[2025 Tax Allowance Tips] What is the Married Person's Allowance? Separate VS Combined?

Married persons can choose to be assessed separately or jointly with their spouses under Personal Assessment. Through professional tax filing services, they can avoid the risk of filing incorrect tax returns, save tax legally, and enjoy peace of mind during the filing process.

2024/25 What are the personal income allowances?

According to the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department's announcement for the year 2024/25, apart from the basic allowance, there are also married person's allowance, child allowance, etc. Below is a quick guide to show you the amount of each allowance:

What is the basic tax allowance?

The amount of deduction that can be claimed for the basic allowance in 2024/25 is $132,000.

How much is the married person's tax allowance?

The amount of deduction that can be claimed for the married person's allowance for 2024/25 is $264,000.

What is the child allowance?

The Child Allowance for 2024/25 is $130,000 per child, with an additional allowance of $130,000 per child if the child is born in the year of assessment.

Dependent parent and dependent grandparent allowances

This allowance varies according to the age of the dependants:

• Age 55-60: $25,000
• Age 60 or above: $50,000

For more details on supporting the elderly, you can read this article:2025 Tax Tips: Claiming Dependent Parent Allowance & FAQs》。

Disabled Person's Allowance

The claimable deduction for Disability Allowance (Government Disability Allowance) for 2024/25 is $75,000.

Can I claim the married person's allowance if I am married?

Under section 29 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, a taxpayer may claim the married person's allowance if, at any time in any year of assessment, he fulfils the following conditions:

• Married and living with spouse
• Married but living apart from spouse with provision or financial support for each other.

In addition to one of the above two conditions, one of the following conditions must also be met:

• Spouse does not receive any course feessalaries taxearnings
• The taxpayer and his/her spouse have elected to be jointly assessed.
• Taxpayers and their spouses have opted for self-assessment under personal assessment.

What is the difference between a married couple filing a separate or joint tax return?

Married people in Hong Kong can choose their own way of filing tax returns, and there are two main ways to do this: "Separate tax return" and "Combined tax return". Different methods are suitable for different situations, and choosing the right method may help you save a lot of tax. What is the difference?

Let's first understand the difference between the two approaches:

What is Combined Assessment?

Combining tax returns means adding the incomes of both spouses together and calculating the total amount of tax paid by the spouses at one time. The advantage of this is that if both spouses have similar incomes, their unused allowances can be used indirectly to help the other spouse save tax, which may result in overall savings.

However, if both parties have very high incomes, the sum of their incomes will exceed the thresholds of the tax bands, and they will have to pay more tax if the incomes are calculated together!

What is Separate Assessment?

Separate tax returns means that the husband and wife will each report their own income and expenditure and file their returns under personal income tax. The advantage of this practice is that if the income of one of the parties is relatively low, or even below the threshold of the allowance, then he does not have to pay any tax, and the remaining allowance will not affect the other party either.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Combined Assessment vs Separate Assessment

Here is a table for your reference on the advantages and disadvantages of the two assessment methods:

Assessment Methods	Advantages	Disadvantages
Separate Assessments	Retention of tax allowances for low-income parties with high flexibility	May result in higher total taxes
Consolidated tax assessment	Potential to reduce the overall tax burden Especially when both parties are close to each other in terms of income	Requires annual re-application Income inequality may be unfavourable

Can a married couple file a joint tax return to save tax?

Which tax return is more cost effective? Assuming Jason and Sophia are a married couple, let's try two different scenarios to figure out which one is more tax efficient:

This is the most cost-effective way to file a combined tax return.

Jason has an annual income of $420,000 and Sophia has an annual income of $80,000 Because Sophia's income is below the tax exemption threshold, she does not have to pay tax per se.

• Separate Tax Returns: Jason RequiredPayment of about $13,560
• Combined tax return: Gross income of $500,000 after deducting the combined allowance for two persons.Payment only $9,360

In this case chooseConsolidated tax returnIt is more tax-efficient.

