Where your tax goes

Where the money comes from and where it goes

In 2026-27 the Government plans to spend HK$843.4 billion p.12. Revenue covers HK$765.2 billion of it p.7. The Government also borrows HK$160.0 billion in new bonds p.7, repays HK$59.7 billion of earlier bonds p.7 and adds HK$22.1 billion to its reserves p.7.

Unless stated otherwise, figures on this page are 2026-27 Estimates, made by the Government in February 2026.

Revenue pays for most of the spending; new bonds cover the rest

Government revenue (Consolidated Account) and new bonds, flowing to total government expenditure by policy area group, bond repayment and the reserves. 2026-27 Estimate, HK$.

  • Recurring revenue
  • Volatile or one-off revenue (hatched)
  • Borrowing, repayment and reserves (reverse-hatched)
  • Policy area groups (colours)

Where it comes from

Source Amount Of revenue
Profits tax p.1 HK$210.0bn
One-off transfers Volatile or one-off p.1 p.1 (our calculation) HK$127.8bn
Stamp duties p.1 HK$101.0bn
Other taxes and rates p.1 p.2 (our calculation) HK$99.6bn
Salaries tax p.1 HK$98.0bn
Fees, rents and other p.1 p.2 p.1 p.1 p.6 p.9 p.12 p.62 (our calculation) HK$71.7bn
Investment income Volatile or one-off p.1 p.1 p.6 p.9 p.4 p.6 p.6 p.12 p.62 (our calculation) HK$39.1bn
Land premium Volatile or one-off p.1 HK$18.0bn
Government revenue p.7 HK$765.2bn
New government bonds Borrowing, not revenue p.7 HK$160.0bn
Total into the pot p.7 (our calculation) HK$925.2bn

Where it goes

Use Amount Of spending
Health p.12 HK$153.1bn
Social Welfare p.12 HK$148.1bn
Infrastructure p.12 HK$124.9bn
Education p.12 HK$112.0bn
Support p.12 HK$90.1bn
Security p.12 HK$71.5bn
Economic p.12 HK$57.0bn
Environment and Food p.12 HK$51.3bn
Community and External Affairs p.12 HK$28.0bn
Housing p.12 HK$7.4bn
Total government expenditure p.12 HK$843.4bn
Repaying earlier bonds Not spending p.7 HK$59.7bn
Added to reserves Not spending p.7 HK$22.1bn
Total out of the pot p.12 p.7 (our calculation) HK$925.2bn

Taxes are not earmarked, so every band on the left flows into one pot, not straight to a group. The sources on the left are our grouping of the printed revenue lines; together they match the printed total for government revenue to within rounding.

Where the money comes from

The Government's money comes in three kinds:

This year, one-off transfers bring in more than salaries tax

One-off transfers total HK$127.8 billion. That is HK$29.8 billion more than salaries tax (HK$98.0 billion) and 16.7% of government revenue (our calculation). p.1 p.1 p.1 p.7

There are two parts. First, the Government is moving HK$75 billion of Exchange Fund investment income into the Capital Works Reserve Fund, which pays for building works p.88. A second transfer of HK$75 billion is planned for 2027-28 p.88. The Estimates record this year's transfer as HK$75,000 million p.1.

Second, about HK$37 billion of the Bond Fund's accumulated surplus is being transferred in; the Bond Fund sits outside the Government's consolidated accounts p.87. The Government is also bringing back about HK$15.8 billion of unspent money from funds set up outside its accounts p.87. Together these are printed as a HK$52.8 billion "one-off transfer from other funds" p.1.

