Can I change my financial year end in Hong Kong

Can I Change My Financial Year End in Hong Kong

Yes. Change your company's financial year end by notifying the Companies Registry on Form NAC4 (Notice of Alteration of Accounting Reference Date). This alters the accounting reference date, which determines when you prepare financial statements for each financial year. Filing Form NAC4 also shifts the timing of future annual returns and tax filings with the Inland Revenue Department.

Directors must resolve to make the change. File the notice with the Companies Registry within 15 days of that resolution. Companies make this change to join a group using a different accounting period, align with a parent company's reporting schedule, or when the existing period no longer suits the business cycle.

Alter Accounting Reference Date Hong Kong

The accounting reference date is the date a company's financial year ends. Under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622), a company alters this date by filing Form NAC4 with the Companies Registry. The form requires the company name, its company number, the current accounting reference date, the new proposed date, and the reason for the change. Directors must sign the notice.

Restrictions apply. A company may not alter its accounting reference date more than once in any five-year period. The only exceptions are to align with a subsidiary or holding company, or with the Registrar's permission. The change cannot extend an accounting period beyond 18 months, except when aligning with a group company's period and the Registrar provides written consent.

Form NAC4 Financial Year End

Form NAC4 is the specified form for notifying the Companies Registry of a change to the company's accounting reference date. It is available from the Companies Registry's specified forms index. The notice must be accompanied by the correct fee, published on the Companies Registry's fee schedule.

After filing, the Companies Registry updates its records. Your company's next annual return (Form NAR1) will be calculated from the new return date, which may shift the filing deadline. Coordinate the change with your company's auditor and tax adviser to align the new period with audit scheduling and profits tax return deadlines.

Hong Kong Change Accounting Period

Changing the accounting period in Hong Kong means selecting a new end date for the company's financial year. This is done through an alteration of accounting reference date via Form NAC4. The new accounting period determines the company's basis period for profits tax, so the Inland Revenue Department is informed indirectly through the annual return filing.

The IRD bases profits tax assessments on the accounting period shown in the audited financial statements. A change to the financial year end means the first tax return covering the shortened or extended period will be due at a different time. The block extension scheme for profits tax filing is tied to the accounting reference date, so a change may move the company into a different filing schedule.

The change also affects the annual return delivery date. While the return date for Form NAR1 is normally the anniversary of incorporation, an altered accounting reference date becomes the basis for determining the next return date. Confirm the new return date with the Companies Registry after filing Form NAC4 to avoid late filing penalties.