Hong Kong Employer’s Return for Overseas Founders
Reviewed by Captime's licensed team (TCSP Licence TC010212) · Updated · Editorial policy
Overseas founders may still need Hong Kong Employer’s Return filings. Learn when BIR56A, IR56B and IR56E apply to salary, director fees and hires.
Key Takeaways
- BIR56A and IR56B report employee and director remuneration, not company profits or shareholder dividends.
- The 2025/26 return covers 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026; BIR56A was issued on 1 April 2026 and is generally due within one month.
- For 2025/26, a single employee is generally reportable from HK$132,000; married employees, part-time staff and directors are reportable regardless of amount.
- IR56E, IR56F and IR56G cover commencement, cessation and departure-related reporting.
Quick answer
Living overseas does not remove a Hong Kong company’s Employer’s Return duties when it pays salary, director’s fees, or other reportable remuneration.
BIR56A and the relevant IR56 forms depend on the payment and employment situation; shareholder dividends are not reported on IR56B.
Which employer’s return rule applies to an overseas founder?
For an overseas founder, the key question is what the Hong Kong company pays and the founder’s role. Employer reporting can still apply when the founder lives abroad because the company’s filing duty is separate from the individual’s final Salaries Tax position.
Dividends only, with no reportable employees. Shareholder dividends are not reported on IR56B. If the IRD issues BIR56A, the company must generally return it within one month, including a nil return where appropriate.
Founder receives salary or director’s fees. These are remuneration rather than dividends. For 2025/26, directors are reportable regardless of amount. A new employee likely to be chargeable to Salaries Tax is generally reported on IR56E within three months of commencement.
Employment ends, or the employee leaves Hong Kong. IR56F is generally filed one month before cessation when the employee is not leaving Hong Kong. If IR56G applies, it is generally filed at least one month before departure. The employer should generally withhold money due for one month from filing IR56G or until a Letter of Release is received, whichever is earlier.
Where the same income has already been reported on IR56F or IR56G, avoid filing another IR56B for that income where IRD instructions say it would duplicate reporting. Payments outside Hong Kong also do not automatically remove employer obligations. Payroll and remuneration records should generally be kept for at least seven years.
Employer’s Return filings are separate from other company obligations: BIR56A/IR56B concern remuneration, BIR51 concerns company profits, and NAR1 is the Companies Registry Annual Return.
How Captime helps
Captime Corporate Management Limited (TCSP Licence No. TC010212) helps overseas founders coordinate bookkeeping, payroll, and Hong Kong tax compliance in one workflow.
Captime can review reportable remuneration, prepare relevant IR56 forms, manage Hong Kong Employer’s Return filing deadlines, and align payroll records with wider tax and compliance requirements.
Official references
- Inland Revenue Department — Employers and Employer’s Returns
- Inland Revenue Department — Employer Tax Obligations
- Inland Revenue Department — Employers FAQ
- Inland Revenue Department — E-Services for Employers
Comparison Table
employer’s return at a glance
| Situation | Main form | Key point |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends only, no reportable employees | BIR56A if issued | No IR56B for dividends; file BIR56A by the deadline |
| Founder receives director’s fees | IR56B | For 2025/26, directors are reportable regardless of amount |
| New employee starts | IR56E | Generally within 3 months if likely chargeable to Salaries Tax |
| Employment ends | IR56F | Generally one month before cessation |
| Employee leaves Hong Kong | IR56G | Generally one month before departure; withholding may apply |
| No BIR56A received | BIR56A | For 2025/26, request it if not received by mid-April 2026 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Living overseas does not automatically exempt a Hong Kong company. If it pays a founder salary, director’s fees, or other reportable remuneration, BIR56A and relevant IR56 forms may still be required even when payment is made overseas.
They are three different forms.
BIR56A is the employer’s annual cover return. The IRD issues it around 1 April. You file that one form for the company. IR56B is the per-person sheet that goes with BIR56A. You file one IR56B for each reportable employee or director. It reports remuneration for the year ended 31 March, not company profits and not shareholder dividends. IR56E is not part of the April pack. File it within three months when a new person starts, if that person is likely chargeable to Salaries Tax.
For 2025/26, report a single employee whose total income for the year exceeds HK$132,000. If employment lasted less than a full year, use a proportionately reduced amount. Report directors, married persons and part-time employees who are likely to have other income chargeable to Salaries Tax, irrespective of the amount paid.
No. Shareholder dividends paid by a Hong Kong limited company are not reported on Form IR56B. Salary and director’s fees are remuneration. For 2025/26 they belong on IR56B — and directors are reportable regardless of amount.
