Guide to Tax Return - Individuals

Part 7    Personal Assessment

(1) The persons who may elect for Personal Assessment (for the year of assessment 2018/19 and subsequent years):

An individual who is of or above the age of 18 years or is under that age if both parents are dead; and who is either ordinarily resident in Hong Kong or a temporary resident.

If the individual is married, either one or both of the couple are eligible to make an election for personal assessment and both of them have income assessable under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, they may jointly make an election for personal assessment.

If the individual is eligible to make an election for personal assessment and his / her spouse does not have income assessable under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, the individual can elect for Personal Assessment himself/herself.

If the individual and his / her spouse are jointly assessed under Salaries Tax, the election for personal assessment should be made by both of them jointly. (For years of assessment up to 2017/18, if the individual is married, the election for personal assessment must be jointly made with the spouse. The individual and the spouse’s income from all sources are aggregated to compute tax liability.)

(2)

You are required to tick either box [68]  Or  box [69] of paper return (tick  ONE BOX ONLY).

Tick box [68] in paper return if you fulfil any of the following conditions:

- you are single; or

- you are married and your spouse has no income chargeable to tax (i.e. no salaries income, rental income and business income) (Note: Married Person's Allowance will be granted if your spouse did not have any assessable income during the year and has not elected for Personal Assessment separately); or

- you are married and you wish to elect for Personal Assessment separately from your spouse.

Tick box [69] in paper return if you are married and both of you and your spouse had income chargeable to tax, and you wish to elect for Personal Assessment jointly with your spouse.

Do not elect for Personal Assessment if you and your spouse only had income chargeable to Salaries Tax.

(3) Meaning of ‘ordinarily resident’ and ‘temporary resident’:

An individual will be regarded as 'ordinarily resident in Hong Kong' if he / she resides in Hong Kong voluntarily and for a settled purpose (such as for education, business, employment or family etc.) with sufficient degree of continuity. Such person should habitually and normally reside in Hong Kong apart from temporary or occasional absences of long or short duration, and is living in Hong Kong as an ordinary member of the community for all the purposes of his / her daily life. Please refer to Part 12.4 of this Guide for the explanation of 'ordinarily resident in Hong Kong'.

‘Temporary resident’ means an individual who stays in Hong Kong for more than 180 days during the year of assessment in respect of which the election is made or for more than 300 days in 2 consecutive years of assessment one of which is the year of assessment in respect of which the election is made.

(4) You must complete this part even though you and / or your spouse have / has made the election for Personal Assessment in other Profits Tax returns or Property Tax returns.