Hong Kong Company Annual Compliance

We explain the annual work for a Hong Kong private company limited by shares. This covers company filings, business registration, accounts, audit and tax. We also explain what to arrange when you hire staff.

You can use our support even if you live outside Hong Kong. We help within the service scope you agree with us. You provide true business records, confirm the facts, and give the required authority or signatures.

What to do each year

Annual return NAR1

NAR1 is the company's annual return to the Companies Registry. It reports company details. It is not a profits tax return.

Authority: Companies Registry.
When to prepare and file: No NAR1 is due in the year of incorporation. Annual filing starts at the first anniversary. We suggest starting the checks about one month before each anniversary. We check the details as at the anniversary, then arrange signing and filing. File within 42 days after that anniversary. The month before is a preparation period, not an early filing window.
Our role and yours: Under your instruction, we coordinate with the company secretary. We help check directors, shareholders and addresses, prepare papers, arrange signatures and fees, and track the filing status. You confirm the facts and any changes.
What you receive: A copy of the filed NAR1, the official fee receipt and a check of its registration status in the Registry's document index. If the Registry sends the form back or asks for changes, we follow up. Posting the form alone does not complete that check.

See the Companies Registry annual return guidance.

Business registration

Authority: The Inland Revenue Department (IRD), through its Business Registration Office. At company setup, the one-stop service issues the first Business Registration Certificate with the incorporation papers. The IRD handles later renewals.
When to renew: A certificate can cover one or three years. We suggest checking the renewal about one month before it expires. Pay as required when the renewal demand note arrives. A three-year certificate does not need a new annual renewal. Do not use the NAR1 deadline for this task.
Our role and yours: We check the expiry date, renewal notice and payment plan. Under your instruction, we help arrange payment and obtain the valid certificate. You confirm the plan and pay the agreed amounts. If the notice is missing, we help check it. Do not wait until you need the certificate to discover it has expired.
What you receive: The valid renewed certificate and payment records. Under the IRD's process, the paid renewal demand note can serve as the valid certificate. An unpaid notice does not prove renewal.

See the IRD business registration renewal guidance.

Accounts from day one

Who handles it: The accountant keeps the books and prepares the financial statements. The company must retain its accounts and source records under company and tax rules.
The first period: Start the books when the company is formed. Record capital, costs, bank payments and money a shareholder pays for the company. Set the first year-end early. The first set of accounts may cover more or less than 12 months. Do not wait for the first tax return before keeping records.
Each later year: Accounts usually cover a 12-month period. Check the period again if the year-end changes. We suggest sending records monthly or at the agreed interval. About a month before year-end, check unpaid amounts, missing papers and any stock count you need.
Our role and yours: We first learn how your contracts, invoices and payments work. We then coordinate the agreed bookkeeping and checks. You supply the original records and explain the real business. The accountant classifies entries and prepares the accounts and supporting schedules.
What you receive: The books, financial statements and schedules within the agreed scope. These may show bank balances, sums due from customers or to suppliers, advance receipts and payments, stock and shareholder balances.

The first and annual audits

Who handles it: An independent auditor. Company law sets the financial reporting and audit duties. Neither the Registry nor the IRD issues the audit opinion.
The first audit: If the company needs an audit, first agree the start and end dates of its first set of accounts. After that year-end, prepare the statements and arrange the audit. Link this work to the first tax return and the applicable reporting duties. Do not assume that all audit work starts 18 months after setup.
Each later year: Plan the audit around the chosen year-end. Before year-end, agree the records, stock count and staff input. After year-end, finish the accounts, work with the auditor and prepare the tax return. There is no single anniversary-based audit deadline for every company.
Our role and yours: We coordinate the accountant, auditor, records and replies. We explain what is missing, who should supply it and when a director must confirm or sign. The independent auditor decides the audit procedures and opinion.
What you receive: The financial statements confirmed and signed by the directors, the independent auditor's report, and notes on any matters still to resolve.

See the Companies Registry guidance on accounts and audit.

Profits tax return BIR51

Authority: The IRD.
The first return: A new company usually receives its first profits tax return about 18 months after it is formed. The IRD may make an earlier tax request. The usual first-return arrangement allows three months from the issue date, where it applies. We still check the actual notice. Keep accounts before the return arrives. If the company has taxable profits, we also check its duty to notify the IRD.
Each later year: Check the deadline as soon as the paper return or electronic notice arrives. Paper returns are usually due within one month of issue. Electronic notices and available extensions may differ. We check the current year's rules rather than reuse last year's date.
Our role and yours: Under the agreed scope, we coordinate the accounts, audit and tax calculation. We check the deadline and any valid extension. You confirm the filing and provide the needed authority or signature. We then arrange submission.
What you receive: The filed return, relevant financial statements and audit report, tax calculation and proof of successful submission. Filing a return does not mean the tax is paid. Assessment notices, payment dates and proof of payment need separate follow-up.

