Contributions 供款

Mandatory Contributions 強制性供款

Employers must fund their own mandatory contributions and deduct employees’ mandatory contributions from relevant income. Relevant income includes monetary employment payments such as salary, commission, bonuses and cash allowances, but excludes severance and long service payments under the Employment Ordinance. For monthly-paid non-casual employees, the employer and employee each contribute 5%: below HK$7,100 a month, only the employee is exempt, while the employer contributes on actual relevant income; from HK$7,100 to HK$30,000, each contributes 5%; above HK$30,000, each party’s mandatory contribution is capped at HK$1,500 a month. [MPFA: Employee contributions](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/mpf-system/mandatory-contributions/employees)

The employer’s contribution liability starts on the employee’s first day of employment. Non-casual employees have a contribution holiday: for wage periods of one month or less, it covers the first 30 days and the incomplete wage period immediately following them; for longer wage periods, it runs to the end of the calendar month containing the 30th day. The permitted period for enrolment is the first 60 days. The contribution day is the 10th day after the later of the month containing the contribution period’s end and the month containing the permitted period’s end. Statutory extensions apply for Saturdays, public holidays, gale or black rainstorm warning days, and eMPF suspensions affecting payment.

Casual employees have no contribution holiday and must be enrolled within their first 10 days. Those in Industry Schemes use a prescribed contribution scale, with daily relevant income limits of HK$280 and HK$1,000; contributions are not invariably daily pay multiplied by 5%. For example, below HK$280, the employer pays HK$10 and the employee pays nothing; from HK$550 to below HK$650, each pays HK$30; at HK$950 or more, each pays HK$50. The employer and trustee agree on payment either on the next working day, excluding Saturday, after relevant income is paid, or on the 10th day after the contribution period ends. [MPFA: Industry Schemes](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/mpf-system/types-of-mpf-schemes/industry-schemes)

Self-employed persons contribute 5% of relevant income, with no additional employer contribution. Monthly income limits are HK$7,100 and HK$30,000; annual limits are HK$85,200 and HK$360,000. Maximum mandatory contributions are therefore HK$1,500 monthly or HK$18,000 yearly; none is required below the minimum. Self-employed persons must enrol within their first 60 days and may contribute monthly or yearly. Payment is due on the contribution period’s last day, subject to statutory extensions. They must notify eMPF of the next period’s relevant income and contribution mode at least 30 days before the scheme’s financial period ends. A written declaration of business net loss to eMPF can support suspension of mandatory contributions under the applicable rules. [MPFA: Self-employed contributions](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/mpf-system/mandatory-contributions/self-employed-persons)

Voluntary Contributions 自願性供款

Employers, employees and self-employed persons may choose to make voluntary contributions to increase retirement savings, including where income is below the mandatory contribution minimum. An employer’s voluntary contribution need not match the employee’s voluntary contribution. Ordinary voluntary contributions do not automatically become TVC merely because they are paid into an MPF scheme.

MPF legislative provisions applying to benefits from mandatory contributions generally also apply to ordinary voluntary contributions. The exceptions concern vesting, preservation, portability and withdrawal, which are governed by the relevant scheme’s governing rules. Those rules must therefore be checked when deciding when a member becomes entitled to, or can withdraw, ordinary voluntary contribution benefits. [MPFA: Voluntary contributions](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/mpf-system/voluntary-contributions-or-tax-deductible-voluntary-contributions/voluntary-contributions)

Ordinary voluntary contribution assets are managed by the same approved trustees, qualified investment managers and custodians as mandatory contribution assets. They have the same investment restrictions, indemnity insurance protection and compensation fund coverage. Where employers undertake to make voluntary contributions under the scheme’s governing rules, trustees must follow up outstanding payments.

TVC 可扣稅自願性供款

Since 1 April 2019, holders of MPF contribution accounts or personal accounts, and members of MPF exempted ORSO schemes, have been eligible to make TVC. An eligible person must open a TVC account in an MPF scheme of their choice and contribute to that account. Ordinary voluntary contributions paid into other MPF accounts do not automatically receive this tax treatment.

Account holders can choose when and how much to contribute, and can stop or change their contribution instructions at any time. A member who contributes to a TVC account during a year of assessment receives a contribution summary to help complete their tax return.

TVC follows the same preservation requirements as mandatory contributions. Being able to stop contributions does not mean benefits can be withdrawn on demand. A transfer to a TVC account in another MPF scheme must move all accrued benefits from the original account together in one lump sum; partial transfers are not allowed. [MPFA: TVC frequently asked questions](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/info-centre/faq/mpf-system/tax-deductible-voluntary-contributions)

Tax Allowances 稅項寬減

From the 2015/16 year of assessment, employees’ and self-employed persons’ own mandatory contributions are tax deductible up to HK$18,000 annually. Employers have a different limit: their mandatory contributions, together with voluntary contributions to MPF or other registered retirement schemes, are deductible up to 15% of the relevant employees’ total annual emoluments. The individual HK$18,000 cap must not be applied to employers. [MPFA: Tax treatment of mandatory and voluntary contributions](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/mpf-system/mpf-tax-matters/mandatory-and-voluntary-contributions)

From the 2019/20 year of assessment, TVC is deductible under salaries tax or personal assessment and shares an annual HK$60,000 deduction cap with qualifying deferred annuity premiums. This is one combined cap for both items, separate from the HK$18,000 mandatory contribution cap. Qualifying deferred annuity policies must satisfy specified criteria and be certified by the Insurance Authority. A deduction reduces taxable income; it is not a tax refund of the same amount. [MPFA: TVC tax treatment](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/mpf-system/mpf-tax-matters/tax-deductible-voluntary-contributions)

Distinguish deductions when contributing from tax treatment when receiving benefits. Benefits from mandatory contributions, employees’ voluntary contributions and TVC are tax exempt. Benefits from employers’ voluntary contributions may be taxable, depending on when and how they are paid. The absence of a deduction for ordinary employee voluntary contributions does not mean their benefits must be taxed when received.

Default Contributions 拖欠供款

A mandatory contribution is in arrears if it is not paid by the contribution day. The defaulter must pay the arrears plus a flat contribution surcharge of 5% of the unpaid mandatory contributions; this is not interest of 5% per month. MPFA may also impose a financial penalty of HK$5,000 or 10% of the arrears, whichever is greater. Trustees must take recovery action reasonably required by MPFA. [MPFA: Employer frequently asked questions](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/info-centre/faq/employer/mpf-employer)

Employer default may constitute a criminal offence. Failure to pay mandatory contributions without having deducted 5% from employees’ relevant income carries a maximum fine of HK$350,000 and three years’ imprisonment on conviction. Failure to remit employees’ contributions already deducted carries a higher maximum fine of HK$450,000 and four years’ imprisonment. Withholding deducted contributions therefore attracts the heavier penalty. [MPFA: Employer enforcement measures and penalties](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/enforcement/enforcement-against-employers/enforcement-measures-and-penalties)

A self-employed person who fails to pay mandatory contributions faces a maximum fine of HK$50,000 and six months’ imprisonment on the first conviction. Each subsequent conviction carries a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and 12 months’ imprisonment. Arrears, contribution surcharges, financial penalties and criminal liability are distinct matters; one must not be treated as replacing the others. [MPFA: Self-employed enforcement measures and penalties](https://www.mpfa.org.hk/en/enforcement/self-employed/enforcement-measures-and-penalties)