Hong Kong Passes Crypto Tax Reporting Law, Data Collection From 2027

From 2027, crypto exchanges, brokers and dealers with a reporting connection to Hong Kong will have to collect customer and transaction data for the tax authorities, after the city's Legislative Council on November 4 adopted the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). Hong Kong will then begin automatically exchanging that tax data with partner jurisdictions in 2028.

The measure is the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and Amended Common Reporting Standard) Bill 2026, according to the Hong Kong government's announcement. Think of CARF as the crypto counterpart to the Common Reporting Standard, which already governs how tax authorities exchange financial account information: platforms become the collection point, and tax agencies swap what they gather.

Who is covered, and what gets reported

CARF applies to businesses that facilitate crypto transactions for customers, including exchanges, brokers, dealers and certain crypto ATM operators. Those with a reporting connection to Hong Kong face registration, due diligence, recordkeeping and reporting obligations.

Reporting spans crypto-to-fiat trades, crypto-to-crypto trades and certain transfers involving external wallets, and providers must collect the tax residence and taxpayer identification numbers of reportable customers. In practice, annual reports will link customer identities to fiat trades, token swaps and transfers, withdrawals to external wallets included.

The framework covers fungible and non-fungible crypto assets usable for payments or investment. CBDCs, specified e-money products and certain assets not usable for payments or investment are excluded.

"Implementing the latest international standards for automatic exchange of information in tax matters is crucial to maintaining Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial and commercial centre,"

Christopher Hui, Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary, said.

Timeline and the CRS overhaul

The Inland Revenue Department, which maintains a dedicated CARF page, will exchange information annually with eligible partner jurisdictions on a reciprocal basis. It will also publish guidance and run a dedicated team offering technical assistance to affected businesses.

The bill also amends the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which Hong Kong has used since 2018. The amended version takes effect in 2028, with first exchanges under the updated rules in 2029. It extends to certain digital financial products, including CBDCs, specified e-money products and crypto-linked financial instruments, with provisions to prevent the same holding being reported under both regimes.

The bill moved from consultation to passage in under a year: consultation ran from December 2025 to February 2026, the proposed legislation was published in May, and it went to lawmakers in June.

Limits of the net

CARF's reach has a ceiling. Chainalysis estimated that potentially taxable onchain activity exceeded $457 billion globally in 2025, with only about 14% within practical reach of the framework. The remaining 86%, which includes DEX trades, peer-to-peer transfers, onchain income and crypto payments, falls outside it.

A regime built around intermediaries sees only what passes through them.

What it means

The law lands as Hong Kong builds out its regulated crypto sector. In October the government outlined licensing plans for four more virtual asset services: dealing, custody, advisory and asset management. Its September policy address also set out plans to expand regulated stablecoin trading and tokenized real-world assets. Projects such as HSBC's planned Hong Kong dollar stablecoin are taking shape in a jurisdiction that, from 2028, will share crypto tax data with foreign authorities. Hong Kong is pairing market-opening measures with the OECD's transparency standards, a combination Hui framed as crucial to the city's standing as an international financial centre.