- Hong Kong has no official consultancy fee table, so build your rate from your costs.
- Hourly rate = (target income + MPF + business costs) ÷ billable hours, then add tax.
- Self-employed consultants pay MPF at 5% of relevant income, up to HK$18,000 a year.
- Register your business before you send your first invoice.
If you set your consultancy fee in Hong Kong by dividing your old salary by your working hours, you’ve probably priced yourself too low. That number leaves out the leave, MPF, tools and unpaid admin hours your employer used to cover.
A fee that works covers your target income, business costs, MPF and a tax buffer, spread over the hours you can actually bill. You’ll get one formula, a worked example that adds up, and the registration, MPF and tax steps that change the number, whether you stay a sole proprietor or later incorporate your consultancy.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- Why an employee salary is the wrong starting point
- How to calculate an hourly rate, day rate, project fee and retainer
- How MPF, business costs and profits tax affect your rate
- When a retainer with one client can look like employment
- What to set up before you send your first invoice
How much should a consultant charge in Hong Kong?
Enough to cover the income you want, your business costs, MPF and tax, spread over the hours you can actually bill. No regulator or official survey publishes consultant rates in Hong Kong, so a fee you see quoted online is one person’s price, not a benchmark.
The closest official reference is employee pay. In May to June 2025, the median monthly wage of Hong Kong employees was HK$21,200 and the median hourly wage was HK$85.7, according to the Census and Statistics Department. These are employee wages, not consultant rates.
The professional groups sit higher. The same survey’s 2025 report puts managers, professionals and associate professionals well above the overall median:
| Employee group (May to June 2025) | Lower quartile | Median | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|
| All employees, hourly | HK$61.3 | HK$85.7 | HK$135.9 |
| Managers, professionals and associate professionals, hourly | HK$87.1 | HK$126.0 | HK$200.0 |
| Managers, professionals and associate professionals, monthly | HK$21,500 | HK$32,700 | HK$47,000 |
An employee’s wage comes with paid leave, an employer’s MPF contribution, and an office and tools paid for by someone else. As a consultant, you pay for all of that yourself, and your admin hours go unpaid.
How do you calculate your consulting rate?
Work out what you need to earn in a year, then divide it by the hours you can actually bill:
Hourly rate = (target income + MPF + business costs) ÷ billable hours
- Target income: what you want to pay yourself for the year, before tax.
- MPF: your own contribution as a self-employed person, 5% of your relevant income, up to HK$18,000 a year. You don’t have to contribute if your relevant income is below HK$85,200 a year.
- Business costs: software, professional insurance, accounting, business registration, phone, marketing and any desk space.
- Billable hours: the weeks you’ll work in a year, multiplied by the hours a week you can charge clients for.
Worked example
The inputs below are illustrative, not typical or average figures, so swap in your own.
| What you need to recover | How it’s worked out | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Target income | Chosen by the consultant | HK$480,000 |
| MPF | 5% of relevant income, capped | HK$18,000 |
| Business costs | Software, insurance, accounting, registration | HK$60,000 |
| Total to recover | 480,000 + 18,000 + 60,000 | HK$558,000 |
| Billable hours | 46 weeks × 25 hours | 1,150 hours |
| Your rate | How it’s worked out | Amount |
| Hourly rate | 558,000 ÷ 1,150 | HK$485 an hour |
| Day rate | 485 × 8 hours | HK$3,880 a day |
| Project fee | 40 hours × 485, plus 15% contingency | HK$22,310 |
| Monthly retainer | 20 hours × 485 | HK$9,700 a month |
MPF follows the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority rules for self-employed persons. All other inputs are illustrative. The hourly rate is rounded to HK$485 (from HK$485.22) before working out the other rates.
- Why 46 weeks: 14 of Hong Kong’s 17 general holidays in 2026 fall on weekdays, almost three weeks. That leaves about three more weeks for annual leave and sick days. If you’re setting rates for 2027, recount using next year’s holidays.
- Why 25 billable hours: not every working hour is chargeable. Admin, finding clients and invoicing take time you can’t bill.
- Why a 15% contingency: fixed-price projects tend to run over, and the buffer covers extra hours without having to go back to the client.
