Countries Hong Kong
Country guide · Tax year 2026/27
Salary and tax in Hong Kong
An employee in Hong Kong who earns HK$266,400 a year takes home 93.2% of it. With the employer’s charges, the job costs HK$279,720, and 88.8% of that reaches the employee.
- Take-home share of gross pay
- 93.2%
- Total employer cost per year
- HK$279,720
- Rank among 50 countries
- 2 / 50
This guide was created with artificial intelligence support.
Where the money goes
Of HK$266,400 gross, income tax (薪俸稅 / Salaries Tax) takes HK$4,808 and employee contributions (強積金 / MPF) take HK$13,320. That leaves HK$248,272 a year, or HK$20,689 a month on average.
The employer pays another HK$13,320 in charges on top, 5% of the salary. The whole job costs HK$279,720 a year.
| Total employer cost of the reference salary, by who receives it | Per year | Per month | Share of total cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer charges | HK$13,320 | HK$1,110 | 4.8% |
| Income tax | HK$4,808 | HK$401 | 1.7% |
| Employee contributions | HK$13,320 | HK$1,110 | 4.8% |
| Take-home pay | HK$248,272 | HK$20,689 | 88.8% |
| Total employer cost | HK$279,720 | HK$23,310 | 100% |
All figures use HK$266,400, the salary the calculator starts from for Hong Kong. Depending on the statistics available, it is an average or a median full-time wage.
How the income tax works
The income tax (薪俸稅 / Salaries Tax) rises through 5 bands, from 2% to 17%. The top rate applies from HK$200,000 of taxable income. That threshold is lower than the reference salary of HK$266,400.
The bands apply to taxable income: what is left after allowances and deductible contributions. That is why the rates bite later than the gross salary suggests.
Employee contributions are capped: above a salary of HK$360,000 a year, the capped part stops rising.
Married couples can be assessed jointly, which usually lowers the tax when one partner earns much more. The figures here are for a single person.
| Taxable income from | Marginal rate |
|---|---|
| HK$0 | 2% |
| HK$50,000 | 6% |
| HK$100,000 | 10% |
| HK$150,000 | 14% |
| HK$200,000 | 17% |
How the rates rise with the salary
Income tax starts at a gross salary of about HK$153,000 a year.
At HK$266,400, 6.8% of pay goes to income tax and employee contributions. Of the next 100 earned, 86 reach the employee, a marginal rate of 14.5%.
At twice that salary, HK$532,800, the average rate is 11.8% and the marginal rate 17%.
The marginal rate is highest at a salary of about HK$320,000: 18.3%. At HK$360,000, employee contributions reach a ceiling, and their share of each raise falls from 5% to 0%.
Show the figures
| Gross salary | Average rate | Marginal rate |
|---|---|---|
| HK$53,280 | 0% | 0% |
| HK$106,560 | 5% | 5% |
| HK$159,840 | 5.1% | 6.9% |
| HK$213,120 | 5.7% | 10.7% |
| HK$266,400 · Reference salary | 6.8% | 14.5% |
| HK$319,680 | 8.2% | 18.3% |
| HK$372,960 | 9.6% | 17% |
| HK$426,240 | 10.5% | 17% |
| HK$479,520 | 11.2% | 17% |
| HK$532,800 | 11.8% | 17% |
| HK$586,080 | 12.3% | 17% |
| HK$639,360 | 12.7% | 17% |
| HK$692,640 | 13% | 17% |
| HK$745,920 | 13.3% | 17% |
| HK$799,200 | 13.5% | 17% |
| HK$852,480 | 13.7% | 17% |
| HK$905,760 | 13.9% | 17% |
| HK$959,040 | 14.1% | 17% |
| HK$1,012,320 | 14.3% | 17% |
| HK$1,065,600 | 14.4% | 17% |
Average and marginal rates, with worked examples:
Pay rise: How much more take-home pay? (Hong Kong)
Among 50 countries
At the same HK$266,400 a year, converted into each local currency, an employee in Hong Kong takes home 93.2%, rank 2 of 50.
The same salary leaves the most in Taiwan (94.2%) and the least in Romania (58.5%).