Offshore payment does not itself remove employer-reporting duties. The company should assess the nature of the remuneration, follow the relevant IR56 requirements, and keep supporting payroll records even when the founder receives money in another country or currency.
If IR56G applies, it is generally filed at least one month before departure. The employer should generally withhold payments for one month from the filing date or until a Letter of Release is received, whichever is earlier.
Not where that would duplicate the same remuneration already reported. IRD guidance warns that filing two IR56 forms for the same income can result in double counting, so employers should follow the relevant form instructions.
An issued BIR56A generally must be returned within one month even if nobody is reportable. For 2025/26, employers with reportable persons that had not received BIR56A by mid-April 2026 should request it from the IRD.
Video transcript
Read the full transcript
You live overseas. You own a Hong Kong company. Do you have to file a Hong Kong employer's return? Here's the direct answer. Living overseas neither creates nor cancels this filing. The only question is whether your company paid anyone, a salary or director's fees. Paid nothing but dividends? Then there's usually nothing to report, though not nothing to do, and that difference matters. Paid yourself or hired someone? Then two small forms run on two clocks. Three situations cover every founder watching. By the end, you'll know exactly which one is yours. First, untangle three filings that overseas founders constantly mix up. The NAR1 goes to the company's registry.
It's about who runs and owns the company. The BIR51 goes to the Inland Revenue Department. It's about the company's profits. Today's form is the third. The employer's return of remuneration and pensions. Form BIR56A, with one IR56B attached per person. Also to the Inland Revenue Department. And it's about pay. What the company paid to people during the year ended 31st March. Not profits. Not ownership. Pay. The department issues the BIR56A around the first of April, and you have one month to file it. Now, which situation are you? Situation A. Your company pays you nothing but dividends and employs nobody. Dividends are a shareholder distribution, not remuneration.
They do not go on an IR56B. No salary, no director's fees, no staff. There's usually nothing to report for you at all. But, and this is where founders slip. If the department issues a BIR56A anyway, the correct response is a nil filing. You complete the form, tick that there's nothing to report, and send it back within the month. A nil position is not the same as throw the form away. An issued return left unanswered is a compliance failure, even when the truthful content is nothing. So, dividends only? Usually nil, but nil filed. Situation B. The one that actually catches founders. Your company pays you a salary or director's fees. Two rules to hold on to. First, the director rule.
The department generally expects an IR56B for a director, regardless of the amount paid. There's no it was too small to mention threshold for you. If the company paid you fees or salary, plan on the form. And one sentence on why the department cares, even though you live abroad. A director's fees can be Hong Kong-sourced because the office sits where the company sits. The full tax treatment, and whether salary or dividends suits you better, is our Pay Yourself video, not this one. Second, the two clocks. The first time pay starts, form IR56E, is due within three months of commencement, where the person is likely chargeable to salaries tax. And here's the trap. Nothing prompts you.
No letter arrives saying, you just became an employer. You decided to pay yourself. The clock started itself. After that, the rhythm is annual. BIR56A + IR56B each April. One month to file. That's the whole system for a founder who pays themselves. Situation C. Your Hong Kong company hires someone. Same two forms, same two clocks. Nothing new to learn. IR56E within three months of their start date, where they're likely chargeable. IR56B with the annual employer's return each April. That's it. Whether they work in Hong Kong or elsewhere changes their tax position, not your duty to report the pay. Two forms, two clocks. Stop. Three short warnings. One, the silent start.
The IR56E clock runs from first pay with no reminder from anyone. It's the easiest filing in Hong Kong to miss innocently. And late employer filings are an offense, with fines that grow with repetition. Two. Paid people but no BIR56A arrived? Don't sit and wait. Request one from the department. An unissued form doesn't erase the duty. Three. Whenever you file an IR56 form for a person, including yourself, give that person a copy. They'll need it for their own tax return. The facts in 20 seconds. The employer's return. BIR56A + IR56B per person reports pay to the Inland Revenue Department. It's not the NAR1 and not the BIR51. Dividends alone. Nothing on IR56B.
But an issued BIR56A gets a nil filing. Never silence. Salary or director's fees to yourself? IR56B regardless of amount. IR56E within three months of first pay. Then every April. A hire. Exactly the same two forms. Issued around the 1st of April. One month to file. At Captime Corporate Management Limited, a licensed TCSP, license number TC010212, employer filings are part of the same service that keeps your books. Our bookkeeping knows what the company paid, our payroll service files the IR56 forms on both clocks, and our tax filing ties it to the company's return. One team. No silent deadlines. hk or use the link in the description. No credit card. No obligation. Thank you for watching.
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