Global Payroll Services in Hong Kong

Already have a Hong Kong entity, or running payroll across several countries? We place you with a vetted Hong Kong payroll partner who keeps Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions, Inland Revenue Department (IRD) new-hire and leaver filings, and the annual employer’s return exactly right, while you stay the legal employer and we stay on your side.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Multi-country ready

What running payroll in Hong Kong involves

If you already employ people through your own Hong Kong entity, you stay the legal employer, but you still have to get the mechanics right: no monthly Salaries Tax to withhold, but MPF contributions calculated and paid every month, new hires and leavers registered with IRD on form IR56E or IR56F/IR56G, and a BIR56A employer’s return filed every year for the year ended 31 March. This is where a specialist payroll partner earns its place: you keep the employment relationship, they keep the mechanics right across all three.

01

You stay the employer

You stay the legal employer of your Hong Kong staff. The payroll partner runs the MPF and IRD mechanics; you keep the employment relationship.

02

Accurate every cycle

MPF contributions calculated correctly, payslips issued, and IRD new-hire, leaver, and annual employer filings made on schedule, every month, with no monthly tax-withholding step to get wrong.

03

Multi-country consolidation

Run payroll across several markets under one partner and one process, rather than a different vendor and standard in every country.

How managed Hong Kong payroll works, step by step

From onboarding your employee data to filing and reconciliation.

01 — Scope & onboard

We map your entity, headcount, and where you employ people, place you with the right vetted Hong Kong payroll partner, and onboard your employee data.

02 — Set up calculations

MPF contributions, statutory leave, and IRD reporting configured correctly to current Hong Kong rules, so every payslip and filing is right from the first run.

03 — Run monthly payroll

Salaries calculated, MPF contributions deducted and paid, payslips issued, and people paid on schedule, every cycle, with no monthly tax withholding to get wrong.

04 — File & reconcile

IR56E/IR56F/IR56G new-hire and leaver notifications and the annual BIR56A employer’s return filed with IRD on time, with reconciliation handled for you.

What payroll in Hong Kong costs

Your statutory employer costs, plus a payroll partner fee. Hong Kong’s employer burden runs through a single mandatory scheme rather than monthly tax withholding; the value of the partner is getting MPF and the IRD filing calendar right, in a system where mistakes surface at the annual return, not the payslip.

Employer MPF contribution

5% of relevant income, capped at HKD 1,500 a month once relevant income passes HKD 30,000, payable even for staff earning below the HKD 7,100 employee-exemption floor, configured correctly every payroll run.

Minimum wage (2026)

HKD 43.10 per hour, the current Statutory Minimum Wage since 1 May 2026, one territory-wide rate with no regional variation to track.

Salaries Tax (employee)

No monthly withholding: employees pay whichever is lower of progressive rates (2% to 17% across five bands) on net chargeable income, or a 15%/16% two-tier standard rate on net income, directly to IRD. Employers still register every hire and departure correctly.

Payroll partner fee

A transparent per-employee or per-payslip fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

One partner, many countries

If you run payroll across several markets, we consolidate it through vetted partners under one point of contact, not a different vendor and a different standard in every country.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

Pricing you can’t get direct

Hong Kong has no general payroll tax or social-security contribution beyond MPF, and no VAT to administer alongside it, a materially lighter statutory employer burden than most jurisdictions, but the annual employer’s return and new-hire filings still have to be right. We benchmark across our payroll network for rates typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate for you at renewal.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

No withholding, but rules that catch you at year-end

There’s no Salaries Tax to withhold monthly, which is exactly why mistakes surface late: a missed IR56E/IR56G filing, an MPF cap or floor miscalculated, a BIR56A employer’s return filed wrong. We place you with partners who get the specifics right, and we stay on your side if anything needs escalating.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

20+ years and the local detail

Two decades running compliant payroll across global markets, the deadlines, the filings, the year-end detail that exposes risk.

  • Two decades of payroll
  • Deadlines & filings
  • Year-end handled

Built to scale across markets

Run payroll in one country or twenty through one partner and one process. As you add markets, the standard does not fragment, you keep a single point of contact and consistent compliance everywhere.

  • One process everywhere
  • Single point of contact
  • Consistent compliance

The Hong Kong payroll mistakes IRD catches at the annual return, not the payslip

These are the ones that catch foreign employers, and the reason a specialist partner pays for itself.

Salaries Tax and MPF mechanics

  • Applying salaries tax as if it must be withheld monthly, when Hong Kong has no PAYE-style system at all.
  • Missing the IR56E new-hire, or IR56F/IR56G leaver, notification to IRD.
  • Miscalculating the MPF cap (HKD 1,500/month) or the employee-side exemption floor (HKD 7,100/month relevant income).

Filings, deadlines & reporting

A late BIR56A employer’s return (year ended 31 March), a missed IR56E/IR56F/IR56G notification, or a late MPF contribution, each carries its own IRD or Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) penalty. None of these are hard for a specialist; all are easy to get wrong alone. That is the whole case for getting your Hong Kong payroll partner right.

What managed payroll covers

One transparent fee covers the full monthly payroll cycle. No hidden extras.

MPF contributions & Salaries Tax support

Compliant Hong Kong payroll processed monthly, with MPF contributions correct every run and provisional Salaries Tax guidance for your employees.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with MPF calculated and paid, and IRD new-hire, leaver, and annual employer filings made correctly and on time.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick pay, maternity and paternity leave, and Severance Payment or Long Service Payment where due.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on running compliant payroll in Hong Kong.

Do I need a Hong Kong entity to use payroll services?

Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which usually means you have a Hong Kong entity, typically a private company limited by shares. If you have no entity and do not want one yet, you need an EOR instead, where the partner is the legal employer. We will confirm which applies to you.

MPF contribution calculation and payment, employee IR56E/IR56F/IR56G filings with IRD, the annual BIR56A employer’s return, statutory benefits and leave, and payslips. You keep the employment relationship; they keep it compliant and on time.

No. Hong Kong has no PAYE-style system: employers do not withhold Salaries Tax from salaries. Instead, employers register new hires and departures with IRD on forms IR56E, IR56F, and IR56G, and file an annual BIR56A return of remuneration paid for the year ended 31 March. Employees separately file their own annual return (BIR60) and pay Salaries Tax directly, usually in two instalments. A payroll partner keeps these filings accurate even though there is no monthly withholding step.

Just MPF: employers contribute 5% of relevant income, capped at HKD 1,500 a month once relevant income exceeds HKD 30,000. There is no separate social-security or payroll-tax charge on top. Add the transparent payroll partner fee and you have your all-in cost.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons companies come to us. One point of contact and a consistent process across markets, rather than a separate provider and a different standard in every country.

Yes. When you incorporate and become the legal employer, we move your people from the EOR arrangement onto your own compliant Hong Kong payroll, and manage the handover so nothing is missed.

Need compliant payroll in Hong Kong?

Tell us your entity setup and headcount and we will come back with the right partner and pricing you will not get direct, usually within a day. One process, every country you operate in.

Tax and labour data verified July 2026 (IRD, MPFA, PwC). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your payroll.