Form IR56F Cessation of Employment Hong Kong Employer Obligations

What Is Form IR56F

Form IR56F is the notice an employer files with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to report an employee's impending cessation of employment in Hong Kong. Its statutory name is "Notification of Cessation of Employment". The requirement is set out under section 52(5) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112).

Submit Form IR56F at least one month before the employee's last day of work. The form notifies the IRD that the employee will no longer receive remuneration from that employer and triggers the tax clearance process for any outstanding salaries tax. If the employee is also leaving Hong Kong, use Form IR56G instead.

IR56F Employee Leaving Hong Kong: When This Form Applies

The correct form depends on why the employment is ending and whether the employee plans to stay in Hong Kong.

Form IR56F applies when an employee ceases employment but remains in Hong Kong. This covers resignations to join another local employer, retirement while staying in the city, or redundancy where the employee continues to live in Hong Kong.

Form IR56G applies when an employee both ceases employment and intends to depart Hong Kong, whether permanently or for an extended period. The IRD treats a departure as a higher-risk event because the employee may leave unpaid tax behind.

Form IR56B is the annual return of an employee's remuneration, filed once per year as part of the employer's BIR56A return. It is not used for mid-year cessations. If an employee leaves partway through a year, the employer files IR56F for that cessation and later includes the same employee on the annual IR56B for the full year's remuneration.

Filing the wrong form can delay the employee's tax clearance and may result in a penalty for the employer.

What Information Must Form IR56F Include

Form IR56F requires the following details about the employee and the cessation:

• Employee's full name in English and Chinese (if applicable)
• Hong Kong Identity Card number or passport number
• Correspondence address
• Date employment began
• Date employment ceased
• Total remuneration paid from the start of the year of assessment to the cessation date, including salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, allowances, tips, perquisites, and any other taxable benefits
• Amount of employer's contributions to a recognised retirement scheme (if any)
• Amount of employee's contributions to a recognised retirement scheme (if any)

Calculate remuneration up to the last day of employment, not the filing date. The IRD uses this figure to assess outstanding tax liabilities. An officer of the employer must sign the form. There is no statutory fee for filing Form IR56F.

IR56F Filing Deadline Hong Kong

The deadline is set out in section 52(5) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112). File Form IR56F at least one month before the employee's cessation date. If the employer could not reasonably have known about the cessation one month in advance, file within one month after the cessation date.

The second scenario applies when an employee resigns with less than one month's notice, or leaves without notice. The employer then has one month from the date it becomes aware of the cessation to file.

Example: If an employee gives notice that the last working day will be 15 March, file by 15 February. If an employee resigns on 10 March with immediate effect, file by 10 April.

The IRD does not grant extensions for this form. Missing the deadline is a contravention of Cap. 112.

Hong Kong Employer Cessation Notification Procedure

Complete Form IR56F and send it to the IRD. The current channels are:

• Paper filing: Download the form from the IRD website, complete it, and post or deliver it to the Employer Returns Unit of the Inland Revenue Department.
• Electronic filing: The IRD accepts electronic submission through the Business Tax Portal. From the year of assessment 2025-26, electronic filing is mandatory for certain multinational enterprise groups, but most employers may still file by paper or electronically at their choice.

The IRD does not require supporting documents with the initial filing, but it may request them later. Keep a copy of the filed form and any correspondence.

The IRD will process the form and issue a tax assessment to the employee if there are outstanding tax liabilities. The employer does not need to withhold final pay, but the IRD may ask the employee to settle any tax due before the cessation date.

Relationship Between Form IR56F Cessation of Employment Hong Kong and Employee Tax Clearance

Upon receiving Form IR56F, the IRD checks for any unpaid salaries tax from previous years or from the current year up to the cessation date. If tax is owing, the IRD will issue a notice of assessment and demand payment.

The employee must settle any outstanding tax before the cessation date. If the employee does not pay, the IRD can issue a direction to the employer under section 52(7) of Cap. 112, requiring the employer to withhold money payable to the employee up to the amount of tax owed. Comply with such a direction immediately or face a penalty.

Late filing may mean the IRD does not process the assessment before the employee's last day. The employer may later be required to recover the tax from funds already paid to the employee.

Distinguishing IR56F From IR56G

The key difference is the employee's location after cessation.

If an employee originally intended to stay but later decides to leave, file a supplementary IR56G. The IRD will then treat the departure as the relevant event and may request the employee to obtain tax clearance before leaving.

IR56F Penalty Late Filing

An employer who fails to file Form IR56F by the deadline commits an offence under section 80(2) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112). The penalty structure is as follows:

• Fine: A person convicted may be liable to a fine at level 3 (currently HK$10,000).
• Additional penalty: The court may also order the employer to pay a further penalty of treble the amount of tax that would have been chargeable had the employer complied. This is a punitive measure designed to discourage deliberate non-compliance.

The IRD may also issue a fixed-penalty notice for late or non-filing, though this is more common for annual returns. The risk of prosecution rises if the employer systematically fails to file cessation notifications.

If the IRD cannot assess the employee's tax liability because the employer did not file IR56F, and the employee leaves Hong Kong without paying tax, the IRD may pursue the employer for the unpaid tax directly. This is a significant financial risk.

Practical Steps for Employers

1. Identify the correct form: IR56F for cessation without departure, IR56G for cessation with departure.
2. File at least one month before the cessation date, or within one month of learning of the cessation if notice was short.
3. Calculate total remuneration accurately, including all taxable benefits.
4. Keep a copy of the filed form and the date of filing.
5. If the IRD issues a direction to withhold money, comply immediately.
6. Include the employee's full-year remuneration on the annual IR56B even if IR56F was already filed.

The IRD publishes the current version of Form IR56F on its website at ird.gov.hk. Always use the latest version, as the department revises forms periodically.