Tax Deduction for Assisted Reproductive (AR) Service Expenses

The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Deductions for Assisted Reproductive Service Expenses) Ordinance 2025 was gazetted on 28 February 2025. The amendment ordinance gives effect to a tax deduction for expenses on AR services under salaries tax and personal assessment. The implementation framework of the deduction is as follows:

Effective date

The tax deduction applies to the year of assessment 2024/25 and to all subsequent years of assessment.

Eligibility for deduction

A taxpayer, chargeable to salaries tax or with tax charged under personal assessment, may claim deduction for qualifying AR service expenses paid for receiving qualifying AR services.

To qualify for deduction, the qualifying AR service expenses must be paid by:

the taxpayer;
the taxpayer’s spouse (not living apart); or
the taxpayer and the taxpayer’s spouse (not living apart)

The person who received or is to receive the qualifying AR services must be:

the taxpayer;
the taxpayer’s spouse; or
the taxpayer and the taxpayer’s spouse

Qualifying AR services

Only a taxpayer who received or is to receive qualifying AR services for medical reasons is eligible for the tax deduction. Under the existing regulatory regime on AR services under the Human Reproductive Technology Ordinance (Cap. 561) (HRTO), the following two groups of persons receiving AR services are eligible for the tax deduction:

infertile couples or persons under specified circumstances; and
cancer patients, or any other patients, who may be rendered infertile as a result of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery or other medical treatment.

Specified circumstances include:

couples permitted to receive sex selection of embryos under the conditions set out in section 15(3) of the HRTO; and
persons continuing to receive a reproductive technology (RT) procedure, who were parties to a marriage when gametes were, or an embryo was, placed in the body of a woman pursuant to the procedure, as described in section 15(7) of the HRTO, who need not be parties to a marriage at the time of receiving the RT procedure.

“Qualifying AR services” means:

RT procedures defined under section 2(1) of the HRTO that are provided in relevant licensed centres (including a medical service related to such an RT procedure); or
handling, storing and disposing of gametes or embryo (used or intended to be used in connection with an RT procedure) provided in relevant licensed centres.

A medical service is related to an RT procedure if the medical service -

is directly related to the RT procedure;
is provided before the RT procedure is to be provided, or during or after the RT procedure is provided; and
is provided, prescribed or referred by a registered medical practitioner of a licensed centre who holds any clinical responsibility for the recipient in respect of the RT procedure.

RT procedure

Under section 2(1) of the HRTO, RT procedure means a medical, surgical, obstetric or other procedure (whether or not it is provided to the public or a section of the public) assisting or otherwise bringing about human reproduction by artificial means, and includes in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination, the obtaining of gametes and manipulation of embryos or gametes outside the body.

Licensed Centres

In accordance with the HRTO, no person shall carry on the following activity except pursuant to a relevant licence granted by the Council on Human Reproductive Technology (CHRT):

the provision of an RT procedure; or
the handling, storing or disposing of a gamete or embryo used or intended to be used in connection with an RT procedure.

Relevant licensed centres refer to centres which are regulated under the HRTO and hold the following licence issued by the CHRT:

an artificial insemination by husband (AIH) licence;
a treatment licence; or
a storage licence

You may visit CHRT’s website for the list of licensed centres and introduction of each class of licence.

Qualifying AR service expenses

Any expenses payable for receiving a qualifying AR service.

Amount of Allowable Deduction

The qualifying AR service expenses paid in a year of assessment is allowable for deduction in that year of assessment.

In general, the maximum amount allowable to a taxpayer for a year of assessment is $100,000 (deduction ceiling).

The amount of deduction allowable to a taxpayer for a year of assessment is the amount of qualifying AR service expenses paid in the year of assessment, or the deduction ceiling of $100,000 for that year of assessment, whichever is the lesser.

Claim of Deduction by Married Persons

A married taxpayer may claim deduction for qualifying AR service expenses paid by him / her or his / her spouse (not living apart), but expenses already claimed by his / her spouse should be excluded.

The total amount of deduction allowable to the married taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse or both of them is the aggregate amount of expenses paid by both of them in the year of assessment, or the deduction ceiling of $100,000 for the year of assessment, whichever is the lesser. The taxpayer and the taxpayer’s spouse are free to decide how to allocate the amount of deduction claimed.

Notwithstanding the change of marital status of a taxpayer during a year of assessment, the amount of deduction allowable to the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse or both of them should not exceed $100,000.

Refund or reimbursement

If any qualifying AR service expenses paid are refunded or reimbursed, the amount of the qualifying expenses paid is taken to be reduced by the amount of the refund or reimbursement. If the refund / reimbursement is made before a taxpayer claims the tax deduction, he / she can only claim the reduced amount of the expenses paid. If the refund / reimbursement is made after a taxpayer has claimed the tax deduction, he / she must notify the Commissioner in writing of the refund / reimbursement within 3 months after the date of refund / reimbursement. If the tax deduction has been allowed, an additional assessment will be made on the taxpayer to withdraw the deduction.

It may result in the imposition of penalties if a taxpayer fails to notify the Commissioner in writing of the refund or reimbursement within the specified period without reasonable excuses. Fine or additional tax may be imposed in respect of the undercharged amount.

How to lodge a claim

A taxpayer can claim the deduction for qualifying AR service expenses paid in his / her Tax Return – Individuals (BIR60) from the year of assessment 2024/25 onwards. If the taxpayer wishes to claim the deduction after submitting the tax return, he / she may complete form IR831 and return it to the Department. The claim should be lodged not later than 6 years after the end of the year of assessment in which the claim relates.

Supporting Documents

A taxpayer, who intends to claim the tax deduction, should request a registered medical practitioner of a licensed centre who holds any clinical responsibility for the relevant RT procedure to sign and issue a standard form of proof for qualifying AR service expenses (the Proof) certifying the date and amount of expenses paid, as well as the eligibility of the taxpayer for tax deduction.

A taxpayer, who paid qualifying AR service expenses in the period from 1 April 2024 to 27 February 2025 and intends to claim the tax deduction, should present the relevant receipts to obtain the Proof from the licensed centre providing the qualifying AR services.

When a taxpayer files the tax return, he / she need not attach documents to support his / her claim. However, he / she should retain the Proof and relevant receipts for 6 years after the expiration of the relevant year of assessment for verification by the Department when required.

Further Information

More information on the deduction for AR service expenses is available through the following link:

Frequently asked questions

You may visit following links for more information on the local regulation of human reproductive technology: