Tax prep support
Profits tax return preparation support
Preparation support for the Profits Tax return (BIR51), built from books reconciled monthly and handed to your practising Hong Kong CPA for audit. We work out the two tiered rate split, track territorial sourcing, and prepare the schedules the audit needs; the BIR51 itself is signed by a director or the company secretary and lodged by the company or its tax representative.
Tax working papers
Illustrative client · August 2026
HKD
- Year-end books closed and reconciledDone
- Fixed asset and depreciation scheduleDone
- Book-to-tax adjustments listedDone
- Supporting schedules for the preparerIn progress
- Handed to the signer for review and filingNext
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
What we prepare
We build the trial balance, adjustment schedules and profit and loss detail behind your Profits Tax return, then hand that package to your practising Hong Kong CPA. The CPA audits the accounts; the BIR51 is signed by a director or the company secretary and lodged by the company or its tax representative, often the same CPA practice, since Hong Kong has no small-company audit exemption and every active company needs that audit regardless of turnover.
Working out the two tiered rate
Hong Kong taxes corporations at 8.25 per cent on the first HK$2 million of assessable profits and 16.5 per cent on the remainder. Unincorporated businesses pay 7.5 per cent on the first HK$2 million and 15 per cent above it. Where a group has several connected entities, only one entity in the group may elect the lower band, so we flag that election point early rather than at year end.
Territorial sourcing, tracked as it happens
Profits Tax applies only to profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong, and there is no capital gains tax on top. Offshore income needs its own supporting file, invoices, contracts, evidence of where the work happened, if it is to be excluded from assessable profits. We build that file across the year instead of reconstructing it during audit season.
The BIR51 filing itself
BIR51 must be filed together with audited financial statements, and IRD wants a wet ink signature or a signed copy, not a scan of an unsigned draft. We track the filing calendar and chase outstanding source documents early enough that the audit is not the thing holding up the deadline.
Software we work in
We keep your books in Xero, QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books, whichever your company already runs, and export in the format your auditor's firm asks for, so the handoff at year end is a file transfer, not a data migration project.
Delivery
Every month's work is reviewed by a senior principal before it reaches you, and your file stays in your own Xero, QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books account. Your practising Hong Kong CPA audits the accounts; the BIR51 is signed by a director or the company secretary and lodged by the company or its tax representative.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Profits tax return preparation support
Do you file BIR51 for me?
No. We prepare the books, schedules and workpapers behind the return. Your practising Hong Kong CPA audits the accounts; the signed BIR51 is lodged by the company or its tax representative.
What if my company had no gross income this year?
Every company except a dormant one still needs audited accounts, and BIR51 is filed together with them.
How is the two tiered rate applied across group companies?
Only one company within a group of connected entities can benefit from the lower first-HK$2-million band. We help identify which entity that should be before year end.
How do you treat offshore profits?
We keep a supporting file of invoices, contracts and evidence of where the work took place, since only profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong are taxed.
What happens if our company has entities across more than one jurisdiction?
Hong Kong profits tax is prepared on a territorial basis for the Hong Kong entity alone; any related overseas entity is dealt with under its own jurisdiction's rules, coordinated with whoever prepares that entity's filings.
Do you handle the statutory audit as well?
No, every active Hong Kong company needs an annual audit by a practising Hong Kong CPA; we prepare audit-ready books and the tax computation that follows the audited accounts.
What if we claim profits are sourced outside Hong Kong?
We help organise the documentation that claim requires; the claim itself is assessed and filed through the reviewing CPA.
Who reviews the work before it reaches us?
Every deliverable under profits tax return preparation support is reviewed by a senior principal before it reaches you. You keep access to the underlying file at every stage, so nothing about the work happens somewhere you cannot see it.
What is included in profits tax return preparation support?
Profits tax return preparation support covers tax computation built from audited financial statements and depreciation allowance schedule. The exact scope is agreed and set out in writing before work starts, so you know precisely what is and is not covered before the first deliverable arrives.
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Industries
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- Professional servicesBookkeeping for professional service firms such as engineering, architecture and IT consulting billing clients by project or retainer.
- Startups and VC-backed companiesBookkeeping and reporting for early-stage, venture-backed companies watching burn, runway and investor reporting closely.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.