Government welcomes passage of Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2026

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     The Government welcomed the passage of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2026 by the Legislative Council today (May 20) to increase the stamp duty rate for residential property transactions with an amount or value of consideration (whichever is higher) above $100 million from 4.25 per cent to 6.5 per cent with effect from February 26 this year, as proposed in the 2026-27 Budget.

     A Government spokesperson said, "The measure upholds the principle of 'affordable users pay', and is expected to increase government revenue by about $1 billion per year. Only about 0.3 per cent of the highest-priced residential property transactions will be affected."

     The above legislation as passed will be gazetted on May 29. In respect of the applicable transactions with instruments executed between February 26 and May 28 this year, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) will issue letters to the relevant solicitors, requesting the buyers or sellers of those transactions to pay the difference between the old and new stamp duty by June 29. If the difference is not paid within the time limit, the IRD will impose a late stamping penalty of up to 10 times the difference, and may recover the outstanding stamp duty through civil proceedings.

Ends/Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:10

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