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Real-time News
On February 25th, five departments, including the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, jointly issued the "Notice on Further Optimizing and Adjusting the Citys Real Estate Policies." The notice stipulates that from January 1, 2026, for Shanghai residents whose children have reached adulthood and whose purchased housing is the only residence of their adult childrens family, personal housing property tax will be temporarily exempted. Specifically, for homebuyers who jointly owned housing with their parents or grandparents when they were minors (or before the pilot program for personal housing property tax in Shanghai), and whose newly purchased or replaced housing in Shanghai remains the only residence of their adult childrens family (excluding jointly owned housing), personal housing property tax will be temporarily exempted. If the homebuyers family housing situation changes and meets the above conditions, they can re-declare and verify their personal housing property tax information with the tax authority where the taxable housing is located. Tax adjustments will be made from the month following the re-verification by the tax authority, and any overpaid taxes for the period after January 1, 2026 will be refunded.On February 25th, five departments in Shanghai—the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Shanghai Municipal Housing Administration Bureau, the Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau, the Shanghai Municipal Taxation Bureau, and the Shanghai Municipal Housing Provident Fund Management Center—jointly issued a "Notice on Further Optimizing and Adjusting Shanghais Real Estate Policies." The notice expands the scope of support for home purchases by families with multiple children. The application of housing provident fund loan support policies has been extended from the purchase of a first home to the purchase of a second home. Specifically, for families with multiple children purchasing a second home, the maximum loan amount will be increased by 20% based on the citys maximum loan amount.On February 25th, five departments in Shanghai—the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Shanghai Municipal Housing Administration Bureau, the Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau, the Shanghai Municipal Taxation Bureau, and the Shanghai Municipal Housing Provident Fund Management Center—jointly issued a "Notice on Further Optimizing and Adjusting Shanghais Real Estate Policies." The notice states that the maximum housing provident fund loan for a family purchasing its first home will be increased from 1.6 million yuan to 2.4 million yuan. Combined with the increased maximum loan amount for families with multiple children and for purchasing green buildings (up to a 35% increase), the maximum loan amount for a Shanghai housing provident fund family can reach 3.24 million yuan. The maximum loan amount for purchasing a second home has also been increased accordingly. For Shanghai families who have previously used housing provident fund loans, and who have no housing in Shanghai or only one home and have currently repaid their housing provident fund loan, they can apply for a housing provident fund loan when purchasing another home in Shanghai.On February 25th, five departments in Shanghai—the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Shanghai Municipal Housing Administration Bureau, the Shanghai Municipal Finance Bureau, the Shanghai Municipal Taxation Bureau, and the Shanghai Municipal Housing Provident Fund Management Center—jointly issued the "Notice on Further Optimizing and Adjusting Shanghais Real Estate Policies." The notice states that eligible holders of Shanghai Residence Permits can purchase housing in Shanghai. Non-Shanghai resident families or single adults who have held a Shanghai Residence Permit for five years or more are limited to purchasing one housing unit in Shanghai, without needing to provide proof of social security or individual income tax payments. Non-Shanghai resident families or single adults who have continuously paid social insurance or individual income tax in Shanghai for one year or more prior to the date of purchase are allowed unlimited housing purchases outside the Outer Ring Road, but limited to one housing unit within the Outer Ring Road; those who have continuously paid social insurance or individual income tax for three years or more are limited to purchasing two housing units within the Outer Ring Road. Holders of Shanghai Residence Permits for five years or more are limited to purchasing one housing unit citywide.February 25 – Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivered the 2026-2027 Budget Address to the Legislative Council today (February 25). He stated that starting from the 2026/27 tax year, the basic tax exemption and single-parent tax exemption will be increased from HK$132,000 to HK$145,000, and the married tax exemption will be increased from HK$264,000 to HK$290,000, benefiting approximately 2.09 million taxpayers and reducing tax revenue by approximately HK$3.56 billion annually. The child tax exemption and additional child tax exemption will be increased from HK$130,000 to HK$140,000, benefiting approximately 360,000 taxpayers and reducing tax revenue by approximately HK$680 million annually.
