Hong Kong taxes on source, not on residence. A Hong Kong permanent resident who moves to Dubai has no worldwide tax to escape and no residence test to fail. Hong Kong still has a claim in four places. First, your employer must file Form IR56G and withhold your pay for up to a month before you leave so your final salaries tax is settled. Second, if you keep a Hong Kong employment contract while working in the UAE, your salary is only out of charge if you render all your services outside Hong Kong, ignoring visits of up to 60 days. The foreign-tax exclusion in section 8(1A)(c) cannot help, because no UAE tax is paid. Third, rent from a Hong Kong flat stays taxable. Fourth, MPF can be withdrawn early on permanent departure only once in your lifetime.
This guide is for Hong Kong residents, of any nationality, who are moving to or already working in the UAE. It covers tax clearance on departure, how salaries tax treats Hong Kong and non-Hong Kong employments, what the Hong Kong to UAE tax treaty adds, Hong Kong rent, and MPF.
The UAE side is simple. The UAE does not tax employment income, as our guide to what a tax-free salary really means explains, so every question here is about Hong Kong.
Why Residence Is Not the Question for Hong Kong
Most home-country tax questions for UAE expatriates start with when residence ends. In Hong Kong they do not. Salaries tax is charged on income from an office or employment arising in or derived from Hong Kong. The Inland Revenue Department’s Departmental Interpretation and Practice Notes No. 10, The Charge to Salaries Tax, sets out the two parts of the charge:
- The basic charge (section 8(1)) covers a Hong Kong employment. If your employment is located in Hong Kong, your entire salary is chargeable wherever you render the services. The only relief is the exclusion in section 8(1A)(b) read with section 8(1B), and the foreign-tax exclusion in section 8(1A)(c).
- The extended charge (section 8(1A)(a)) covers a non-Hong Kong employment. Only the income from services you actually render in Hong Kong is chargeable, again subject to the 60-day rule.
Where the employment is located is decided on all the facts. DIPN 10 says the three factors that settle most cases are the contract of employment, the residence of the employer, and the place where you are paid. It adds that if the employer is resident in Hong Kong, a claim for non-Hong Kong employment is unlikely to be accepted.
Your Salary After the Move
| Your situation | Hong Kong salaries tax |
|---|---|
| You resign and take a job with a UAE employer, and never work in Hong Kong | Not chargeable. A non-Hong Kong employment with no services in Hong Kong is outside both charges. |
| UAE employer, with business trips to Hong Kong totaling 60 days or fewer in the basis period (the year to 31 March) | Not chargeable. DIPN 10 paragraph 32: short assignments during visits of up to 60 days are not liable. |
| UAE employer, with more than 60 days of visits | Chargeable on the part of the income from services rendered in Hong Kong, including leave pay attributable to those services. The treaty can still give relief (see below). |
| Hong Kong employer keeps you on its payroll and posts you to Dubai, and you render all services outside Hong Kong apart from visits of 60 days or fewer | Not chargeable under section 8(1A)(b)(ii) and 8(1B). DIPN 10 gives the example of an employee posted to Singapore or Tokyo who renders all services there. |
| Hong Kong employer, Dubai posting, but more than 60 days of work in Hong Kong | Chargeable on the whole salary under the basic charge, with no time apportionment |
Why the foreign-tax exclusion does not work from the UAE
Section 8(1A)(c) excludes income from services rendered outside Hong Kong if, in the territory where the services are rendered, you are chargeable to and have paid tax of substantially the same nature as salaries tax. DIPN 10 paragraph 37 says all that is required is “chargeability to and actual payment of the foreign tax.” Its own example says that if no foreign tax is payable, section 8(1A)(c) cannot apply.
The UAE does not tax salaries, so a Hong Kong employee seconded to Dubai can never use this exclusion. If they keep a Hong Kong employment, their only route out of salaries tax is to render all services outside Hong Kong, with visits of no more than 60 days. A Hong Kong employee seconded to a country that does tax salaries could rely on that tax instead. A UAE secondee has no such option.
The 60-day rule is about visits
DIPN 10 paragraph 33 adds that the exclusion refers only to visits. Days at the start or end of a Hong Kong employment, before you leave or after you return, are not visits. That matters in the tax year you move: work done in Hong Kong before the Dubai posting starts is chargeable.
