# Hong Kong passes CARF bill: crypto platforms collect tax data from 2027 > LegCo passed Hong Kong's Inland Revenue CARF and amended CRS Bill 2026 on 4 November. Platforms collect data from 2027; the IRD exchanges it with partners from 2028. - **Source:** https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-11-05-hong-kong-carf-bill-2026/ - **Published:** 2026-11-05 - **Category:** Policy - **Author:** Diego - **Tags:** tax, regulation, exchanges, compliance, reporting, cross-border - **Also published in:** [Español](https://ptycoin.com/es/posts/2026-11-05-hong-kong-carf-bill-2026/) --- Hong Kong platforms that effectuate crypto exchanges collect Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework data in 2027, and the Inland Revenue Department exchanges it with partner tax authorities from 2028. The department set that split in its [4 November 2026 release](https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/ppr/archives/26110404.htm) on the Legislative Council's passage of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and Amended Common Reporting Standard) Bill 2026. The amended Common Reporting Standard takes effect in 2028, with exchanges under it from 2029. Both exchanges are reciprocal and depend on confidentiality and security. [news.gov.hk](https://www.news.gov.hk/eng/2026/11/20261104/20261104_181944_819.html) ran the same timetable that afternoon. Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, said aligning with the latest international standards "will reinforce the confidence of crypto-asset service providers, financial institutions and digital asset users in operating and making long-term investments in Hong Kong." Hong Kong has exchanged financial-account information under the Common Reporting Standard every year since 2018. The OECD published CARF in 2023 and amended the Common Reporting Standard in that update to cover digital financial products and to tighten due diligence. The release says the department will issue guidance, and that a dedicated team is already taking technical questions. The [bill gazetted on 22 May 2026](https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/carf/Inland%20Revenue%20%28Amendment%29%20%28Crypto-Asset%20Reporting%20Framework%20and%20Amended%20Common%20Reporting%20Standard%29%20Bill%202026%28eng%29.pdf) is the text introduced to the Council. Clause 1 cites the future ordinance as the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and Amended Common Reporting Standard) Ordinance 2026. Part 2, CARF, comes into operation on 1 January 2027. Part 3, the amended CRS, comes into operation on 1 January 2028. The rest starts on Gazette day. [KPMG's 4 November alert](https://kpmg.com/cn/en/insights/2026/11/tax-alert-20-hk-law-passed-to-implement-tightened-reporting-regime-for-financial-accounts-and-crypto-assets-in-hk.html) says the Council also passed the committee-stage amendments and expects Gazette publication on 13 November 2026. In [LegCo paper CB(1)1261/2026(01)](https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr2026/english/bc/bc02/papers/bc02cb1-1261-1-e.pdf) those amendments leave the two dates above in place, except clause 8 on an executor's liability, which follows a separate automatic-exchange ordinance. KPMG calls 2027 the first CARF reporting year. The [IRD CARF page](https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/tax/dta_carf.htm) still says the bill is subject to passage. That line predates 4 November. Its description of the return matches the bill. ## Who has to collect the data Section 50M defines a reporting crypto-asset service provider as an individual or entity that, as a business, provides a service of effectuating exchange transactions for or on behalf of customers, including as a counterparty, as an intermediary, or by making a trading platform available. An exchange transaction is an exchange between relevant crypto-assets and fiat currency, or between relevant crypto-assets. Relevant crypto-assets leave out central bank digital currencies, specified electronic money products, and any crypto-asset the provider adequately determines cannot be used for payment or investment. A crypto-asset is a digital representation of value that relies on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger, or a similar technology, to validate and secure transactions, and whose ownership or right can be traded or transferred digitally. A wallet that only holds keys, and does not effectuate those exchanges as a business, is outside the definition. ## The Hong Kong nexus Section 50N treats the provider as an HKRCASP in any of these cases: - It is tax resident in Hong Kong. - It is an entity incorporated or organized under Hong Kong law that has legal personality in Hong Kong or must file tax returns or tax information returns with the Inland Revenue Department. - The entity is managed from Hong Kong. - It has a regular place of business in Hong Kong. - It has a Hong Kong branch through which relevant transactions are effectuated. Branch duties cover the transactions that pass through the branch. Subsections (4) to (9) can place due diligence in a partner jurisdiction that already applies the OECD CARF rules, where a return is filed there. Section 50O still requires registration with the Commissioner on or before 31 January of the calendar year after the year the provider first meets any of those nexus tests. The 4 November release does not add a different date for firms already operating in the city. ## What the