The Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong announced, on 4 October 2024, that starting from 7 October 2024, the new annual rate of interest payable on Tax Reserve Certificates will be 0.8000% against the current rate of 0.8833%, i.e. the new rate will be HKD 0.0667 per month per HKD 100.

Tax Reserve Certificates bear simple interest, and interest is calculated monthly (including part of a month) from the date of purchase to the date of payment of tax. Interest is only credited when certificates are used to pay tax, and no interest is due where the principal value of a certificate is repaid to its holder.

The rate of interest payable on Tax Reserve Certificates is reviewed every month based on the average prevailing interest rate for the 12-month time deposit for HKD 100,000 to HKD 499,999 offered by the three note-issuing banks.

The new rate will apply to all certificates purchased on or after 7 October 2024. Certificates purchased before 7 October 2024, will continue to earn interest at the rates prevailing on their respective purchase dates. Below is a summary of the interest rates for the past periods:

Interest on Tax Reserve Certificates follows the standard rule that it stops accruing after 36 full months.

Period Interest Rate (%)
On or after 6 March 2023 and before 3 April 2023 0.7500
On or after 3 April 2023 and before 5 June 2023 0.7667
On or after 5 June 2023 and before 7 August 2023 0.8083
On or after 7 August 2023 and before 4 September 2023 0.8833
On or after 4 September 2023 and before 3 June 2024 0.9250
On or after 3 June 2024 and before 7 October 2024 0.8833
On or after 7 October 2024 until further notice 0.8000