What the Hong Kong to UAE Treaty Adds
Hong Kong and the UAE signed a comprehensive double taxation agreement on 11 December 2014. According to the IRD’s list of comprehensive agreements, it entered into force on 10 December 2015 and has effect in Hong Kong from the year of assessment 2016/2017. It is also modified by the OECD Multilateral Instrument.
Article 4(1)(b)(i) makes “an individual who ordinarily resides in the United Arab Emirates” a UAE resident. There is no nationality condition, so a Hong Kong permanent resident living in Dubai can be a treaty resident of the UAE. If you are also resident in Hong Kong under Article 4(1)(a), which covers anyone who ordinarily resides there or stays more than 180 days in a year of assessment or more than 300 days over two consecutive years, Article 4(2) decides. Its last step looks at the right of abode in Hong Kong rather than nationality.
For an individual, the useful article is Article 14(2). It goes further than the 60-day rule. Salary for work done in Hong Kong by a UAE treaty resident is taxable only in the UAE if all three of these apply:
- You are in Hong Kong for 183 days or fewer in any twelve-month period starting or ending in the taxable period.
- The employer paying you is not a Hong Kong resident.
- The pay is not borne by a permanent establishment the employer has in Hong Kong.
A Dubai-based employee of a UAE company who spends, say, 90 days a year on assignment in Hong Kong is chargeable under domestic law but can claim exemption under the treaty. You will usually need proof of UAE residence, such as a UAE tax residency certificate; see our UAE tax residency certificate guide.
Article 17 also matters for retirement savings. Pensions and lump sums from a scheme recognised for tax purposes in one party, such as MPF, are taxable only in that party under Article 17(2).
Tax Clearance Before You Leave
This is the part most people moving to Dubai run into first. The IRD’s leaflet “You or your employee is going to leave Hong Kong” and its tax clearance checklist set out the obligations under section 52 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance:
| Who | What they must do |
|---|---|
| You, if you will owe salaries tax and are leaving for more than one month | Tell the IRD your intended departure date at least one month before you leave, file the tax return (BIR60) it sends you, and pay the tax |
| Your employer | File Form IR56G no later than one month before your expected departure date |
| Your employer, after filing IR56G | Withhold all payments of money or money’s worth to you for one month from the date of the IR56G, or until the IRD issues a Letter of Release (IR607), whichever is earlier |
Practical points from the IRD checklist:
- Your final salary, leave pay and bonus are frozen until you pay. Budget for the move without them.
- If you do not return the tax return in time, the IRD issues an estimated assessment. If you do not pay by the due date, it can serve a garnishee notice on your employer for the money being withheld.
- How fast the release is issued depends on how you pay. Cash, EPS, ATM or cashier order: same day. PPS or internet: about two working days. Personal cheque: about ten days.
- Share awards that vest after you leave must be reported. The employer files an additional IR56G and withholds again, unless you elected a “deemed vesting” (or a notional exercise for options) at clearance.
- Employees who travel frequently for work are exempt from the notification and withholding rules.
Rental and business income follow different rules. If you keep a Hong Kong flat and let it, you do not need clearance for the rent, but you must give the IRD your new address and keep filing the annual return.
Rent From a Hong Kong Flat
Rent from Hong Kong property is Hong Kong-source, so Property Tax keeps applying however long you live in Dubai. Article 6 of the treaty confirms that Hong Kong keeps the right to tax income from immovable property in Hong Kong. Hong Kong does not tax dividends, interest or capital gains for individuals, so a Hong Kong share portfolio does not create a liability on its own.
MPF on Permanent Departure
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority lists permanent departure from Hong Kong as one of six grounds for early withdrawal. The conditions:
- A statutory declaration that you have departed or will depart from Hong Kong to reside elsewhere, with no intention of returning for employment or to resettle as a permanent resident.
- Documentary proof, satisfactory to the trustee, that you are permitted to reside somewhere outside Hong Kong. For a UAE move the obvious evidence is your UAE residence visa, but each trustee decides what it accepts.
- Your identity document, such as your HKID card.
- Once in a lifetime. If you have already withdrawn on this ground, a later claim with a later departure date will not be paid.
The MPFA warns that a false declaration is a criminal offence, with a maximum fine of HK$100,000 and one year’s imprisonment on first conviction. If you expect to return to Hong Kong to work, do not make the declaration.
