Guide to Tax Return Individuals

(D)

How to Complete the Return

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

OR box

of paper return (tick ONE BOX ONLY).

Tick box

of 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 of 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 11.4 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.