你最近收到过这样的邮件吗？ “Tax Authority Notice: Your VAT reg […]

Many cross-border sellers register U.S. companies, collect money, and then-

Forget about filing taxes.

Or think: I don't have employees or a physical office in the U.S., so I shouldn't have to file a tax return, right?

Or: I lost money this year, just file zero return, no need to find a tax consultant, right?

If you think any of the above, this article deserves a serious read.

因为IRS（美国国税局）不管你有没有收入、有没有实体——只要你有美国公司，就有申报义务。

Doing cross-border e-commerce, the first reason many people register a Hong Kong company is: “Hong Kong companies have offshore exemptions and do not have to pay tax on their income.”

But in the last two years, more and more sellers have realized that it's not that simple anymore.

The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has started to require more documents, the threshold for applying for offshore exemption is getting higher and higher, and some of the applications have even been rejected outright and asked to pay back taxes and penalties for several years.

Will the offshore exemption still be available in 2026? What compliance actions must a Hong Kong company do each year?

This article today gives you a clear answer.

A Shenzhen seller's real experience

Lao Zhang in Shenzhen to do Amazon, annual sales of 80 million, the annual corporate income tax alone will have to pay 25%, almost 2 million.

He has always wanted to move a place, but heard that Hainan Free Trade Port registration company procedures are complex, high threshold, it has been procrastinated. Until last month, a peer told him:

“I paid less than $1 million in taxes on the same profit from a company registered in Hainan.”

Lao Zhang this is a serious study. And the good news is - after May 1, the process of registering a company in Hainan is going to be greatly simplified again!

South African e-commerce giant Takealot, after a short period of time to close the cross-border sellers stationed in the channel, finally in April 2026 officially restarted the investment in China! But this time, the return, bring not a lower threshold, but is called “the most stringent” new rules - individual qualification is completely rejected, only corporate sellers can enter, the platform comprehensively towards compliance, boutique operation era.

For countless small and medium-sized sellers who want to explore the South African market, this is undoubtedly a watershed: some people are forced to withdraw, while others usher in a purer blue sea of dividends.