
16 Dec 2026 The same return when it is filed electronically
1 Feb 2027 Profits tax return 2025/26 for a year to 31 March 2026 with a tax loss
What accounting and tax services in Hong Kong include
Your accountant works to this calendar, and each line shows in your account.
Every month
- Books from your invoices, bills and the statements of each bank and payment account
- Balances in each currency, translated into the books' currency
- Payroll, with Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions paid by the 10th
- A report on profit, cash and balances
Every year
- Financial statements for the auditor: balance sheet, profit and loss, cash flow
- The working papers the auditor asks for, and replies to audit queries
- The profits tax computation and return, form BIR51
- The employer's return, form BIR56A
- The annual return to the Companies Registry, form NAR1
- Business registration renewal
When something changes
- A new director, secretary or registered office: notice to the Registry within 15 days
- A new employee: form IR56E to the tax office within 3 months
- A leaver: form IR56F 1 month before the last day
- An employee leaving Hong Kong for good: we file form IR56G 1 month before departure
What accounting services in Hong Kong cost
Our fee follows transactions, accounts, payroll and reports. State fees are today's rates. For a year's cost, line by line, see the Hong Kong services page.
Books, yearly statements and returns, our fee
Fixed in your quoteYou get the figure in writing by the end of the next working day.
Get a quote- Yearly audit by a certified public accountant (practising)
- in your quote
- Payroll with MPF and the employer's return
- in your quote
- Annual return, Companies Registry fee
- HK$105
- Business registration renewal, 1 year
- HK$2,350
- Business registration renewal, 3 years
- HK$6,170
The filing year of a Hong Kong company
Profits tax dates follow the day the financial year ends. We keep this calendar for your company and file before each date.
- Jan
- Feb1 Return with a loss, 2027
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov16 Profits tax return, 2026
- Dec16 Return, filed online, 2026
The 10th of every month MPF contributions for the month before
Each anniversary of incorporation the annual return, form NAR1, within 42 days
Each April the employer's return, 1 month after its issue
After a change of director, secretary or registered office the notice to the Companies Registry, within 15 days
What clients write about Legarithm
4.8 on Google from 26 reviews.
Bookkeeping in Hong Kong: which records the law asks for, and for how long
Books from the first transaction
A Hong Kong company keeps books under 2 ordinances from its first transaction. The Companies Ordinance wants accounting records that explain each transaction and show the financial position at any time. They hold daily entries of all money received and spent, and a record of assets and liabilities.
The papers behind the entries
The Inland Revenue Ordinance names the papers behind the entries: vouchers, bank statements, invoices and receipts. For goods it asks for purchases and sales with the names of sellers and buyers, and the stock count at the year end. For services it asks for a record of each service provided.
Kept for 7 years
The two ordinances set the same term, 7 years. Company law counts it from the end of the financial year of the last entry. We keep the records in your account for that term. The tax law asks for the papers in English or Chinese.
A director who fails to keep the records faces a fine of up to HK$300,000 under the Companies Ordinance. The tax law adds one of up to HK$100,000.
Online accounting for a Hong Kong company: the software, the people and your account
We set up one of the three for the company or work in the package it already uses.
You photograph a receipt or upload a statement on the Legarithm platform. A closed month shows its income, costs and cash. An open month lists the documents we still need.
The person who keeps your books answers your messages in the account. You approve each return there before it goes out.
Company law bars an officer or employee of the company from auditing it. A certified public accountant (practising) in Hong Kong audits the statements and a tax representative files the return, both arranged as part of our service.
Hong Kong audit rules: no small company audit exemption, one for a dormant company
Financial statements follow Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards (HKFRS), issued by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Every year Audit by a CPA (practising)
The directors prepare financial statements for each financial year. The auditor is a certified public accountant (practising), a CPA firm or a corporate practice. The audited statements reach the shareholders within 9 months of the year end.
2 of 3 Tests for simplified statements
A private company that meets 2 of 3 tests prepares simplified statements: revenue up to HK$100 million, assets up to HK$100 million, up to 100 employees. The audit stays.
Dormant The one exemption from audit
A private company that passes a special resolution of dormancy and delivers it to the Registrar skips the audit, the statements and the annual return until its next accounting transaction.
Profits tax return in Hong Kong: issue date, filing dates and what goes in
1 AprilWhen the return is issued and due
The Inland Revenue Department issues profits tax returns on the first working day of April: the 2025/26 returns went out on 1 April 2026. A return is due 1 month after its issue. A company with a tax representative files on the extended dates below, set by the day its financial year ends.
18 monthsA new company's first return
A new company chooses its first year end within 18 months of incorporation. Its first return arrives about 18 months after incorporation, with 3 months to file. The return, form BIR51, goes in with the audited statements and a tax computation, every amount in Hong Kong dollars.
8.25%Two rates and the tax cut for 2025/26
The tax computation applies two rates, 8.25% on the first HK$2 million of assessable profit and 16.5% above, and carries a loss forward. For 2025/26 the tax of each business is cut by 100%, up to HK$3,000. A claim that profit arose outside Hong Kong goes into the same return. The rule is in our guide to the Hong Kong offshore claim.