The Order to Do This In
- Decide whether you are resigning or being seconded. A secondment that keeps a Hong Kong contract leaves your whole salary chargeable unless you render all services outside Hong Kong, with visits of 60 days or fewer.
- Give your employer at least a month’s notice of your departure date so it can file IR56G on time, and notify the IRD yourself.
- Plan for a month without your final pay, and pay the clearance assessment quickly in a form that releases the money the same day.
- Settle unvested share awards and options at clearance, or be ready to report vesting later.
- Update your address with the IRD if you keep a letting property, and keep filing the property tax return.
- Decide on MPF. Withdraw on permanent departure only if you do not plan to return to work in Hong Kong; the ground can be used once.
- If you will work in Hong Kong for a UAE employer, count your days in each year to 31 March, and get a UAE tax residency certificate if you will need the treaty’s 183-day rule. Our guide to the UAE entry and exit report shows how to prove your travel dates.
Mainland China follows a different, residence-based system with a worldwide charge; see our guide for Chinese nationals in the UAE. For another territorial home system, compare Singaporeans in the UAE.
What We Could Not Verify
- Current Property Tax rate and allowance figures. The IRD’s property owner pages we reached did not state them, so check the IRD’s computation guide for the current year.
- What MPF trustees accept as proof of the right to reside in the UAE. The MPFA leaves this to each trustee. Confirm the list with your trustee before you leave.
- The IRD’s position on UAE tax residency certificates as proof of UAE residence under Article 4(1)(b)(i). The treaty test is ordinary residence, which is a question of fact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Hong Kong tax my Dubai salary?
Not if you work for a UAE employer and do not work in Hong Kong. Salaries tax only reaches income from a Hong Kong employment, or income from services rendered in Hong Kong.
What is the 60-day rule?
Under section 8(1B), services rendered during visits to Hong Kong totaling 60 days or fewer in the basis period of a year of assessment are ignored when deciding whether you rendered all your services outside Hong Kong.
Can I use the foreign-tax exclusion in section 8(1A)(c) for UAE work?
No. It requires you to be chargeable to and to have actually paid tax of substantially the same nature as salaries tax where you work. The UAE does not tax salaries, so the exclusion cannot apply.
What is Form IR56G?
It is the employer’s notice to the IRD that an employee is about to leave Hong Kong. It must be filed at least one month before the expected departure date. The employer must then withhold all payments to the employee for one month, or until the IRD issues a Letter of Release, whichever is earlier.
Is there a tax treaty between Hong Kong and the UAE?
Yes. It was signed on 11 December 2014, entered into force on 10 December 2015 and has effect in Hong Kong from the year of assessment 2016/2017. An individual who ordinarily resides in the UAE is a UAE resident under it, with no nationality condition.
How does the treaty help if I visit Hong Kong for work?
Under Article 14(2), salary for work in Hong Kong is taxable only in the UAE if you are there 183 days or fewer in any twelve-month period, your employer is not a Hong Kong resident, and the pay is not borne by a Hong Kong permanent establishment.
Can I withdraw my MPF when I move to Dubai?
Yes, on the ground of permanent departure. You need a statutory declaration that you will not return to work or resettle in Hong Kong, proof that you may reside elsewhere, and your identity document. The ground can be used only once in your lifetime.
Do I still pay tax on rent from my Hong Kong flat?
Yes. Rent from Hong Kong property stays subject to Property Tax wherever you live, and the treaty leaves that right with Hong Kong.
Official Sources
- Inland Revenue Department, Departmental Interpretation and Practice Notes No. 10 (Revised): The Charge to Salaries Tax
- Synthesised text of the MLI and the Hong Kong to UAE comprehensive double taxation agreement
- Inland Revenue Department, Comprehensive double taxation agreements concluded
- Inland Revenue Department, You or your employee is going to leave Hong Kong
- Inland Revenue Department, Employee about to leave Hong Kong: tax clearance
- Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, Early withdrawal
Information current as of October 2026. Verify with official authorities before proceeding.
This guide is for informational purposes only and is not tax advice. Hong Kong and UAE regulations are subject to change. Always verify current requirements with the relevant official authority, or a licensed tax adviser, before proceeding with any filing or transaction.
