Buying a new home is exciting! Yet in Hong Kong, you better be familiar with the current stamp duty (taxes) policies or you might end up shocked by what you have to pay for a new apartment in this city – already some of the world’s most expensive and unaffordable homes. (Updated March 2019)
Stamp duty is tax to be paid to the government when someone buys a property in any city. This tax can dramatically alter the cost of buying a property.
There are 3 main categories of stamp duties related to selling or buying properties in Hong Kong:
The government has been implementing some new stamp duties, known as “cooling measures”, to slow down the drastic rise in home prices since 2010, which many blamed on demand from non-residents and property investors.
Therefore, Hong Kong permanent residents who are buying their first homes are exempted from most of the stamp duties.
| Exceeds | Does Not Exceed | Stamp Duty Rates |
| HK$0 | HK$2,000,000 | HK$100 |
| HK$2,000,000 | HK$2,351,760 | HK$100＋10% of excess over HK$2,000,000 |
| HK$2,351,760 | HK$3,000,000 | 1.5% |
| HK$3,000,000 | HK$3,290,320 | HK$45,000 + 10% of excess over HK$3,000,000 |
| HK$3,290,320 | HK$4,000,000 | 2.25% |
| HK$4,000,000 | HK$4,428,570 | HK$90,000＋10% of excess over HK$4,000,000 |
| HK$4,428,570 | HK$6,000,000 | 3% |
| HK$6,000,000 | HK$6,720,000 | HK$180,000＋10% of excess over HK$6,000,000 |
| HK$6,720,000 | HK$20,000,000 | 3.75% |
| HK$20,000,000 | HK$21,739,120 | HK$750,000＋10% of excess over HK$20,000,000 |
| HK$21,739,120 | – | 4.25% |
For buyers who don’t qualify under the “Old Stamp Duty” regime above, the rate is a flat 15%.
| Exceeds | Does Not Exceed | Stamp Duty Rates |
| HK$0 | HK$2,000,000 | 1.5% |
| HK$2,000,000 | HK$2,351,760 | HK$30,000＋20% of excess over HK$2,000,000 |
| HK$2,351,760 | HK$3,000,000 | 3% |
| HK$3,000,000 | HK$3,290,320 | HK$90,000 + 20% of excess over HK$3,000,000 |
| HK$3,290,320 | HK$4,000,000 | 4.5% |
| HK$4,000,000 | HK$4,428,570 | HK$180,000＋20% of excess over HK$4,000,000 |
| HK$4,428,570 | HK$6,000,000 | 6% |
| HK$6,000,000 | HK$6,720,000 | HK$360,000＋10% of excess over HK$6,000,000 |
| HK$6,720,000 | HK$20,000,000 | 7.5% |
| HK$20,000,000 | HK$21,739,120 | HK$1,500,000＋10% of excess over HK$20,000,000 |
| HK$21,739,120 | – | 8.5% |
| Holding Period | Stamp Duty Rates |
| 6 months or less | 20% |
| More than 6 months but for 12 months or less | 15% |
| More than 12 months but for 36 months or less | 15% |
Spacious helps you calculate the total cost of buying a house easily! Simply click here: Spacious Mortgage Calculator to find the total buying cost.
Spacious also has other tools that help you buy or sell your properties quickly and effectively. Go to www.spacious.hk to find your new home, or contact our sales team at sales@spacious.hk to find out the best listing package for you!