90%Provisional tax for the year ahead
With each assessment the Department charges provisional tax for the year ahead. The payment is then set against the assessment of that year. When this year's profit is set to fall below 90% of last year's, we apply to hold the charge over.
| Financial year ends | 2025/26 return due | Filed electronically |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April to 30 November 2025 | 4 May 2026 | 4 June 2026 |
| 1 to 31 December 2025 | 31 August 2026 | 2 October 2026 |
| 1 January to 31 March 2026 | 16 November 2026 | 16 December 2026 |
| 1 January to 31 March 2026, with a tax loss | 1 February 2027 | 1 February 2027 |
Filing dates of a Hong Kong company and the fines the law sets
We prepare each filing for its date. The last column is what the law sets for lateness.
| Filing or duty | Due | If late or missing |
|---|---|---|
| Annual return, form NAR1 | 42 days after the anniversary of incorporation | Registry fee of HK$870 within 3 months, HK$1,740 within 6, HK$2,610 within 9 and HK$3,480 after; on prosecution up to HK$50,000 and HK$1,000 a day |
| Change of director or secretary | 15 days after the change | Up to HK$25,000 and HK$700 a day |
| Change of registered office | 15 days after the change | Up to HK$50,000 and HK$1,000 a day |
| Profits tax return | 1 month after issue, or the extended date | Up to HK$10,000 and three times the tax undercharged |
| Employer's return | 1 month after issue, with no extension | Up to HK$10,000 |
| MPF contributions | 10th day of the following month | 5% surcharge, and HK$5,000 or 10% of the amount, whichever is greater |
| Business registration renewal | Before the certificate expires | Up to HK$5,000 and 1 year in prison |
Employer's return and MPF contributions in 2026: rates and caps
Employer and employee each pay 5% of monthly pay into an MPF scheme, within the pay limits of the table.
Below HK$7,100
- Employer pays
- 5%
- Employee pays
- nothing
HK$7,100 to HK$30,000
- Employer pays
- 5%
- Employee pays
- 5%
Above HK$30,000
- Employer pays
- HK$1,500
- Employee pays
- HK$1,500
60 daysEnrolment through the eMPF Platform
The employer enrols each employee aged 18 to 64 in a scheme within the first 60 days of the job, through the eMPF Platform. The employer's share runs from the first day. The employee's starts after the first 30 days and the pay period that follows. Contributions are paid by the 10th of the following month.
IR56BThe employer's return every April
The Inland Revenue Department issues the employer's return on the first working day of April, and a company with no staff files it too. It carries a form IR56B for each director and employee it covers. When an employee leaves Hong Kong for good, the company holds the final payments until the tax office's letter of release.
Taking over from another accountant in Hong Kong
The books change hands between two deadlines, and each return keeps its date.
- day 11
You authorise us
You sign the engagement in your account and a written authority for the tax office. The Department accepts a representative on a signed authority only.
- week 12
We collect the records
We ask your current accountant for the ledger, the last audited statements, the last profits tax return, the IR56 forms and the MPF records.
- week 1 to 23
We check the public record
We compare the Registry's record with the company's registers and list each return as filed, due or overdue.
- from the next deadline4
We take over
The Department learns of the new representative, so the company keeps its extended filing date. A company we formed starts with no handover: company formation in Hong Kong.
A platform where you open
and run the company online
Your whole company is in your pocket. Sign documents, check the books and write to your accountant from your phone.
Your Company Limited
- Registration in progress
- Next deadline prepared
- Last month closed on time
- Passport copy Uploaded
- Proof of address Checked
- Company documents Sign
- Source of funds declaration Upload
You upload scans and sign the forms in the account. We keep the certificates and registers here afterwards, ready for a bank or an auditor.
The Legarithm team
We prepare your documents, check them before they are filed and keep your books.
Legal
Christina Agapiou Corporate Lawyer
Vasiliki Chatzigeorgiou Compliance Officer
Iryna Hrabovetska Associate
Anastasiia Kolomiiets Associate
Ivanna Plieshivtseva Junior Associate
Vladyslav Khamenushko Paralegal
Alisia Navrotska Paralegal
Vladyslav Syliava Paralegal
Finance and accounting
Ioannis Akritidis Accountant
Elizaveta Pytkina Accountant
Nataliia Dobrynina Accountant
Anna Kyrylova Finance specialist
Questions about accounting services in Hong Kong
Do all companies in Hong Kong need audited financial statements?
All except dormant ones. A small private company may prepare simplified statements, and the audit stays.
How much do accounting services in Hong Kong cost?
Our fee is fixed in your quote by the number of transactions, the accounts and the staff. The state fees of a year are HK$105 for the annual return and HK$2,350 for business registration.
Does a Hong Kong company with no activity still file returns?
Yes, until it is declared dormant. It delivers the annual return, renews its business registration, has its statements audited and files each tax return the Department issues.
Does Hong Kong have VAT or GST?
No. Hong Kong levies no VAT, goods and services tax or sales tax, so a company files no periodic sales tax return.
Can the books be kept in a foreign currency?
Yes. The profits tax return states each amount in Hong Kong dollars, and the Department publishes average exchange rates for the conversion.
Does a director of a Hong Kong company file a tax return too?
Yes, when the company pays the director. Fees and salary go on form IR56B and are chargeable to salaries tax. The individual returns for 2025/26 went out on 4 May 2026.
Can I outsource the accounting of a Hong Kong company from abroad?
Yes. You send documents and approve returns online, as with our outsourced accounting services elsewhere. The auditor, the company secretary and the tax representative are arranged as part of our service.
Get a quote for your company in Hong Kong
Book a 30-minute call about your company
Your consultant Vladyslav Babaiev Opens in a new tab Business Setup Specialist
- We email you the Google Meet link.
- 30 minutes, free, no obligation to order.
- After the call we email you the checklist of documents for your country.
We reply by the end of the next working day with the cost and the dates for your case. The first call is free and confidential.
Also for a company in Hong Kong
Guides to a company in Hong Kong
Updated 21 October 2026. Reviewed by Vladyslav Drapii, Founder.