Category 2024-25Actual2025-26Revised estimate2026-27Estimate Change vs revised % Source
Recurring: taxes, rates, fees and rents
Profits tax 177,687.8209,000.0210,000.0 +1,000.0+0.5% p.1
Stamp duties 63,880.299,500.0101,000.0 +1,500.0+1.5% p.1
Salaries tax 88,878.897,000.098,000.0 +1,000.0+1.0% p.1
General rates 32,723.536,516.035,183.0 −1,333.0−3.7% p.2
Bets and sweeps tax (betting duty) 28,511.728,100.028,700.0 +600.0+2.1% p.1
Fees, charges and utilities 21,998.222,571.222,190.7 −380.5−1.7% p.2
Fees and Charges 17,874.618,559.018,698.0 +139.0+0.7% p.2
Utilities 4,123.64,012.23,492.7 −519.5−12.9% p.2
Other revenue (dividends, loan repayments, Mark Six, reimbursements, etc.) 26,444.925,178.421,613.7 −3,564.7−14.2% p.1 p.1 p.9 p.6 p.9 p.6 p.6 p.12 p.62 p.1
Returns on equity investments in statutory agencies/corporations 9,070.88,371.07,271.0 −1,100.0−13.1% p.1
Recovery from Housing Authority under the current financial arrangement 2,656.41,499.03,565.0 +2,066.0+137.8% p.1
Loan Fund loan repayments 1,360.02,705.02,982.0 +277.0+10.2% p.12
Recovery of salaries and staff on-costs 1,783.72,207.02,212.0 +5.0+0.2% p.1
Other receipts 4,333.95,337.01,255.0 −4,082.0−76.5% p.1
Recovery of overpayments and losses 1,900.41,581.01,244.0 −337.0−21.3% p.1
Lotteries Fund – Mark Six Lottery 1,360.01,188.01,183.0 −5.0−0.4% p.62
CIF dividends, interest and other receipts from investments/loans 731.0864.0685.0 −179.0−20.7% p.9
Loan Fund interest on loans 94.0393.0535.0 +142.0+36.1% p.12
Payments by Trading Funds – transfer of statutory return and interest income 367.4363.0323.0 −40.0−11.0% p.1
CIF loan repayments 701.0312.0198.0 −114.0−36.5% p.9
Lotteries Fund – net proceeds of auctions of vehicle registration marks 58.049.050.0 +1.0+2.0% p.62
CWRF donations and contributions —7.637.7 +30.0+393.0% p.1
Light and fuel in government buildings 26.032.028.0 −4.0−12.5% p.1
Land Fund dividends, interest and other receipts from investments/loans 1,825.056.021.0 −35.0−62.5% p.6
Lotteries Fund donations 11.09.012.0 +3.0+33.3% p.62
Loan Fund surcharges on overdue loan repayments 6.06.06.0 0.00.0% p.12
Payments by Trading Funds – payments for "insurance" premium 4.94.94.9 0.00.0% p.1
Pension contributions 0.90.80.7 −0.1−12.5% p.1
Payments by Trading Funds – reimbursements arising from policy on "insurance" 0.20.40.4 0.0−4.8% p.1
Repayments of loans and advances 0.0—— —— p.1
CWRF other receipts (donations, contributions and others) 86.3—— —— p.9
DRF refund of grants 7.04.0— —— p.6
ITF refund of grants 61.058.0— —— p.6
CWRF other receipts —130.6— —— p.1
Government rent, land licences and property rents 18,199.618,994.019,968.0 +974.0+5.1% p.1
