PayMetric Labs
Hong Kong · Employer cost, 2026

Hong Kong Employer Cost of Hiring Calculator

Enter a monthly salary to see the mandatory employer MPF contribution, plus the post-MPF-offsetting-abolition severance/LSP exposure now sitting on top of every Hong Kong hire.

Run your numbers ↓

Employer MPF

5%

capped at HK$1,500/month

Contribution floor

HK$7,100/mo

no mandatory MPF below

Contribution ceiling

HK$30,000/mo

where the 5% caps out

Severance wage cap

HK$22,500/mo

post-abolition exposure

Total annual cost on top of salary

HK$33,000

Load on top of salary

+9.2%

Annual salary

HK$360,000

Employer MPF contribution (5%, capped)

5% of relevant income, capped at HK$1,500/month above HK$30,000/month

HK$18,000

Severance/LSP accrual (post-abolition, 1yr rate)

2/3 x wage (capped HK$22,500) x 1 year, no MPF offset available for service from 1 May 2025

HK$15,000

How this actually works

The mandatory employer MPF contribution mirrors the employee side exactly: 5% of relevant income, no contribution required below HK$7,100/month, and a hard cap of HK$1,500/month once monthly salary passes HK$30,000. That cap is why hiring someone on a very high salary doesn't keep adding proportionally to your MPF cost, it flattens out well before six figures.

What changed on 1 May 2025 is the other half of the real cost picture. Employers used to be able to offset severance pay and long service payment obligations against the accrued benefits from their own mandatory MPF contributions, which softened the actual cash cost of losing long-tenured staff. That offsetting is now gone for service from that date forward, so any employee's future severance/LSP entitlement is a genuine, largely un-offset liability sitting on top of ongoing payroll cost.

This calculator surfaces that liability as a one-year accrual estimate using the same statutory formula (two-thirds of wages, capped at HK$22,500, per year of service), so you can see roughly how much exposure builds up for every additional year someone stays on payroll, not just what MPF alone costs you today.

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Frequently asked questions

1

How much does an employer actually pay on top of salary in Hong Kong?

The mandatory employer MPF contribution is 5% of relevant income, capped at HK$1,500/month (HK$18,000/year) once monthly salary passes HK$30,000. On top of that, since the 1 May 2025 MPF offsetting abolition, employers carry a real severance/LSP cost for future service that can no longer be offset against mandatory MPF contributions, which this calculator surfaces as an illustrative annual accrual.

2

Is the 5% employer MPF contribution the same cap as the employee side?

Yes. Both sides use the same minimum relevant income level (HK$7,100/month, below which no mandatory contribution is required) and the same maximum relevant income level (HK$30,000/month, above which the contribution caps at HK$1,500/month), mirrored exactly between employee and employer.

3

What is the MPF offsetting abolition and why does it affect hiring cost?

Before 1 May 2025, employers could use accrued mandatory MPF contributions to reduce the severance pay or long service payment they owed a departing employee. That offsetting is now abolished for service from 1 May 2025 onward, so any employee's future severance/LSP entitlement is a real, largely un-offset cash liability an employer now has to plan for as part of the true cost of keeping someone on payroll long-term.

4

Does an employer have to contribute MPF below the HK$7,100 floor?

No, it's not mandatory, but some employers choose to contribute voluntarily for staff earning below that floor as a retention benefit. This calculator lets you toggle that option to see the cost either way.

5

Is there an employer payroll tax in Hong Kong like the UK's Employer NI?

No. Hong Kong has no employer payroll tax equivalent to UK Employer National Insurance or similar social-charge systems elsewhere. MPF and the (largely un-offset, post-abolition) severance/LSP exposure are the two real employer-side cost lines modelled here.

6

How is the severance/LSP accrual figure calculated here?

It's an illustrative one-year accrual using the statutory formula (2/3 x monthly wages, capped at HK$22,500, x years of service) at a 1-year rate, reflecting that this portion of any future severance/LSP entitlement can no longer be offset by mandatory MPF contributions for service from 1 May 2025 onward. It is not a guaranteed future payout, actual severance/LSP depends on whether and when an employee's service ends and under what circumstances.