IRD refreshes section 88 charity list as at 31 October 2026

Hong Kong's published section 88 charity list is current as at 31 October 2026IRD, replacing the 30 September editionIRD. The two editions differ in both directions: the October edition lists bodies the September edition did not, and omits bodies the September edition contained. The Inland Revenue Department points donors to this list to check whether a recipient qualifiesIRD, so anyone claiming a deduction should check each recipient against the October edition rather than the September one.

Newly listed entries include 4SEA Charity Foundation Limited (皓瀚文化慈善基金有限公司), marked w.e.f. 14 September 2026IRD; Ausupreme Foundation Limited (澳至尊慈善基金會有限公司), w.e.f. 7 October 2026IRD; Qianfan Charity Foundation Limited (千帆慈善基金會有限公司), w.e.f. 18 September 2026; and W & T Charity Foundation Limited (永德慈善基金有限公司), w.e.f. 2 October 2026. Each entry on the list carries its own w.e.f. date.

Familiar names no longer appear: Active Global Foundation Limited (活力國際基金有限公司), Gustav Mahler Orchestra Limited (馬勒樂團有限公司), Vast Good Charity Foundation Limited (泓善慈善基金會有限公司) and the Anisha A. Hotwani Memorial Fund Limited all appear in the September editionIRD and are absent from the October edition. Absence from the published list is not itself proof that a body has lost exemptionIRD: the Department publishes the list with each body's consentIRD and warns that it does not constitute a formal registerIRD, so a missing name can also reflect withheld consentIRD. The Department separately conducts periodic reviews of recognition and withdraws it where circumstances warrant.

The deduction turns on timing. A donation of money is eligible when it goes to a body exempt from tax under section 88 or to the Government for charitable purposesIRD, and the Department says a genuine donation to an organisation whose name could be found in the published list at the time of making the donation can be claimedIRD in the year of assessment in which the donation was madeIRD, even if the name later disappearsIRD. Donations made to a dropped body before it left the list therefore keep their deductionIRD, while donations made after it left can no longer be shown to be eligible by pointing at the current listIRD. Donors chargeable to salaries tax, personal assessment or profits tax can deduct the aggregate of approved charitable donationsIRD, subject to a $100 floorElegislation and a cap of 35 per cent of assessable income or profitsIRD.

Before filing, match every recipient and every donation date against the edition published when the donation was made, and keep each receipt for six years after the end of the relevant year of assessmentIRD; a claim without a receipt is rejectedIRD. Legal basis: sections 2, 16D, 26C and 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112).