A Hong Kong Employer's Essentials: MPF Contributions, Limits, Deadlines and the Employer's Return (2026)

At a glance

Contribution rates, the relevant income limits, exempt categories and penalties are as most recently published by the MPFA and the IRD.

How are contributions calculated?

On each employee’s monthly “relevant income”, subject to a lower and an upper limit:

Three points to note:

One: below the lower limit the employee does not contribute, but the employer does. This is frequently got wrong, on the assumption that both sides are exempt.

Two: the employer contributes from day one; the employee has a 30-day holiday. So when enrolment is confirmed on day 61, the employer’s obligation is backdated to the first day.

Three: the actual limits change. In March 2026 the MPFA consulted the Labour Advisory Board on raising the limits (proposed HK$10,500 and HK$40,000); the timing and final amounts are as published by the MPFA — so do not commit the figures to memory, check once a year.

The common misreading of the 60-day rule

What counts is the period of employment, not how many days were actually worked.

A part-timer working one day a week from March to June has been employed for more than 60 days, so contributions are due. “They only come in four days a month” does not take them out of it.

And construction and catering have industry schemes, under which casual employees contribute even where engaged for fewer than 60 days; the 60-day exemption does not apply. These two industries are where the MPFA checks most often.

For the full rules, exempt categories and the most common gaps, see do part-timers and casuals need MPF.

The employer’s return: a different authority, a different deadline

The IRD issues the employer’s return (BIR56A) each year, usually in early April, and you file it within one month together with an IR56B for each employee, reporting the remuneration for the past year (1 April to 31 March).

Separate forms are required in these situations:

The two traps: IR56F is advance notice, not something filed afterwards; and once IR56G is filed, no payment may be made to that employee until the IRD’s consent is received.

On completing each box, what income has to be reported and how to correct a mistake, see how to complete the employer’s return.

Hiring triggers a third thing: employees’ compensation insurance

Beyond MPF and the tax return, employees’ compensation insurance is compulsory — full-time, part-time or casual, with no exceptions. Not having it is a criminal offence, and if an employee is injured the compensation falls on the employer directly.

See can you cut back on employees’ compensation insurance.

Wage periods, holidays and notice periods are the Labour Department’s territory; see an employer’s basic duties under the Employment Ordinance.

What happens if you miss them?

On the MPF side — outstanding contributions have to be made good and a surcharge may be imposed; serious cases carry fines and even imprisonment. The MPFA pursues these actively.

On the IRD side — failing to file the employer’s return carries a fine and possible prosecution.

The two authorities enforce independently. They do not notify each other, and doing one properly does not excuse the other.

The practical approach: set it up once

Before you hire your first person, put four things in place:

1. A written employment contract
2. Employees’ compensation insurance in force
3. An MPF scheme arranged (check whether an industry scheme applies)
4. Payday, contribution date and filing date all in the calendar

With those four done, every subsequent hire is the same process repeated, with nothing to work out from scratch.

Payroll, contributions and the April filing are monthly and annual repetition — exactly the kind of work worth handing over. Get started, or talk to us.

This is general information and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Contribution rates, the relevant income limits, exempt categories, form numbers and penalties are as most recently published by the MPFA and the IRD.