The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has announced that it will waive surcharges for payment of tax by installments for businesses and individuals in need. The announcement provides that taxpayers who encounter financial difficulties in settling their tax bills on time may apply for payment of tax by installments before the due dates of the demand notes.

In particular, for taxpayers who have obtained the IRD's approval for installment settlement of the demand notes for Salaries Tax, Profits Tax and Personal Assessment for the year of assessment 2020/21 issued between May 2021 and May 2022, no surcharge will be imposed for a maximum period of one year counted from the respective due dates of the demand notes, provided that the installment plans are duly adhered to. Further, the IRD has extended the applicability of the previous support measures to waive the surcharge for installment settlement of demand notes for the years of assessment 2018/19 and 2019/20. For the year of assessment 2018/19, this includes demand notes issued from December 2019 to May 2022, and for the year of assessment 2019/20, this includes demand notes issued from August 2020 to May 2022.

Additional details on applying for the surcharge waiver are available at the following IRD webpage.