Connected Hong Kong tax compliance

Effective from April 2023, businesses in Hong Kong can file their profits tax returns electronically on a voluntary basis. The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Minimum Tax for Multinational Enterprise Groups) Ordinance, which aims to implement the global anti-base erosion (GloBE) rules and the Hong Kong minimum top-up tax (HKMTT) in Hong Kong, came into operation on 6 June 2025. In addition to implementing the GloBE/HKMTT regimes in Hong Kong, the amendment ordinance also specifies that the first phase of mandatory electronic filing (e-filing) of profits tax returns by entities belonging to in-scope MNE groups that are in scope for the GloBE/HKMTT regimes in Hong Kong will commence from the year of assessment 2025/26. From then on, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) will no longer grant temporary exemptions to such entities from filing profits tax returns. 

Under a ‘once in, always in’ approach, once an entity falls within the scope of the mandatory e-filing regime, it will remain subject to the regime permanently, regardless of whether it continues to be part of an MNE group for the GloBE/HKMTT regimes in subsequent years of assessment. The IRD’s ultimate goal is to achieve full-scale implementation of mandatory e-filing by 2030.

By requiring the e-filing of profits tax returns, the IRD mandates that corporations and businesses electronically submit their profits tax returns along with supporting documents (including tax computations (TC) and financial statements (FS)) in inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL) format.

In addition, in July 2025, the IRD has launched three interconnected portals under eTAX services available on the GovHK website, namely the Individual Tax Portal, the Business Tax Portal (BTP) and the Tax Representative Portal (TRP). These portals will offer a comprehensive range of electronic services, including enhanced e-filing services.