Here's the number that matters: the elderly residential care expenses deduction lets you write off up to HK$100,000 a year per parent or grandparent living in a licensed care home — for the years of assessment 2024/25 and 2025/26. And it just got better: the 2026-27 Budget raised the ceiling to HK$110,000, effective from the year of assessment 2026/27 (the law was gazetted on 22 May 2026). It's one of the biggest personal deductions in Hong Kong's salaries tax system, so it's worth getting the rules right.
How much you can claim
The deduction is capped per parent or grandparent, per year of assessment, and covers the expenses you and your spouse actually paid for residential care in that year — net of any reimbursement from any person or organisation. There's no apportionment: if your parent turns 60 during the year, the full ceiling applies to the whole year. Say you paid HK$90,000 in care-home fees for your 60-plus father during 2025/26: you deduct the full HK$90,000 (under the HK$100,000 ceiling). For two qualifying parents, you claim up to the cap for each, so as much as HK$200,000 in 2024/25 or 2025/26.
| Year of assessment | Ceiling per parent / grandparent |
|---|---|
| 2020/21 to 2025/26 | HK$100,000 |
| 2026/27 onwards | HK$110,000 (raised by the 2026-27 Budget, gazetted 22 May 2026) |
Who can claim, and who counts
You can claim if all of these are true: the care-home expenses were actually paid by you or your spouse in the year of assessment (net of reimbursements); your parent or grandparent is 60 or above (or is entitled to a Disability Allowance under the Government's Disability Allowance Scheme); they were receiving residential care in a care home during that year; and the home is in Hong Kong and licensed or exempted under the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance (Cap. 459) — or a home for persons with disabilities under Cap. 613, or a scheduled nursing home exempted under the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance. Note there's no 55–59 'specified' band for this deduction (unlike the dependent parent allowance below): it's 60-plus, full stop.
'Parent' covers your natural father or mother, step-parent, a parent who legally adopted you, and a parent of your deceased spouse — and the same set for your spouse's side. 'Grandparent' works the same way: natural, step, adoptive, or of your deceased spouse. The rules don't require the parent to be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong — the home itself must be here, and licensed.
What counts as qualifying expenses
- Qualifies: the care-home fees covering accommodation, food, nursing care and sundry expenses — the everyday cost of living in the home, paid to the home or anyone acting on its behalf.
- Doesn't qualify: medical expenses, and personal or private expenses the home advanced on the resident's behalf and then recovered from anyone. These are separate from the care fee and can't be deducted under this relief.
- The home must be licensed — check its LORCHE licence number on the SWD register. DealSifu shows each home's LORCHE number on its detail page, so you can confirm the licence before (and after) you claim.
Deduction vs dependent parent allowance: you pick one
This is the bit people get wrong. For the same parent or grandparent in the same year of assessment, the elderly residential care expenses deduction and the dependent parent and dependent grandparent allowance are alternatives — you cannot claim both, and the deduction takes precedence. So if you claim the care-expenses deduction for your father, no dependent parent allowance for him that year. Which one wins? The deduction usually does, because it's bigger. In the IRD's own example, paying HK$60,000 in 2025/26 for a 60-plus father lets you choose the HK$60,000 deduction or the HK$50,000 allowance — you'd take the deduction.
| Year of assessment | Allowance per parent/grandparent aged 60+ | Aged 55–59 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 and 2025/26 | HK$50,000 | HK$25,000 |
| 2026/27 onwards | HK$55,000 | HK$27,500 |
There's also an additional dependent parent/grandparent allowance of the same amount again if the relative lived with you continuously throughout the year — for 2025/26 that stacks to HK$100,000 for a 60-plus parent (HK$50,000 basic + HK$50,000 additional). But a parent in residential care normally isn't 'living with you', so in practice you're usually choosing between the care-fee deduction and the basic allowance — and the deduction still wins on numbers. If you're weighing a home move, our costs and fees guide breaks down what homes actually charge, and the how-to-choose guide covers picking between home types.
How to claim
- Claim in Part 12.4 of your Tax Return – Individuals (BIR60) for the relevant year of assessment.
- Forgot to claim on the return? File form IR6071 with the Inland Revenue Department. It must reach them no later than 6 years after the end of the year of assessment concerned.
- You don't attach receipts to your return, but you must keep them — care-home receipts showing amounts and the period covered, plus the home's licence details — for production to the IRD when it asks.
- If siblings share the cost, agree in writing who claims before filing. Only one person can be granted the deduction for the same parent or grandparent in a year — and if there's no agreement, nobody gets it.
- Full official detail is in IRD's Departmental Interpretation and Practice Notes No. 36 (on s.26D, elderly residential care expenses).
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim both the elderly care expenses deduction and the dependent parent allowance?
No. For the same parent or grandparent in the same year of assessment they're alternatives, and the deduction takes precedence. If the deduction is granted for your father, no dependent parent allowance for him that year. Pick whichever gives you more: for 2024/25 and 2025/26 the deduction caps at HK$100,000, while the 60-plus allowance is HK$50,000 — the deduction nearly always wins.
My parent turns 60 in the middle of the year — do I split the deduction?
No apportionment. The IRD confirms the full ceiling applies in the year of assessment the parent reaches 60. Its FAQ example: a parent turning 60 on 1 October 2025 allows a claim for the whole of 2025/26 (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026), up to the HK$100,000 ceiling.
My parent's home fees are fully covered by CSSA. Can I still claim?
Not for the care expenses — you didn't pay them, so there's nothing to deduct. But you may still be able to claim the dependent parent allowance if you contributed at least HK$12,000 towards your parent's maintenance in the year and meet the other conditions. The IRD may check your claim with the Social Welfare Department.
My siblings and I all pay part of Dad's home fees. Who claims?
Only one person can be granted the deduction for the same parent or grandparent in a year of assessment. If several of you are eligible, you must agree among yourselves who claims for that year — if there's no agreement, no deduction is allowed to anyone. Sort it out before you file.