Eligibility for Election of Personal Assessment

Hong Kong residents can elect for personal assessment if they are eligible for it and it may reduce their tax liabilities. Here you can find out whether you are eligible, how to elect for personal assessment and the time limits for election.

Who is Eligible for Personal Assessment

For the year of assessment up to 2017/18:

You may elect personal assessment if:

• you are 18 years of age or older, or under that age if both parents are dead; and
• you are ordinarily resident in Hong Kong or a temporary resident, or your spouse is if you are married.

If you are married and you and your spouse are eligible to make an election for personal assessment and both of you have income assessable under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, the election for personal assessment must be jointly made with the spouse.

From the year of assessment 2018/19 onwards:

You may elect for personal assessment if:

• you are 18 years of age or older, or under that age if both parents are dead; and
• you are either ordinarily resident in Hong Kong or a temporary resident.

If you are married and eligible to make an election for personal assessment, you may elect for personal assessment separately from your spouse; OR

you and your spouse may jointly make an election for personal assessment if either one or both of you are eligible to elect for personal assessment and both of you have income assessable under the Inland Revenue Ordinance.

However, if you are married, you and your spouse are jointly assessed under Salaries Tax, election for personal assessment must be made by you and your spouse jointly.

For the purpose of personal assessment:

• a person will be regarded as “ordinarily resident in Hong Kong” if he /she resides in Hong Kong voluntarily and for a settled purpose (such as for education, business, employment or family etc.) with sufficient degree of continuity.  Such person should habitually and normally reside in Hong Kong apart from temporary or occasional absences of long or short duration, and is living in Hong Kong as an ordinary member of the community for all the purposes of his/her daily life.  Whether a person ordinarily resides in Hong Kong will ultimately depend on the facts of the case.
• “temporary resident” means you stay in Hong Kong for a period or a number of periods amounting to more than 180 days during the year of assessment for which the election is made or for a period or periods amounting to more than 300 days in 2 consecutive years of assessment, one of which is the year of assessment for which the election is made.

How to Elect for Personal Assessment

You can elect for personal assessment by completing Part 7 of your tax return (BIR60) for the relevant year of assessment. If you have not done so, you can still make an election by completing an application form (IR76C) within the time limits specified in the next section. A married couple who wish to elect for personal assessment jointly must sign each other’s tax return or the application form. For the year of assessment 2022/23, a married person who wish to elect for personal assessment separately, he/she can download and complete the application form via below link within the time limit specified in the next section.

You can send the application form to:

Inland Revenue Department
GPO Box 132
Hong Kong

Fax Number: 2877 1232

The Department will not accept underpaid mail items. Please pay sufficient postage to ensure your mail items can duly reach us. (Details)

Time Limit for Electing Personal Assessment

Election for personal assessment must be made:

• within 2 years after the end of the year of assessment for which the election is made; (e.g. election for personal assessment for the year of assessment 2022/23 has to be made not later than 31 March 2025); or
• within 2 months after the issue of a notice of assessment or a notice of additional assessment to tax for the year of assessment for which the election is made;

whichever is the later.

Time Limit for Withdrawal of Personal Assessment

Withdrawal of personal assessment must be made:

• Within 6 months after the date on which a personal assessment is issued; or
• within another period that the Commissioner considers reasonable in the circumstances.

Withdrawal must be made by you and your spouse jointly if the election of personal assessment is made by you and your spouse jointly.

Once you withdraw your election, you may not make an election again for the same year of assessment, unless the Commissioner considers it appropriate to allow a re-election.