Progressive Rating System for Domestic Tenements
The progressive rating system for domestic tenements has taken effect following the gazettal of the Rating (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 on 1 November 2024. Starting from 1 January 2025,
- For domestic tenements with rateable value of $550,000 or below (about 98% of private domestic tenements), the rates percentage charge remains at 5%.
- For domestic tenements with rateable value over $550,000, rates are calculated according to the following progressive rates charge scale:
Rateable value of domestic tenements Rates percentage charge First $550,000 5% Next $250,000 8% Remainder 12%
The 2024-25 rateable value of a tenement after revaluation has been shown on the quarterly Rates and Government rent demands, whereas the amount of progressive rates charged for the January to March 2025 quarter for applicable cases will also be shown on the quarterly demands concerned to be issued in early January 2025. Whether progressive rates will be charged for subsequent years of assessment for a particular domestic tenement will depend on whether its rateable value for the relevant year(s) is above $550,000.
You may use the “Rates and Government Rent Calculator” to estimate the amount of rates and Government rent payable.
Tenements subject to the progressive rating system
Domestic tenements (including domestic car parking tenements)
The following domestic tenements are not subject to the progressive rating system for domestic tenements (i.e. rates continue to be charged at 5% of the rateable value):
- Public rental housing flats:
- public rental housing flats provided by the Hong Kong Housing Authority or the Hong Kong Housing Society; and
- rental housing flats in Tai Hang Sai Estate provided by the Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corporation Limited
- Flats under the public housing scheme known as Light Public Housing or Transitional Housing
- Dormitories that are provided by the following institutions, and in which a substantial portion of the household facilities are designed for shared use:
- non-profit-making registered schools (the dormitories of which are situated within the premises specified in its school registration certificate);
- post-secondary institutions specified in section 2 of the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279);
- the Hospital Authority or The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong; and
- religious institutions*
* Religious institution is herein referred to as an institution that owns or occupies tenement(s) used wholly or mainly for the purpose of public religious worship
A ratepayer who considers that progressive rating should not be applied to the tenement concerned may request a review under the following grounds:
- The rateable value is not reasonable
General Revaluations are conducted annually. If the ratepayer considers the rateable value of a tenement not reasonable, he/she may lodge a proposal in April and May in any year to alter the rateable value of the tenement but any changes in the rateable value will only take effect from 1 April of that year in which the proposal is made. Please note that the Commissioner does not have the discretion to accept late proposals. For more information on the matter, please refer to the “Objections to Rateable Value Under the Rating Ordinance” in Rates section under “Our Services”.
In respect of domestic tenements with 2024-25 rateable value over $550,000, the Department already issued notification letters to individual ratepayers concerned in April 2024, informing them of the higher rates liability upon implementation of the progressive rating system, and reminding them that if they were not satisfied with the rateable value assessed, they should submit a proposal within the statutory period on or before 31 May 2024 to object to the rateable value. The Department is reviewing the rateable values for the valid proposals and will issue all the notices of decision before 1 December 2024. - The tenement should not be subject to progressive rates
If the ratepayer considers that the tenement should not be subject to progressive rates, i.e. the tenement (i) falls within the afore-mentioned tenement categories which are “not subject to the progressive rates system”, or (ii) is not a domestic tenement, he/she may write to the Department to request a review with the following information:
(a) the assessment number of the tenement concerned;
(b) the address of the tenement concerned;
(c) the ground(s) and relevant supporting information; and
(d) the contact information.
For general cases, the review result will be issued within 4 months upon receipt of the review request together with the afore-mentioned information.
If the ratepayer is not satisfied with the review result, he/she may write to object to the review result and provide supporting information within 28 days from the issue of the review result. The Department will re-examine the case carefully taking into account, among others, further information provided, and notify the ratepayer of the Department’s decision in due course.
Please note that if the layout of a tenement has undergone alteration, the ratepayer should inform the Department to consider updating the entries of the tenement in the valuation list. Please refer to Frequently Asked Questions in Rates section under “Our Services” for details.