See paragraphs 15 and 26 of the IRD circular. Check the tax representatives' portal for current extensions and later notices.

Employer reporting

Authority: The IRD. The employer holds the legal duty to report.
When you first hire: If a new employee is, or is likely to be, liable to Salaries Tax, the employer generally files IR56E within three months of the start date. Do not wait for the annual employer tax return.
Each year: The IRD usually issues BIR56A in April. Return it with the relevant employees' IR56B forms, generally within one month of issue. Annual pay records normally cover 1 April to 31 March, not the company's own financial year. Do not ignore an issued return just because no employee needs reporting.
Our role and yours: Under your instruction, we help organise pay records, reporting and dates. You or your HR team confirm the employee and pay details, then provide the required authority or signature.
What you receive: Copies of the forms filed and proof of submission. Give the relevant employees their form copies as required.

See the IRD employer reporting duties.

Company records and notices

Within the agreed service, we help keep the company papers in order. These include incorporation papers, articles, director and shareholder registers, annual returns, resolutions and change records. Tell us what changed and when it took effect. We then check the papers and steps needed, and ask you to confirm or sign.

Tell us promptly about changes to directors, shareholders or addresses. Do not wait for the annual return. A change may also affect the accountant, auditor or bank. We coordinate those updates where agreed. Telling one party does not mean that all the others know.

Send the full government notice you want us to handle, including every page and attachment. We check who sent it, when it arrived, the deadline, the papers needed and who will reply. We retain filing records so you can see what is complete and what is still pending.

When you hire staff

Arrange employees' compensation insurance before employment starts and keep it in force during employment. It is a legal duty, not an optional staff benefit. See the Labour Department guidance.

You or your HR team provide start dates, pay, work terms and staff changes. Under the agreed scope, we help coordinate insurance, payroll, applicable Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) matters and employer reporting. We work with your HR team or accountant.

Pay records, actual payments and any MPF records should match the accounts. Check each person's position; not every employee has the same requirements.

Records we need for the accounts

We ask for three sets of records that link to each other, not just a bank statement:

Contracts and agreed changes: Who trades with whom, what the deal covers, the amount and currency, payment terms, and what must be delivered or done.
Invoices: The bills you issue to customers or receive from suppliers. They show what the charge covers, its amount and the relevant period.
Bank and payment-platform statements: When money came in or went out, who paid or received it and the amount. Include all relevant company accounts, even records from accounts now closed.

We help match each bank entry to its contract and invoice. The check records the reference, other party, currency, amount due, amount paid and balance still open. Keep the links clear when one invoice is paid in parts or one payment covers several invoices.

Explain differences caused by bank fees, currency exchange, discounts, refunds or payments made for another party. Do not change records simply to make all three amounts look the same. The accountant may also need delivery, receipt, service-completion or acceptance records to decide the nature and period of an entry.

Which date sets the income

Neither the contract date nor the receipt date decides it alone. The contract shows the agreement. The invoice shows the bill. The bank statement shows the money received. None of these alone sets the income period.

Accounts normally use the accrual basis. This means recording income and costs in the period they belong to, when the accounting rules allow it, not just when cash moves. For sales and services, the accountant checks the contract, work done, delivery and the rules the company uses. Has the company earned the income, or is the customer paying in advance?

An advance receipt may not be income yet. Equally, earned income may need recording before the customer pays, with a matching amount due from that customer. See the HKICPA explanation of revenue recognition. The company's accounting rules and contract facts still need checking.

Does a payment mean an expense

Not by itself. We ask for the supplier or service contract, invoice and payment record. Explain what you bought, its business use and when you received or used it.

The accountant then checks the type of entry. For example:

A payment to a supplier may first be an advance. When goods arrive, it may become stock held by the company.
The cost of stock sold usually follows the related sales income. Paying for stock does not itself make the full amount a current expense.
A service already received may be a cost for the period even if the bill is unpaid. The accounts also show the amount still owed.
Prepaid services covering several periods, or equipment used for years, may not be a full expense in the payment period.

