HK Rental Stamp Duty: Tenancy Agreement Rates & Rules
By Kenneth Wong, Senior Real Estate Tax Specialist·Last updated: October 2026·14 min read
Statutory source alignment verified for October 2026 by Kenneth Wong, Senior Real Estate Tax Specialist (Statutory Research)
Quick Executive Summary: HK Rental Stamp Duty Rules
The Standard 2-Year Lease: For the standard "one year fixed, one year optional" (2-year) residential lease in Hong Kong, the stamp duty rate is 0.5% of the average yearly rent.
50/50 Cost Sharing: Market convention and statutory practice split the stamp duty fee and HK$5 counterpart stamping fee equally between landlord and tenant.
Legal Enforceability: Stamping is mandatory within 30 days of execution. An unstamped agreement cannot be used in the Lands Tribunal or Small Claims Tribunal to recover unpaid rent or deposits.
e-Stamping Convenience: Agreements can be stamped 24/7 online via the GovHK / IRD eTAX portal using PPS, credit card, or Faster Payment System (FPS).
How is Stamp Duty Calculated on a Hong Kong Tenancy Agreement?
Rental stamp duty is calculated as a percentage of the total or average annual rent based on the lease term: 0.25% for leases not exceeding 1 year, 0.5% for leases between 1 and 3 years, and 1% for leases exceeding 3 years, plus HK$5 for each counterpart duplicate.
Under Head 1(2) of the First Schedule to the Stamp Duty Ordinance, duty is calculated on the agreed rent. If a lease includes a rent-free period, the average annual rent is computed by dividing the total rent payable over the entire term by the number of years in the term.
Tenancy / Lease Term
Statutory Stamp Duty Rate
Calculation Base
Lease term not defined or uncertain
0.25%
Total rent for the period
Lease term ≤ 1 year
0.25%
Total rent payable over the term
Lease term > 1 year but ≤ 3 years (Standard 2-Yr)
0.50%
Average yearly rent (AYR)
Lease term > 3 years (Commercial Leases)
1.00%
Average yearly rent (AYR)
Counterpart (Duplicate Copy for Tenant/Landlord)
HK$5.00
Per counterpart document
Who is Responsible for Paying Rental Stamp Duty in Hong Kong?
By standard market practice and law in Hong Kong, the stamp duty and counterpart fees are shared equally (50/50) between the landlord and the tenant, unless explicitly negotiated otherwise in the tenancy agreement.
Case Study: Standard 2-Year Lease at HK$25,000 / Month
Suppose an expat rents a flat in Mid-Levels for HK$25,000 per month on a standard 2-year tenancy agreement (original + 1 counterpart copy):
What Happens If a Tenancy Agreement is Not Stamped by the IRD?
An unstamped tenancy agreement is legally inadmissible as evidence in a Hong Kong court or the Lands Tribunal, preventing landlords from legally enforcing rent arrears or reclaiming property possession. Additionally, late stamping incurs penalties of up to 10 times the original duty.
Under Section 9 of the Stamp Duty Ordinance, penalties for late stamping depend on the duration of the delay:
Delay not exceeding 1 month: Penalty of 2 times the duty amount.
Delay between 1 and 2 months: Penalty of 4 times the duty amount.
Delay exceeding 2 months: Maximum penalty of 10 times the duty amount.