- Add tax on top: this rate is before tax. Set part of every payment aside for profits tax. Unincorporated businesses pay 7.5% on the first HK$2 million of assessable profits and 15% on the rest; see two-tiered profits tax rates.
Ready to bill? Our free invoice generator creates a clean invoice with your business name, the client, the service, the period and the amount.
Billable hours are the hours you can charge to a client. Proposals, invoicing, admin and finding new work are part of the job, but no client pays for them.
Hourly, day rate, project or retainer: which pricing model should you use?
Pick the model that matches how the client buys and how predictable the work is. Consulting fees are usually quoted in one of four ways, and all four start from the same hourly rate.
| Model | You bill for | Suits | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate | Hours worked | Advisory calls, open-ended work, new clients | Income rises only with your hours |
| Day rate | A working day | Workshops, on-site work, short assignments | Long days turning into unpaid hours |
| Project fee | A defined result | Work with a clear scope and end point | Scope grows, effective rate falls |
| Monthly retainer | Set hours or deliverables a month | Ongoing support, steadier income | Unused hours and extra requests |
| Value-based | What the result is worth to the client | Work whose outcome you can show | Quoting below your hourly floor |
Hourly rate
Bill your calculated rate for each hour and send time sheets with the invoice. Clients sometimes question hours, so agree an estimate up front.
Day rate
Multiply your hourly rate by the hours in the day. Agree in writing what a “day” means, such as eight hours on site, and what happens when one runs long.
Project fee
Quote estimated hours × your rate, plus a contingency for the unexpected. List what’s included and how changes to the scope are priced, because extra work comes out of your effective hourly rate.
Monthly retainer
Multiply the hours or deliverables a month by your rate. Say in the contract whether unused hours roll over and what extra hours cost.
Value-based pricing
Set the fee by what the result is worth to the client, not by your hours. It works once you can show the result, but your hourly rate is still the floor to check the quote against.
What changes the rate
- Specialism: scarce or regulated expertise usually supports a higher fee.
- Client size: larger clients often expect more reporting, meetings and procurement steps, which take time.
- Scope: a vague brief carries more risk, so price in more contingency.
- Urgency: short deadlines mean turning other work down.
- Costs you carry: professional insurance, specialist software or travel you pay for yourself.
What do MPF, business costs and tax do to your rate?
Three costs sit on top of the income you want to earn: MPF, business costs and profits tax. As an employee, someone else paid or deducted some of these for you. Now you carry them yourself, so price them into your rate rather than paying them out of your income.
MPF for self-employed consultants
You contribute 5% of your relevant income, which is broadly your business’s net profit. There’s no employer contribution on top, so your MPF builds at half the rate it did when you were employed.
| MPF rule | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum relevant income (below this, you don’t have to contribute) | HK$7,100 | HK$85,200 |
| Maximum relevant income (income above this doesn’t raise the contribution) | HK$30,000 | HK$360,000 |
| Maximum contribution | HK$1,500 | HK$18,000 |
Source: Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.
- When to enrol: join an MPF scheme within 60 days of becoming self-employed.
- How often to pay: you can choose to contribute monthly or yearly.
- Tax relief: your mandatory contributions are tax-deductible, up to HK$18,000 a year.
Business costs
Costs you pay to earn your consulting income, such as software, insurance and accounting, can reduce your taxable profits. Not every cost qualifies, so check the deductible business expenses before you count on one.
Profits tax
If you run your own consulting business rather than working as an employee, you pay profits tax on your profits, not salaries tax. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) sets two-tiered rates:
| Business type | First HK$2 million of assessable profits | Above HK$2 million |
|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated (sole proprietorship or partnership) | 7.5% | 15% |
| Corporation (limited company) | 8.25% | 16.5% |
Only one business in a group of connected entities can use the lower first-tier rate.
Plan for a bigger first bill
- Your first return comes late: a sole proprietor’s first tax return normally arrives about 18 months after the business starts, so the first assessment can cover more than one year of profits.
- Provisional tax is added: each year you also pay provisional tax for the current year, based on the previous year’s profits, according to the IRD’s brief guide to taxes. Your first demand will include both.
- Your bill depends on more than the rate: profits, deductions and, for sole proprietors who elect personal assessment, personal allowances all change what you pay.