Government rents charged at 3% of rateable values (Cap. 515) 13,035.413,921.014,401.0 +480.0+3.4% p.1
Government land licences, Government rents (other than 3% rent) and rents from short term tenancies 2,783.62,634.02,776.0 +142.0+5.4% p.1
Rents from government properties 1,219.71,251.01,598.0 +347.0+27.7% p.1
Rents from government quarters 1,160.91,188.01,193.0 +5.0+0.4% p.1
Personal assessment 8,223.38,900.09,000.0 +100.0+1.1% p.1
Motor vehicle first registration tax 4,744.74,890.08,880.0 +3,990.0+81.6% p.2
Duties (tobacco, liquor, hydrocarbon oil) 7,330.68,116.08,358.7 +242.7+3.0% p.2
Royalties, concessions, fines and penalties 6,693.17,565.67,937.6 +372.0+4.9% p.2
Royalties and Concessions 4,681.65,406.85,964.8 +558.0+10.3% p.2
Fines, Forfeitures and Penalties 2,011.42,158.81,972.8 −186.0−8.6% p.2
Other internal revenue (air passenger departure tax, hotel accommodation tax, estate duty) 2,289.33,844.05,296.0 +1,452.0+37.8% p.1
Air passenger departure tax 2,279.33,066.04,396.0 +1,330.0+43.4% p.1
Hotel accommodation tax —770.0800.0 +30.0+3.9% p.1
Estate duty 10.18.0100.0 +92.0+1,150.0% p.1
Property tax 3,983.74,100.04,200.0 +100.0+2.4% p.1
Subtotal (our calculation) 491,589.5574,275.2580,327.7 +6,052.5+1.1% p.1 p.2 p.1 p.1 p.9 p.6 p.9 p.6 p.6 p.12 p.62 p.1
Volatile or one-off
One-off transfers (Exchange Fund, Bond Fund surplus, funds outside the accounts) 15,000.061,500.0127,830.0 +66,330.0+107.9% p.1 p.1
Transfer from Exchange Fund (investment income) ——75,000.0 —— p.1
One-off transfer from other funds (funds outside the Government's accounts, incl. Bond Fund surplus) 15,000.061,500.052,830.0 −8,670.0−14.1% p.1
Investment income (fiscal reserves) 44,717.935,486.839,076.0 +3,589.2+10.1% p.1 p.9 p.6 p.9 p.4 p.6 p.6 p.12 p.62 p.1
Land Fund investment income (incl. Future Fund returns brought back) 31,000.018,500.020,000.0 +1,500.0+8.1% p.6
Investment income and interest (GRA) 5,404.07,552.09,561.0 +2,009.0+26.6% p.1
CWRF investment income 3,639.94,174.83,968.0 −206.8−5.0% p.9 p.1
CSPRF investment income 2,072.02,549.02,903.0 +354.0+13.9% p.4
Lotteries Fund investment income 862.01,041.01,107.0 +66.0+6.3% p.62
ITF investment income 984.0869.0734.0 −135.0−15.5% p.6
CIF investment income 526.0539.0522.0 −17.0−3.2% p.9
Loan Fund investment income 225.0255.0272.0 +17.0+6.7% p.12
DRF investment income 5.07.09.0 +2.0+28.6% p.6
Land premium 13,601.717,500.018,000.0 +500.0+2.9% p.9 p.1
Subtotal (our calculation) 73,319.7114,486.8184,906.0 +70,419.2+61.5% p.1 p.1 p.1 p.9 p.6 p.9 p.4 p.6 p.6 p.12 p.62
Government revenue 564,908.9688,762.0765,234.0 +76,472.0+11.1% p.2 p.7
Borrowing (not counted as revenue)
Proceeds from new government bonds 130,036.0155,000.0160,000.0 +5,000.0+3.2% p.2 p.7