Separate tax returns (for personal assessment) are most appropriate in this case.

Jason earns $480,000 p.a. and Sophia earns $460,000 p.a. Both have dependent parent and child allowances, MPF deductions and other deductions.

• Separate tax returns: Jason and Sophia only need to pay about $9,960 and $8,760 respectively.Total tax amount of about $18,720
• Consolidated tax return: Gross Revenue $940,000 DeductiblePayment: $32,400

In this case chooseSeparate Tax ReturnsIt is more tax-efficient.

How to apply for Married Person's Allowance?

Combined tax return for couples

It is very simple to choose to file a joint tax return for married couples. As long as one of the spouses chooses to file a joint tax return, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) will use the married person's allowance as the basis for calculating the joint tax return.

1. log in (to a computer) Hong Kong Government's one-stop tax filing systemOr use a paper tax return (BIR60)
2. In the "Personal Assessment" section, tick the box to apply for "Combined Assessment".
3. Fill in your spouse's information
4. Send after confirmation

A little reminder from Longfellow: The consolidated tax return has to be re-applied every year, so remember to tick the box every year when you file your tax return.

Married Person's Allowance Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to submit documents to claim Married Person's Allowance?

Usually, if you fill in the correct information about your spouse (name, identity card number, etc.) in your tax return, the Inland Revenue Department will be able to verify it. However, if this is your first time filing a tax return, or if the information entered is different from the IRD's records, you may be sent a letter requesting you to submit a copy of your marriage certificate.

Can I apply even if my spouse is not a Hong Kong resident?

Yes, you can! As long as you are in a legally valid marital relationship, you have the opportunity to apply even if your spouse is not a Hong Kong permanent resident or even does not live in Hong Kong.

However, it is important to note that if the spouse is filing overseas tax returns at the same time and has utilised similar allowances, this may affect the approval result in Hong Kong.

Can I apply if I have just got married or divorced before filing my tax return?

Yes, you can! The key is whether you were formally married during the tax year. For example:

• If you got married in 2025/03, you can claim the married person's allowance in the year of assessment 2024/25.
• If you were divorced before filing your tax return, you can still file a claim as long as you were married during the tax year.

Principle of judgement: The Inland Revenue Department looks at marital status during the tax year, not your status at the time of filing the tax return.

Can a couple claim Married Person's Allowance at the same time?

No! The Married Person's Allowance is only granted to one of the spouses each year, and cannot be jointly elected by both of them at the same time.

If you and your spouse both tick this allowance, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) will automatically allocate it to the more favourable party based on the information in your tax returns, and will also notify the other party to amend the return.

Can forgetting to file a declaration be remedied?

Yes! If you forget to file a return, you can call the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) or submit a written application for deduction of Married Person's Allowance (MPIA) upon receipt of the tax bill. The IRD will accept the amendment as long as the corrections are made within the taxable period.

Hong Kong Professional Tax Returns Agent Service: Longford Business Consultants

If you are married and want to utilise your spousal tax allowance properly and avoid back taxes or penalties due to incorrect filing, Langfeng Business Consulting is a reliable tax filing partner for you.

We have many years of experience assisting married taxpayers, freelancers, and small entrepreneurs with their tax returns. We are familiar with the filing process and tax deduction rules, and can help you avoid the pitfalls of filing a tax return and the administrative hassles while saving money on your taxes. We offer the following professional services:

• Specialised assistance in claiming tax allowances: Calculate spousal allowances, child allowances, etc. based on marital and family circumstances, and assist in completing the relevant tax forms.

• One-stop tax filing supportWhether you are a small entrepreneur with a business registration or a portfolio of freelance income earners, we can provide a tailor-made tax solution.

• Avoiding the risk of misdeclaration: To help you submit the right information on time, prevent missing deductions, misreporting income, and reduce the risk of back taxes and penalties.

Simply provide us with basic income information and we will handle the whole process of filing tax return in Hong Kong for you, so that you can enjoy the advantages of legal tax saving and have peace of mind that you can leave your time for your family and life.