Stamp Duty Advisory Specialist

Stamp Duty After Abolition — Current AVD, Remissions and Legacy Exposure

Since 28 February 2024 a residential purchase in Hong Kong attracts ad valorem duty only: BSD, NRSD and SSD were abolished and residential rates were aligned with non-residential. That change did not close the file. Transactions signed before that date are still assessable, still disputable and still refundable, and our HKICPA advisors handle both your current position and any legacy duty that was wrongly charged.

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28 Feb 2024 BSD, NRSD and SSD abolished

AVD only Duty heads on residential purchases today

4.25% Top ad valorem rate on the highest band

Stamp Duty Advisory Specialist

⚠️

⚠ Abolition Was Not Retrospective — Pre-28 February 2024 Deals Still Carry BSD and SSD

The Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 removed BSD, NRSD and SSD for residential property transactions on or after 28 February 2024. It did not rewrite history. Where the agreement for sale was dated before that day, the old duties still attach to it, the Collector of Stamp Revenue can still assess and enforce them, and any over-assessment is still recoverable. Anyone who has been told "those duties are gone, forget about it" in relation to a 2022 or 2023 purchase has been told something that could cost them a refund.

Common Challenges

Are you facing these tax issues?

Stale Advice on a Live Assessment

Advisers, brochures and online calculators still quote the pre-2024 regime. Applying repealed BSD rates to a purchase completing today overstates your cost; applying today's rules to a 2023 purchase understates a liability that is still real.

⚠ Risk: Budgeting against the wrong regime in either direction

Unclaimed Refunds on Pre-Abolition Purchases

Buyers who paid BSD or NRSD on a purchase dated before 28 February 2024, and sellers charged SSD on an early resale, may still hold a refund or remission entitlement that nobody has ever examined.

⚠ Risk: A recoverable payment quietly left with the Stamp Office

Marginal Relief and Band Boundaries Missed

Ad valorem duty steps up in bands and marginal relief smooths the jump at each boundary. Consideration set a little above a boundary can cost considerably more duty than the additional price.

⚠ Risk: Paying a whole band of duty to gain a few thousand dollars of price

Spousal and Related-Party Transfers Without Advice

Transfers between spouses and other related-party transfers have their own treatment under the Stamp Duty Ordinance, including assessment by reference to market value. Executed without advice they can produce an unexpected assessment and penalties.

⚠ Risk: Unexpected ad valorem assessment plus penalties

Who It's For

Who This Service Is For

First-time home buyers

Confirming your ad valorem position under the current unified rates, including the fixed-duty band and the effect of marginal relief at each band boundary.

Upgraders & second property buyers

Residential and non-residential rates are now aligned, so the old Scale 1 penalty on a second purchase has gone — we confirm your actual exposure before you sign anything.

Overseas buyers & expats

Buyer's Stamp Duty no longer applies to your purchase. If you bought before 28 February 2024 and paid it, we assess whether any part of it is recoverable.

Property investors (multiple properties)

Portfolio-level duty modelling across acquisitions and disposals, plus review of any Special Stamp Duty charged on pre-abolition early exits.

Our Services

What We Cover

Pre-Transaction Duty Calculation

Before you sign any agreement for sale, we calculate the exact ad valorem duty payable on the transaction, including the effect of marginal relief at the band boundary.

Turned around within 24 hours for urgent transactions

Buyer Status & Eligibility Review

We confirm your residency and existing ownership position and, where a pre-2024 transaction is involved, whether BSD or NRSD was correctly charged in the first place.

Essential wherever a pre-abolition agreement is in scope

Ownership Structure Advice

Individual versus joint, company versus personal, trust structures — we model the duty and the downstream tax consequences of each before the agreement is signed.

Modelled before signing — the charge is fixed once you sign

Legacy BSD & SSD Exposure Review

For transactions dated before 28 February 2024 we quantify the BSD, NRSD or SSD that attached and identify every available refund or remission ground.

Covers pre-abolition agreements still open with the Stamp Office

Stamp Duty Remission Applications

Where duty has been over-assessed or a remission ground exists, we prepare and submit a formal application to the Collector of Stamp Revenue.

Written submission with full documentary support

How It Works

Simple, efficient, professional

Pre-Transaction Consultation (Before Signing)

Before you sign, we review the property, your ownership and residency position, and the proposed structure, and calculate the duty that will attach to the instrument.

2–4 weeks before signing

Duty Calculation & Scenario Modelling

We calculate the duty under each structure and timing option, including any legacy exposure on a pre-abolition agreement, and present one clear total cost table.

24–48 hours

Declaration Preparation & Documentation

We prepare the statutory declarations the Stamp Office requires and assemble the documentary evidence supporting every position taken on your behalf.

5 working days

Assessment & Remission (Where Applicable)

We submit to the Stamp Office, manage the assessment through to conclusion, and file a remission or refund application wherever the assessed duty exceeds what is legally due.

Ongoing to resolution

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Client Success Stories

Real results for real clients

Case Study

Pre-2024 purchaser — BSD wrongly assessed on a first property

HK$500,000 Saved

HK permanent resident, first property purchased at HK$2.5M in 2023
Stamp Office assessed BSD at 15% on the strength of an overseas family trust interest
Represented that the overseas asset was not residential property as defined in the Ordinance

"The Stamp Office's initial assessment seemed definitive. TAX.hk's expertise saved HK$500,000 I thought was lost."

Verified Client Case Study

Case Study

Investor — SSD avoided on a pre-abolition holding

HK$500,000 Saved

HK$5M flat acquired in 2022, sale originally planned at month 18
SSD at 10% would have been HK$500,000 and eliminated the entire gain
Held past the 36-month SSD window — the duty fell away entirely

"TAX.hk showed me that waiting saved HK$500,000 — the best few months of patience of my life."

Verified Client Case Study

★★★★★ 2,400+ clients trust our team

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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to your questions

Ad valorem duty only. Since the demand-side measures were abolished for transactions on or after 28 February 2024, residential and non-residential property are charged at the same ad valorem rates and BSD, NRSD and SSD no longer apply at all. The lowest band is a fixed duty of HK$100, which from 26 February 2025 covers consideration up to HK$4,000,000, and the highest band is 4.25% on consideration above HK$21,739,120, with marginal relief at each band boundary.

Not by removing the charge, because the amendment applies to instruments executed on or after 28 February 2024 and is not retrospective, so BSD that attached to a 2023 agreement remains due. What we look for instead is whether it was correctly assessed in the first place and whether a remission or refund ground applies — the most common being a non-permanent resident who has since acquired Hong Kong permanent residency.

No. SSD was abolished for residential property transactions on or after 28 February 2024, so a rapid resale no longer attracts it. That says nothing about profits tax: if the IRD concludes on the badges of trade that you were trading rather than investing, the gain is chargeable to profits tax regardless of how stamp duty was treated.

For the rate of stamp duty it no longer does, because BSD and NRSD are gone and residential rates are aligned with non-residential. Residency and existing ownership still matter for any pre-28 February 2024 transaction, for the accuracy of the statutory declarations you sign, and for the wider tax analysis of how the property should be held.

The ad valorem rates for residential and non-residential property are now the same, so the old gap has closed. Non-residential property was never subject to BSD or SSD in any event. Lease duty is a separate charge and is calculated by reference to the rent and the term of the lease rather than the purchase price.

Stamp Duty After Abolition — Current AVD, Remissions and Legacy Exposure

Stamp Duty Advisory Specialist

⚠ Abolition Was Not Retrospective — Pre-28 February 2024 Deals Still Carry BSD and SSD