- On top of the mandatory 5% + 5%, you can pay voluntary MPF contributions: employee voluntary, employer voluntary, or Tax-Deductible Voluntary Contributions (TVC).
- Only TVC carries a tax break. You can deduct up to HK$60,000 a year from your income for salaries tax, and that cap is shared with qualifying deferred annuity premiums (not HK$60,000 each).
- Mandatory MPF is 5% employer + 5% employee on monthly relevant income between HK$7,100 and HK$30,000 (maximum HK$1,500 each per month).
- The trade-off: TVC is locked in until age 65, like mandatory MPF, with only limited early-withdrawal grounds.
- Ordinary employee and employer voluntary contributions do not qualify for the TVC deduction.
- Mandatory MPF: 5% employer + 5% employee on monthly income HK$7,100–HK$30,000
- TVC tax deduction: Up to HK$60,000 a year against salaries tax, shared with deferred-annuity premiums
- Other voluntary types: Employee voluntary and employer voluntary: no personal tax deduction
- Trade-off: TVC locked in until age 65 (limited early-withdrawal grounds)
Voluntary MPF contributions in Hong Kong sit on top of the mandatory 5% + 5%, but only one of the three types gives you a tax break. Ordinary top-ups build retirement savings. Tax-Deductible Voluntary Contributions (TVC), paid into a dedicated TVC account, let you deduct up to HK$60,000 a year from your income for salaries tax, though the money is locked in until age 65.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- What voluntary MPF contributions are, and the three types
- The 2025/26 mandatory rates and income limits
- How the TVC tax deduction works, including the cap and a worked example
- The benefits weighed against the lock-in
- How to open a TVC account or run employer voluntary contributions
What are voluntary MPF contributions?
There are three types, and only TVC carries the personal tax deduction:
- Employee voluntary contributions: extra payments into your own MPF account.
- Employer voluntary contributions: amounts an employer pays above the mandatory 5%.
- Tax-Deductible Voluntary Contributions (TVC): paid into a dedicated TVC account, and the only type that reduces your salaries tax.
The next section sets out the mandatory rates for context, then covers each voluntary type in turn.
What are the mandatory MPF rates in 2025/26?
Both the employer and the employee contribute 5% of relevant income, subject to a monthly minimum and maximum income level.
|
Item |
2025/26 figure |
|
Employer mandatory contribution |
5% of relevant income |
|
Employee mandatory contribution |
5% of relevant income |
|
Minimum relevant income (monthly) |
HK$7,100 |
|
Maximum relevant income (monthly) |
HK$30,000 |
|
Maximum mandatory contribution (each, monthly) |
HK$1,500 |
|
Employee deduction cap (mandatory only, salaries tax) |
HK$18,000 per year |
Below HK$7,100 a month, the employee does not make a mandatory 5% contribution, but the employer still must. Above HK$30,000, both sides cap at HK$1,500 each, because relevant income is capped for MPF purposes.
How does the TVC tax deduction work?
TVC lets you deduct contributions from your assessable income for salaries tax, up to HK$60,000 a year. You contribute by direct payment to the trustee, not through employer payroll, and claim the deduction on your tax return.
Who is eligible for TVC?
TVC is open to existing members of an MPF scheme or an MPF-exempted ORSO scheme. If you are already in an MPF scheme through your job, you qualify.
How the shared HK$60,000 cap works
The HK$60,000 ceiling covers TVC and qualifying deferred annuity premiums (QDAP) combined, not HK$60,000 each. If you use both in the same year, the deduction applies to TVC first, then annuity premiums, up to the single limit.
How to open a TVC account
You open a TVC account yourself, not through your employer. The process is short:
- Choose an MPF trustee that offers a TVC account. You can use a different trustee from your employer’s scheme.
- Open the TVC account directly with that trustee.
- Set up contributions by direct payment. You can pay a lump sum or regular amounts, and adjust them later.
- Keep the trustee’s annual TVC contribution summary. That is the figure you enter on your tax return.
- Claim the deduction on your salaries tax return (BIR60) for the relevant year of assessment.
TVC counts for the year of assessment in which the money reaches your account, and Hong Kong’s year of assessment ends on 31 March. Contribute before then to claim for that year.
The HK$60,000 cap is not HK$60,000 for TVC plus HK$60,000 for annuities. If you already claim the full amount through a QDAP policy, there is no additional TVC headroom, and vice versa. Plan both together.
How much tax can TVC save?
Tax saved = deductible TVC × your marginal salaries tax rate.
Marginal rate is what you pay on your top band of income, not the average rate across your whole salary.
Worked example: Full HK$60,000 cap
Setup: Your income sits in the 17% marginal band, Hong Kong’s highest progressive salaries tax rate. You contribute the full HK$60,000 TVC cap during the year of assessment and claim no qualifying deferred annuity (QDAP) in the same year.
| Step | Figure |
|---|---|
| Marginal rate on the deducted income | 17% |
| TVC contribution | HK$60,000 |
| Reduction in assessable income | HK$60,000 |
| Tax saved that year | HK$10,200 (HK$60,000 × 17%) |
Assessable income drops by HK$60,000. Salaries tax for the year falls by HK$10,200 — not “up to” that figure, because at a 17% marginal rate the maths is exact.
Same contribution, lower marginal rate
The mechanics do not change. Only the rate on your top band does.
| Marginal rate | TVC contribution | Tax saved |
|---|---|---|
| 17% | HK$60,000 | HK$10,200 |
| 10% | HK$60,000 | HK$6,000 |
At 10%, the same HK$60,000 cap saves about HK$6,000 instead of HK$10,200.