return lists Section 50Q lets an assessor call for the previous calendar year, or another period the Commissioner sets. A reportable jurisdiction's window cannot start before the day it was listed. Section 50R asks for the provider's name, address, and identifying number, then identity data for each reportable user and for each entity user with a reportable controlling person. For an individual, the fields are name, address, residence, taxpayer identification number, and date and place of birth. Subsection (14) drops the TIN if the jurisdiction does not issue one or does not require collection, and drops place of birth unless Hong Kong law already makes the provider keep it in searchable records. Totals run by type of relevant crypto-asset: buys and sells against fiat and against other relevant crypto-assets (value net of fees, units, and a count), retail payments as their own line, other transfers, and transfers to wallet addresses the provider cannot link to a virtual asset service provider or a financial institution under the FATF Recommendations. The wallet line is aggregate fair market value net of fees, plus units. A reportable retail payment transaction, in section 50M, is a transfer of relevant crypto-assets for goods or services above $390,000 in Hong Kong dollars. A reportable user is an individual or entity tax resident in a reportable jurisdiction, or the estate of someone who was, and not an excluded person such as a regularly traded company, a government, a central bank, or a financial institution. The Commissioner publishes the reportable list and the partner list. The IRD page says neither is out, so the 4 November text does not name Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, or Panama. Section 50S keeps the supporting records for six years after the return is due. Schedule 17EA requires a self-certification of tax residence, checked against the provider's file, including AML and KYC documents. Customers in a relationship on 31 December 2026 are pre-existing users, and their self-certification is due by 1 January 2028. A form that fails the reasonableness test has to be repaired before the provider effectuates more relevant transactions for that user. Section 80(2ZD) makes a knowing or reckless material falsehood on that form an offence, with a fine at level 3. ## Accounts under the amended CRS Clause 19 widens the account definitions the Common Reporting Standard has used since 2018. A custodial account includes an arrangement over financial assets issued as a crypto-asset, where the institution safekeeps the means of control and can manage, trade, or transfer the assets for the customer. Depository accounts add specified electronic money products held for a customer, and central bank digital currencies held for a customer. Relevant crypto-assets also enter the investment-entity test and the definition of passive income. This track covers reporting financial institutions. CARF covers businesses that effectuate exchanges. ## If your tax residence is in Latin America [DeCripto](/en/posts/2026-07-02-brazil-decrypto-reporting-live/) has, since 1 July 2026, required Brazilian residents who use a foreign platform, or no Brazilian intermediary, above a monthly threshold to file with Receita Federal. Hong Kong's bill points the other way: the HKRCASP files with the Inland Revenue Department, and the department exchanges the file only with listed partners. [Resolução BCB nº 574/2026](/en/posts/2026-06-25-brazil-crypto-fx-reporting-delay-574/) is Brazil's separate timetable for platform foreign-exchange reports. A withdrawal to a wallet you control can still be totaled under section 50R(3)(d)(ix). The bill does not add a Hong Kong tax on that transfer. If you use the platform, expect the residence form, and match it to the place you are actually tax resident. If you run the platform, the work is the section 50O registration and a return that can total trades, retail payments over HK$390,000, and wallet transfers you cannot attribute. The Council has passed the bill. Your own tax position is a separate question. --- ## Keep reading - [Self-Custody Wallet Statements for Brazil's DeCripto Reporting](https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-06-16-brazil-decrypto-self-custody-wallet-statements/index.md): Brazil's DeCripto rules take effect July 2026: self-custody users above the R$35,000 monthly non-intermediated threshold must file via e-CAC. Covers which records to keep and how to export them. - [Resolução BCB nº 602 lets Brazilians pick which products a crypto exchange may pitch them from 31 March 2027, but anyone who never makes the choice keeps getting every offer](https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-10-29-brazil-bcb-602-selective-offer-consent/index.md): Resolução BCB nº 602, adopted 23 October 2026 and published 26 October 2026, makes Brazilian exchanges let individual clients choose which product offers they receive from 31 March 2027. - [FCA CP26/36 consults until 18 November 2026 on draft UK guidance for crypto activities that would not need a licence from 25 October 2027](https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-10-22-fca-cp26-36-cryptoasset-perimeter-guidance/index.md): FCA CP26/36 is draft UK guidance, open until 18 November 2026, on crypto activities that would not need a licence from 25 October 2027. --- Source: PTYcoin — https://ptycoin.com/en/posts/2026-11-05-hong-kong-carf-bill-2026/. 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