All Landlord Guides·Hong Kong landlords
Provisional Property Tax and your monthly cashflow
Provisional Property Tax does not leave the bank with monthly rent. Hong Kong landlords typically pay it in two instalments after a demand note that mixes last year’s final tax with this year’s provisional charge. Those lumps hit on specific dates — so a spreadsheet cell of “annual tax ÷ 12” never matches cash, and dumping the whole notice into one month wrecks that month’s net.
Date the instalments. This Month should still show the cash hit; Normalised Monthly should not become a November-sized hole.
How Provisional Property Tax timing works in Hong Kong
The cashflow problem is not the existence of Property Tax. It is that the payment calendar is nothing like the rental calendar.
The assessment year is 1 April – 31 March
Hong Kong Property Tax follows the year of assessment, not the calendar year of your lease, and not the month the tenant paid rent.
The demand note mixes final tax and provisional tax
A typical notice settles last year’s final Property Tax (after crediting provisional already paid) and charges provisional tax for the current year of assessment — then asks you to pay the combined balance in instalments.
Cash usually leaves in two instalments
The first payment is typically the larger one (any balance of last year plus most of this year’s provisional). The second payment is typically the remainder of provisional — often around April. Neither date is “every month when rent arrives.”
Worked example — suppose a demand note shows a $2,000 balance still due for last year and $24,000 of provisional tax for the current year of assessment (1 April – 31 March). A typical two-instalment split:
Last-year balance still due
$2,000 — final tax for last year minus provisional already paid.
Provisional tax for the current year
$24,000 — the IRD’s provisional charge on this year’s assessment.
1st instalment (e.g. November)
$20,000 — $2,000 balance + 75% of $24,000. This is the cash that actually leaves.
2nd instalment (e.g. April)
$6,000 — the remaining 25% of $24,000.
Total cash out is $26,000, on two dates. November’s bank is $20,000 leaving — not $2,167. April’s is $6,000. The assessment year still ran 1 April – 31 March. None of those facts fit a single monthly cell.
Why this breaks monthly spreadsheet views
Spreadsheets usually have one rule for Property Tax. Hong Kong cash has two dates and a mix of final and provisional. The formula then answers the wrong question.
Dump the whole notice into one month
November (or whichever month you open the letter) shows a $26,000 hole. The flat looks broken for 30 days, then “recovers” — which is a spreadsheet artefact, not the lease.
Divide the annual total by 12
Every month shows about $2,167. The bank in November shows $20,000 leaving, and April shows $6,000. This Month never matches cash.
One yearly cell with one date
Hong Kong typically has two payment dates. A single annual cell can only sit on one of them, so the other instalment disappears from the calendar.
Fold it into Rates or Government Rent
They are separate charges, on separate notices, with separate dates. A vague “tax” column hides which bill is due.
This Month and the usual month are two different readings. For why they must stay separate, see This Month vs the usual month.
How to track it cleanly in Cashflow Positive
In Cashflow Positive, the instalments are dated cash events — not a vague annual plug. Due dates go to the Calendar and This Month. The usual month stays a run-rate.
Date each instalment
Two Property Tax lines, two due dates — taken from the demand note, not guessed as “sometime this year.”
One-time for this year’s letter amounts
IRD figures change. One-time items with those dates appear on the Calendar and in This Month, and stay out of Normalised Monthly so the lumps never become the usual month.
Yearly if you want the pattern to repeat
Use Yearly when the two due-date pattern should recur. Calendar and This Month still show the cash on those dates. The usual month only gets the spread equivalent (÷ 12) — not the full November or April hit.
Do not record the same cash twice
Pick instalments or a single expected annual line — not both for the same tax. Two models stacked double-count This Month in the payment months.
Use the named Property Tax category — not a free-text “tax” row, and not mixed into Rates or Government Rent. For due-date reminders, see calendar and email reminders.
Property Tax in the monthly view
This page is the timing companion. The main guide covers why Property Tax confuses monthly tracking at all — provisional stages, top-ups and refunds, the tax year versus the lease, and keeping the cost off Rates and Government Rent.
Tracking Property Tax without breaking your monthly cashflow view
Keep the cash hit visible without letting an annual bill warp This Month or the run-rate.
Read the Property Tax guide →
FAQ
When does Provisional Property Tax actually leave a Hong Kong landlord’s bank?
Not monthly. After the demand note, tax is typically paid in two instalments — a larger first payment and a smaller second one. The due dates are on the notice, often in the last quarter of the calendar year and around April. Those dates are the cash events, not a 1/12 drip.
Should I divide the demand-note total by 12 for monthly cashflow?
Not if you want This Month to match the bank. A November instalment of $20,000 is not $1,667. Date each instalment. One-time lines stay out of Normalised Monthly. Yearly lines still show the cash on the due date, and the usual month only gets the spread equivalent — not the lump.
Does this replace Inland Revenue Department or tax advice?
No. This guide is about cash timing — when money leaves, and how that appears in This Month versus the usual month. Always verify amounts and due dates against your own demand notes, and consult a qualified tax professional or the Inland Revenue Department. Personal assessment and other elections can change what you actually pay.
Date the instalments without warping the usual month
Start free — 1 property. Put each Provisional Property Tax instalment on its due date so This Month still shows the cash hit, and Normalised Monthly stays a run-rate — without a spreadsheet cell that rewrites every month.
Related reading: tracking Property Tax, This Month vs the usual month, calendar and email reminders, Rates and Government Rent: quarterly demand vs monthly cashflow, and the full Landlord Guides list.
Educational only — not financial or tax advice.
Start free — 1 property
Record each Property Tax instalment as a dated Hong Kong cost on one residential flat — without letting a demand-note lump rewrite every usual month.