Sole proprietors and companies file different returns. Tax for freelancers and the self-employed explains which one you’ll get.
Employee or self-employed: what if one client takes most of your time?
A long retainer with one client can start to look like employment. Your status decides which tax you pay and whether the client owes you employee benefits, such as employer MPF contributions. The Labour Department says there’s no single conclusive test: all the relevant factors are weighed together.
| Factor | Looks more like self-employment | Looks more like employment |
|---|---|---|
| Control | You decide how, when and where you work | The client decides |
| Tools | You own and provide the equipment | The client provides it |
| Own business | You invest in and manage your own business | You don’t |
| Part of the organisation | You work alongside the client as an outsider | You’re treated as part of the team |
| Helpers | You’re free to hire people to help | You must do the work yourself |
| Profit and loss | You can make a profit or a loss | You’re paid the same either way |
| Insurance and tax | You arrange your own | The client handles them |
| Trade practice | Work like yours is usually done by contractors | It’s usually done by employees |
No single factor decides your status. Based on the Labour Department’s common distinguishing factors.
Get professional advice before you sign a long retainer if:
- most of your income comes from one client
- the client sets your hours
- the client provides your tools
Calling you a consultant in the contract doesn't make you self-employed. If the facts show employment, the client still has to meet its duties as an employer under labour law.
What should you do before you send your first invoice?
Check licences, register the business, set up your records and decide on a structure.
- Check licences: some advisory work needs a licence before you take on clients, such as advising on securities (Securities and Futures Commission) or insurance (Insurance Authority). Confirm what applies when you start a consulting business.
- Register the business: anyone carrying on a business in Hong Kong needs a business registration certificate from the IRD, applied for within one month of starting. Check whether you need to register your freelance business and the current business registration fee (HK$2,350 for one year, including the levy).
- Set up invoicing and records: track every invoice, payment and expense from day one. Simple bookkeeping makes your tax return easier and shows you whether your rate is working.
- Decide on a structure: compare a sole proprietorship or limited company before your income grows. A limited company is a separate legal entity, registered with the Companies Registry, and pays the corporate profits tax rates.
How can Sleek help consultants?
Sleek handles the admin around your fee, so more of your week stays billable. Once your rate is set, the books and the tax return are what eat into your hours.
With Sleek, you can:
- Keep your books in order: annual or monthly bookkeeping and simple expense tracking through accounting services for consultants.
- File on time: your company’s Profits Tax return, plus the Employer’s Return if you pay yourself a salary.
- Incorporate when you’re ready: set up a Hong Kong limited company online when a sole proprietorship no longer fits.
- See the costs up front: check Sleek pricing before you budget for accounting.
If you’re not sure which set-up fits your consultancy yet, talk to our team before you send your first invoice.
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FAQs about consultancy fees in Hong Kong
Is it "consultant fee" or "consultancy fee"?
Both are correct, and both are used in Hong Kong for the same thing. Pick one and use it consistently in your proposals, contracts and invoices, so clients see the same term throughout. In Chinese, the term is 顧問費, which is also the word to use on bilingual invoices for local clients.
Do I need to add sales tax or VAT to my consultancy fee?
No. Hong Kong has no value-added tax (VAT) or sales tax, according to the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, so your invoice shows your fee without a sales tax line. Clients in other places may have their own tax rules, so check before you invoice an overseas client.
How often should I review my consultancy fee?
At least once a year, and whenever your costs, hours or scope change. Rerun the formula with your actual billable hours and costs from the past year. For existing clients, give notice before a new rate starts and say in your contract how rate changes work.
I'm hiring a consultant. How do I compare consultancy fees?
Compare quotes on the same scope, not the headline rate. Ask each consultant for the pricing model, an estimate of hours, and a cap if you’re paying by the hour or day. Check whether travel, software and expenses sit inside the fee or are billed on top, and what a change to the scope costs.
Does my client report what it pays me to the IRD?
Yes, if you’re a local consultant without a limited company and it pays you more than HK$25,000 in a year. Under the IRD’s IR56M rules, the client files Form IR56M with a cover Form IR6036B and should give you a copy, so make sure your own tax return matches it. Payments to limited companies and non-residents aren’t reported on IR56M.