"Change vs revised" is the 2026-27 estimate minus the 2025-26 revised estimate (our calculation). Categories are our grouping of the printed revenue lines; select a category to see each line and its source. 2024-25 actuals come from the Government's audited accounts.

Land premium is hard to predict

Land premium is the most volatile source of revenue. It was HK$13.6 billion in 2024-25 (actual) and HK$17.5 billion in 2025-26 (revised estimate). The 2026-27 estimate is HK$18.0 billion, only 2.4% of government revenue (our calculation). p.9 p.1 p.7

The provisional 2025-26 result came in HK$1.1 billion above the revised estimate (provisional actual). web

The Medium Range Forecast assumes that from 2027-28 land premium rises step by step until it reaches 2% of GDP p.10. By comparison, this year's estimate of HK$18.0 billion is about 0.5% of 2026 GDP (our calculation) p.1 p.11. If land premium stays near this year's level, revenue in later years will fall short of the forecast. See the next few years

Where the money goes

The biggest policy area group is Health: HK$153.1 billion, or 18.2% of total government expenditure (our calculation). Social Welfare grows fastest, up 14.4% on the 2025-26 revised estimate. p.12

Policy area group 2024-25Actual2025-26Revised estimate2026-27Estimate Change vs revised % Source
Health 130,340144,823153,102 +8,279 +5.7% p.12
Social Welfare 122,123129,519148,140 +18,621 +14.4% p.12
Infrastructure 99,546114,482124,923 +10,441 +9.1% p.12
Education 113,783110,904111,975 +1,071 +1.0% p.12
Support 81,23684,52890,143 +5,615 +6.6% p.12
Security 65,74665,12771,516 +6,389 +9.8% p.12
Economic 54,91351,93756,955 +5,018 +9.7% p.12
Environment and Food 47,75650,85451,256 +402 +0.8% p.12
Community and External Affairs 30,37427,16027,990 +830 +3.1% p.12
Housing 7,4039,8377,416 −2,421 −24.6% p.12
Total government expenditure 753,220789,171843,416 +54,245 +6.9% p.12

The change in HK$ million is our calculation; the percentage is the nominal change printed in the Budget.

How the sums work

What are the operating and capital accounts?

The Budget keeps two accounts. The operating account covers day-to-day spending such as civil service pay, subventions and social security. The capital account covers building works, loans and other one-off spending, including interest on bonds. Land premium and the Exchange Fund transfer are capital revenue.

Revenue Expenditure Surplus / (deficit) Source
Operating account HK$652.1bnHK$640.2bnHK$11.9bn p.7
Capital account HK$113.1bnHK$203.2bn−HK$90.1bn p.7
Total HK$765.2bnHK$843.4bn−HK$78.2bn p.7

This year the operating account has a surplus of HK$11.9 billion, but the capital account has a deficit of HK$90.1 billion, mainly because of large building works. Money raised from bonds goes into the Capital Works Reserve Fund, which pays for these works. p.7

What is the difference between government and public expenditure?

This site uses government expenditure: the General Revenue Account plus five funds, including the Capital Works Reserve Fund. Public expenditure also adds the Housing Authority and the trading funds.

General Revenue Account
HK$648.4bn p.4
Capital Works Reserve Fund
HK$173.0bn p.4
Capital Investment, Innovation and Technology, Loan and Lotteries Funds (our calculation)
HK$22.0bn p.4
Government expenditure
HK$843.4bn p.4
Add: trading funds
HK$4.3bn p.4
Add: Housing Authority
HK$57.1bn p.4
Public expenditure
HK$904.7bn p.4

That is why the Housing group is only HK$7.4 billion of government expenditure but HK$64.5 billion of public expenditure, which includes the Housing Authority. p.12 p.11

How are government bonds counted?

Money raised from bonds is financing, not revenue, and repaying the principal is not spending. So the Budget first works out the deficit before bonds, then adds bond proceeds and subtracts repayments to get the surplus after bonds. That is the figure that changes the fiscal reserves. Interest on bonds counts as capital expenditure.

Government revenue
HK$765.2bn p.7
Less: government expenditure
−HK$843.4bn p.7
Deficit before bonds
−HK$78.2bn p.7
Add: new bonds
HK$160.0bn p.7
Less: repaying earlier bonds
−HK$59.7bn p.7
Surplus after bonds
HK$22.1bn p.7

The fiscal reserves are expected to grow from HK$657.2 billion on 1 April 2026 to HK$679.3 billion on 31 March 2027 p.3 p.7. The 1 April figure is the Budget's February estimate; the provisional outturn, published in April 2026, was HK$665.5 billion web. The estimate and the forecasts build on the February figure.

The Bond Fund (the Government Bond Programme) sits outside the Government's consolidated accounts, so when its accumulated surplus is transferred in, it counts as one-off revenue.