PRESS RELEASE

(Source : Information Services Department)

Inland Revenue Department issues about 2.4 million tax returns for individuals

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     The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) today (May 2) sent out about 2.4 million tax returns for individuals for the year of assessment 2022/23. The department reminded taxpayers to file their tax returns on time by June 2. For sole proprietors of unincorporated businesses, a three-month period is allowed and the filing deadline is August 2. Those filing via eTAX will be automatically granted a one-month extension (i.e. the deadline for general cases is July 3 and for sole proprietors is September 2).

     The Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Mr Tam Tai-pang, today hosted a press conference on the completion of tax returns for individuals for the year of assessment 2022/23 and the tax collection of 2022-23, and also introduced the new functions and services of eTAX.

     Mr Tam said that the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Child Allowance and Tax Concessions) Bill 2023 was passed by the Legislative Council, giving effect to two proposals made in the 2023-24 Budget, including the reduction of profits tax, salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for the year of assessment 2022/23 by 100 per cent, subject to a ceiling of $6,000 per case, and increasing the basic child allowance and the additional child allowance for each child born during the year of assessment under salaries tax and tax under personal assessment from $120,000 to $130,000 starting from the year of assessment 2023/24. Taxpayers only need to complete the tax returns for the year of assessment 2022/23 as usual and the tax reduction will be reflected in their assessments. The department will also apply the new level of child allowance in calculating the 2023/24 provisional salaries tax for taxpayers.

     Mr Tam pointed out that the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Deductions for Domestic Rents) Bill 2022 had also been passed by the Legislative Council last year to provide for a tax deduction for domestic rent with effect from the year of assessment 2022/23. Eligible taxpayers who wish to claim the deduction can complete Part 8 of their Tax Return - Individuals to provide information about the domestic rent they paid.

     The IRD encouraged taxpayers to file their tax returns through eTAX, which offers an easy, secure and environmentally friendly online service for filing tax returns and ensures tax returns are filed in a timely manner to the department. To enable taxpayers to file their tax returns electronically, the following new functions and services have been launched on eTAX:

* Pre-filling of tax deduction items: Taxpayers can log on to their eTAX Account anytime to keep records for tax deduction items (such as approved charitable donations) under salaries tax and personal assessment for future completion of their tax returns. Such records will be automatically pre-filled by the system in the relevant parts of their tax returns.

* Increase in capacity of documents upload: For e-filing of applications to amend tax assessments or provisional tax through eTAX, the file size of supporting documents that taxpayers can upload will be increased to a total of 200 MB (up to five files).

* Enhancement of e-filing service for profits tax returns: With the enhancement of eTAX system, corporations and businesses can now e-file profits tax returns under eTAX for the year of assessment 2022/23 together with supporting documents, including financial statements and profits tax computation. Details of the enhanced service are available on the department's website (www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/bus_epf.htm).

     "iAM Smart+" users may sign and submit electronic tax returns online with the digital signing function.
 
     The department reminded taxpayers to pay sufficient postage if they choose to send the returns by post.

     Taxpayers may visit the department's website (www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/esem_ctr.htm) to read the material under "e-Seminars" if they have questions on completing their tax returns. They may also raise their questions in the "Q&A Corner". From today to June 2, except on Sundays and public holidays, the department will deploy additional staff to answer the telephone enquiries hotline 187 8022 and extend the service hours up to 7pm on weekdays, and from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

     On revenue collection, Mr Tam said that $360.2 billion of tax revenue was collected by the department during the financial year 2022-23 (please see Annex 1 for details), a decrease of $18.3 billion compared with the previous year's figure. A breakdown is as follows:

2022-23 revenue collection by the department (provisional figures)
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Annex1

Ends/Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Issued at HKT 15:45

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