Residential AVD bands from 2026-02-26: from HK$100 to 6.5%
First segment (HK$4 million or below): a flat HK$100. It is a flat charge rather than a percentage, so the gap between a HK$4.0m and a HK$3.99m purchase is not what most people assume.
Second segment (above HK$4m up to HK$21,739,120): HK$4m to HK$4,323,780 is HK$100 plus 20% of the excess over HK$4m; HK$4,323,780 to HK$4.5m is a flat 1.5%; HK$4.5m to HK$4,935,480 is HK$67,500 plus 10% of the excess over HK$4.5m; HK$4,935,480 to HK$6m is a flat 2.25%; HK$6m to HK$6,642,860 is HK$135,000 plus 10% of the excess over HK$6m; HK$6,642,860 to HK$9m is a flat 3%; HK$9m to HK$10.08m is HK$270,000 plus 10% of the excess over HK$9m; HK$10.08m to HK$20m is a flat 3.75%; HK$20m to HK$21,739,120 is HK$750,000 plus 10% of the excess over HK$20m.
Third segment (above HK$21,739,120): HK$21,739,120 to HK$100m is a flat 4.25%; HK$100m to HK$109,574,470 is HK$4,250,000 plus 30% of the excess over HK$100m; anything above HK$109,574,470 is a flat 6.5%.
Non-residential property follows Scale 3, which shares the same bands but applies a flat 4.25% above HK$21,739,120, with no 6.5% tier.
Marginal relief: why the bill does not jump at a boundary
Several bands read as a fixed amount plus a percentage of the excess. These are the marginal relief bands. Their purpose is to stop the tax bill from leaping when a price crosses into the next band.
A useful example for agents is HK$6m. It sits inside the 2.25% band, giving HK$135,000. The next band starts at HK$6,642,860 and is expressed as HK$135,000 plus 10% of the excess over HK$6m, so the two meet at the same value instead of creating a cliff.
Note that not every band works this way. Bands expressed as a single percentage, such as 2.25% between HK$6m and HK$6,642,860, apply to the whole price. This is the detail most often left out when explaining a figure to a client.
Three mistakes agents make most often
First: treating the consideration as the only basis. Duty is charged on the consideration or the market value, whichever is higher, so an internal transfer or an unusual price needs both figures checked.
Second: treating a flat band as a percentage band. Anything at or below HK$4m is a flat HK$100 with no percentage applied.
Third: using an outdated table. The current bands took effect on 2026-02-26, and the tier above HK$100m is the one most often quoted from an older version. Any figure you give a client should be verified against the IRD's latest publication.
BSD, SSD and NRSD are gone: residential deals pay AVD only
Since 2024-02-28, Buyer's Stamp Duty, Special Stamp Duty and the New Residential Stamp Duty have all been abolished, so residential transactions now pay AVD only.
In practice this means the answer to a client asking whether they pay extra duties as a non-permanent resident has changed completely since early 2024. This article explains the rules and the arithmetic only; applicability and liability follow the IRD's latest guidance.
Two checks before a viewing
First, run the price through the stamp duty calculator to get the amount, the band label and the effective rate. The effective rate is lower than the headline rate of the band because of marginal relief and earlier progressive steps, and the result copies out with one click.
Second, run the same price through the total buying cost calculator so the commission, legal fee and miscellaneous costs are included. An isolated duty figure is rarely the answer the client actually needs.