Show all 50 countries
| Rank | Country | Take-home share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan | 94.2% |
| 2 | Hong Kong | 93.2% |
| 3 | Thailand | 89.5% |
| 4 | Luxembourg | 88.7% |
| 5 | Australia | 87.9% |
| 6 | Colombia | 87.7% |
| 7 | Ireland | 86% |
| 8 | United Kingdom | 85.7% |
| 9 | Cyprus | 85.4% |
| 10 | South Korea | 84.9% |
| 11 | Netherlands | 84.4% |
| 12 | Belgium | 83.2% |
| 13 | Norway | 83% |
| 14 | Austria | 82.7% |
| 15 | Finland | 82.1% |
| 16 | India | 82% |
| 17 | Estonia | 81.3% |
| 18 | United States | 81.3% |
| 19 | Sweden | 81.2% |
| 20 | Canada | 80.8% |
| 21 | Indonesia | 79.9% |
| 22 | Singapore | 79.2% |
| 23 | Bulgaria | 79.2% |
| 24 | Mexico | 78.9% |
| 25 | Philippines | 78.8% |
| 26 | New Zealand | 78.5% |
| 27 | Japan | 78.3% |
| 28 | South Africa | 78.3% |
| 29 | Spain | 78.1% |
| 30 | Italy | 78% |
| 31 | Czech Republic | 77.6% |
| 32 | Malaysia | 77.2% |
| 33 | Malta | 76.6% |
| 34 | France | 75.6% |
| 35 | Brazil | 73.9% |
| 36 | Portugal | 73.7% |
| 37 | Greece | 73.3% |
| 38 | Slovakia | 73.1% |
| 39 | Latvia | 72.2% |
| 40 | Poland | 71.2% |
| 41 | Germany | 70.6% |
| 42 | Denmark | 69.7% |
| 43 | Switzerland | 69.3% |
| 44 | Croatia | 68.8% |
| 45 | Kenya | 67.9% |
| 46 | Turkey | 67.2% |
| 47 | Hungary | 66.5% |
| 48 | Slovenia | 63.7% |
| 49 | Lithuania | 61.1% |
| 50 | Romania | 58.5% |
Nearby in the ranking
- Taiwan#1 · 94.2%Hong Kong vs Taiwan
- Thailand#3 · 89.5%
- Luxembourg#4 · 88.7%
Every country is calculated for the same single employee without children, with the salary converted at the exchange rates of 2 October 2026. A salary that is typical in one country is high in another, so progressive systems look heavier where wages are lower. The ranking says nothing about purchasing power or about what the contributions pay for, such as pensions and health cover. Where the newer rules are not final, a country is calculated with its latest enacted year: Belgium (2025), Norway (2025) and Romania (2025).
Recent rule changes
The model for Hong Kong includes these recent changes.
- Basic allowance proposed to increase to HK$145,000; married person allowance to HK$290,000 (pending Budget legislation).
- Child allowance proposed at HK$140,000 per child (up from HK$130,000).
- Salaries tax progressive rates and standard rate cap unchanged at 15%.
Beyond the payslip
The statutory rules in Hong Kong on notice, unemployment, sick pay, parental leave and unpaid wages.
Notice and dismissal
僱傭條例 (Employment Ordinance, Cap. 57)
1 month
Notice period
For a continuous contract after/no probation with no agreed notice period, the statutory fallback is at least one month.
Unemployment benefit
綜合社會保障援助 (Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, CSSA)
Social Welfare Department
Claim authority
CSSA provides assessed household assistance subject to income, assets and residence tests; unemployment alone does not establish an entitlement.
Sick pay
僱傭條例 — 疾病津貼 (Sickness Allowance)
80%
Benefit rate
Daily allowance is four-fifths of average daily wages over the preceding twelve months, or shorter employment period, with excluded periods removed.
Parental leave
僱傭條例 — 產假及侍產假 (Maternity and Paternity Leave)
14 weeks
Benefit duration
Paid maternity leave requires at least forty weeks under a continuous contract before scheduled leave and the required pregnancy notice/certificate.
Unpaid wages
破產欠薪保障基金 (Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund)
4 months
Wage coverage
Fund coverage includes wages for service in the four months before the last day, and specified untaken leave/holiday, notice and severance entitlements.
Calculate your own salary
The calculator opens with the reference salary from this page. Change the salary, region or household to see your own figures.
Method and sources
Every figure on this page comes from the same tax model as the calculator. Monthly amounts divide the annual result by 12; actual payslips can differ.
Assumptions: a single employee aged 35 without children or church membership, tax year 2026/27.