Salaries tax is progressive (2% to 17%). If the standard rate (15%) produces a lower bill than the progressive total on your return, IRD applies that instead, which can trim the saving for some higher earners.
Your actual figure still depends on personal allowances, other deductions, and the shared TVC/QDAP ceiling.
What holds either way: You can claim the deduction again each year you contribute, as long as you accept the lock-in until 65.
What are the benefits and trade-offs?
Benefits
- Retirement top-up: more invested, compounding over your working life
- Tax saving (TVC only): up to HK$60,000 deductible each year
- Simplicity: it stays inside the MPF system you already use
Trade-offs
- Lock-in until 65: TVC is preserved until age 65, with limited early-withdrawal grounds such as permanent departure from Hong Kong, total incapacity, or terminal illness
- Flexibility: ordinary employee voluntary contributions may allow earlier access, depending on the scheme
- Fees and returns: MPF fund fees and returns vary, so the tax saving is more predictable than the investment performance
- Opportunity cost: TVC cash is unavailable for other uses until 65
A founder or employee with spare income and a high marginal rate often finds the annual deduction worth the lock-in. Someone who may need the cash sooner may not.
What should employers know about employer voluntary contributions?
Some employers pay above the mandatory 5% as a staff benefit. Two practical points matter:
- Vesting: employer voluntary amounts can follow a vesting scale, so leavers may forfeit part of them depending on scheme rules
- Tax treatment: these are generally deductible for the employer as a business expense within Inland Revenue Ordinance limits. They are not TVC and do not give the employee the personal HK$60,000 deduction
Employer voluntary contributions are set up in the MPF scheme and flow through the monthly submission with the mandatory amounts. Employers now run these through the eMPF Platform, the centralised system MPF trustees moved onto during 2024 and 2025.
How is each voluntary route set up?
At a glance, here is how each route is arranged in practice:
|
Type |
How |
|
Employee voluntary |
Through employer payroll or directly with your scheme, on top of mandatory deductions |
|
TVC |
Open a TVC account with any MPF trustee that offers TVC; contribute by direct payment; keep the annual summary for your tax return |
|
Employer voluntary |
Set up in the scheme rules; run through the monthly MPF submission |
You do not open TVC through your employer. It is an individual account and an individual tax claim.
When is TVC not worth it?
TVC suits some situations and not others. It may not be worth it if:
- You may need the cash before 65 and do not fit the limited early-withdrawal grounds
- Your marginal salaries tax rate is low, so the deduction saves less than the lock-in costs you in flexibility
- You already use the full HK$60,000 through qualifying deferred annuity premiums
- You are not an MPF or exempt ORSO member, since TVC eligibility requires existing scheme membership
If you have high marginal tax, stable income, and a retirement gap to fill, TVC is usually worth modelling against your actual rate and cash-flow needs.
When is Sleek not the right fit?
We handle the employer side of MPF, not personal investment advice. Sleek may not be the right fit if:
- You only need personal TVC advice on fund choice or contribution level, not payroll setup
- You have no Hong Kong employees and only want individual tax planning, since TVC is individual and we do not sell MPF products
- You need licensed financial advice on whether TVC beats other retirement products, which sits outside payroll and tax filing
If you need employer MPF handled correctly each month, including voluntary employer contributions, outsourced payroll is the usual fit.
How Sleek handles your MPF
MPF is a monthly employer obligation and an individual tax-planning option. Sleek covers the employer side.
With Sleek, you can:
- Enrol and contribute correctly: our payroll service handles MPF enrolment, the mandatory 5% within income limits, and monthly submissions
- Run employer voluntary contributions: configured in the monthly run, with vesting where it applies
- Keep the tax side aligned: our accounting and tax team reflects mandatory and TVC deductions correctly in salaries tax work
- Fit MPF into the wider picture: see the Hong Kong taxation overview for how MPF sits alongside other obligations
You decide whether TVC is worth it personally; we keep the employer admin and tax filing straight.
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FAQs about voluntary MPF contributions
On BIR60, in the TVC and qualifying annuity deduction section, alongside other approved deductions. Keep your trustee’s annual TVC contribution summary, since that is the figure you enter. See our salaries tax return (BIR60) guide for the full walkthrough.
TVC counts for the year of assessment in which the money reaches your TVC account. Hong Kong’s year of assessment ends on 31 March, so pay before that date to claim the deduction for that year. Contributions made after 31 March fall into the next year.
Yes. You can hold TVC accounts with more than one MPF trustee. The HK$60,000 deduction still applies to your total TVC and QDAP contributions across all accounts, not to each account separately.
Yes. TVC is flexible, so you can raise or lower the amount, pause, or restart to suit your cash flow. Only what you actually pay into the account during the year of assessment counts toward that year’s deduction, up to HK$60,000.
No. Employer voluntary contributions are a separate benefit. The HK$60,000 deduction applies only to TVC you pay into your own TVC account, shared with QDAP. Employer top-ups do not create personal tax deductions for the employee.
Only HK$60,000 is deductible, or less if you also claim qualifying deferred annuity premiums that year. Amounts above the cap still go into your TVC account, but they do not generate any extra salaries tax deduction for the year.
Generally yes, if you are a member of an MPF scheme, for example through a sole-proprietor MPF arrangement. TVC is claimed on BIR60, in the same return where you report sole-proprietorship profits. Confirm eligibility with your trustee if your MPF setup is non-standard.
It depends on your marginal rate and whether you can lock funds until 65. At lower progressive rates, the tax saving is smaller. Model your actual marginal rate against the HK$60,000 cap before committing, because the lock-in is the same whether you save HK$2,000 or HK$10,000.