A bank payment shows cash leaving. The accountant must still decide whether it is a cost, an expense or an asset. Tax deductions need a separate check. Paying an amount does not prove that it is tax-deductible. See the inventory cost principles and IRD profits tax deduction guidance.

Explain and keep proof of money paid by shareholders for the company, capital paid in and transfers between related companies. Record what each party owes. Do not treat these as normal sales income or operating costs without checking their nature.

A sale across two years

Consider a trading company with a 31 December year-end. It signs the sales contract, issues the invoice and ships the goods in December. The customer pays in January.

If the December delivery meets the income rules, the accountant normally records December income and a sum due from the customer. The January receipt clears that sum. It is not a second sale in January. If the December work does not yet meet the rules, check the facts. An invoice or shipment alone does not settle the income period.

Also match the purchase contract, supplier invoice, goods received and payment. Paying the supplier does not mean the goods have been sold. Nor does it make the full payment a sales cost for that year.

Before the service starts, we learn how you sign contracts, issue invoices, deliver and receive payments. We then check the accounting approach and records needed with the accountant. Different businesses may need different judgments. Income and costs cannot be moved between periods just to reach a chosen tax result.

A matching sheet helps you find the records. It does not replace contracts, invoices, bank statements or other source papers. Business records generally need keeping for at least seven years under the IRD record-keeping rules.

Prepare for the audit

You do not need to prepare every accounting schedule before coming to us. You provide the facts and source records. We coordinate records, missing items and replies within the agreed scope. The accountant keeps the books and prepares statements and schedules. The independent auditor checks the evidence.

We organise the handover in three steps:

Check what is complete. Group contracts, invoices, account statements, costs and payroll records by period. Identify each gap by month, account or deal.
Check the accounts. The accountant matches bank statements to the books. They also prepare schedules for customer and supplier balances, stock and fixed assets, such as equipment. These include sums owed to or from related parties, such as group companies. A trial balance summarises the balances in the company's books. It should agree with those schedules. You confirm the business explanations and any changes that need management approval.
Handle audit questions together. Choose a contact who can reach the business team, finance team and directors. We group questions by contract, invoice or account and follow up replies. We keep revised schedules and explanations so the same question is not passed around again.

Keep records current during the year. Check stock and open items before year-end, then handle the auditor's questions during the audit. This is easier than rebuilding a full year of records at the last minute. You can see what is missing, who is handling it and the next step.

How EZIPD helps you decide

We look at your real business alongside its annual duties. We help decide what comes first, what records are missing and which points need an expert's judgment. We then plan the work.

For example, a new payment platform means the accounts need more than the old bank statements. A payment made by a shareholder needs an explanation of the cost and what the company owes them. We connect these changes to the records, accounts and filings, so issues come to light early.

We call this the EZIPD decision engine. It brings together business facts, our service experience and professional judgment. We help you gather better information and prepare early, so you can make better decisions.

In annual compliance, Service Intelligence turns those judgments into a work plan. We confirm tasks and dates, explain who does what, coordinate records and work, then check the completed papers and open points. At each annual review, we also look at business changes and update the plan.

This is Design First, Action Follow in daily work. Plan first, carry out the work, and learn from it. We follow up within our agreed scope. We do not replace your confirmation of the facts or the auditor's independent opinion.

Common questions

Is the annual return a tax return

No. NAR1 reports company details to the Companies Registry. The profits tax return reports business and tax details to the IRD. They have different content, dates and proof of completion. Finishing one does not complete the other.

Does a secretary cover the accounts

Do not judge the scope from a label such as company secretary or annual renewal service. Company secretarial work, bookkeeping, independent audit and tax filing are separate tasks. We can coordinate several services, but the agreement should state what is included and who does it.

Does no sales mean no annual work

No. Having no sales does not make the company legally dormant. It does not let you ignore an issued tax return. We check annual returns, business registration, tax notices, accounts and audit duties against the company's actual status. If you want to make the company formally dormant, we check the conditions and steps separately.

Check your annual plan with us

If dates, the first audit or missing records are unclear, tell us the incorporation date, certificate expiry and chosen year-end. Also tell us which notice or business matter you need help with.

We first review the current position. We then explain the order of work and the support we can offer. You do not need to send full employee files or a full set of books for an initial discussion.

Request a confidential strategic review.

Still setting up the company? Start with our Hong Kong company setup guide. If the same records will support a bank application, see our corporate bank account readiness guide.

Official sources

Rules checked on 2 November 2026. Advice to prepare a month early is a service planning point, not a legal filing deadline. Check company papers, tax notices and the extensions that apply in the relevant year.