Personal Income Tax

Tax residence status of individuals

An individual is regarded as tax resident if he meets any of the following conditions, i.e. if he is:

in Malaysia for at least 182 days in a calendar year;
in Malaysia for a period of less than 182 days during the year but that period is linked to a period of physical presence of 182 or more consecutive days in the following or preceding year. Temporary absences from Malaysia due to the following reasons are counted as part of the consecutive days, provided that the individual is in Malaysia before and after each temporary absence:

- business trips

- treatment for ill-health

- social visits not exceeding 14 days

in Malaysia for 90 days or more during the year and, in any 3 of the 4 immediately preceding years, he was in Malaysia for at least 90 days or was resident in Malaysia; or
resident for the year immediately following that year and for each of the 3 immediately preceding years.

Rates of tax

1. Resident individuals

Chargeable income (RM)	YA 2022		*YA 2023*
Chargeable income (RM)	Tax (RM)	% on excess	Tax (RM)	% on excess
5,000	0	1	0	1
20,000	150	3	150	3
35,000	600	8	600	6
50,000	1,800	13	1,500	11
70,000	4,400	21	3,700	19
100,000	10,700	24	9,400	25
250,000	46,700	24.5	46,900	25
400,000	83,450	25	84,400	26
600,000	133,450	26	136,400	28
1,000,000	237,450	28	248,400	28
2,000,000	517,450	30	528,400	30

A qualified person (defined) who is a knowledge worker residing in Iskandar Malaysia is taxed at the rate of 15% on income from an employment with a designated company engaged in a qualified activity in that specified region.
An approved individual under the Returning Expert Programme who is a resident is taxed at the rate of 15% for 5 consecutive YAs.
A non-citizen receiving a monthly salary of not less than RM25,000 and holding key positions / C-Suite positions is taxed at a flat rate of 15% for a period of 5 consecutive years. This incentive is limited to 5 non-resident individuals employed in each company that has been granted relocation tax incentive under PENJANA initiative (applications received by the Malaysian Investment and Development Authority by 31 December 2022, extended to 2024).

2. Non-resident individuals

Types of income	Rate (%)
Public entertainer’s professional income	15
Interest	15
Royalties	10
Special classes of income: Rental of moveable properties Advice, assistance or services rendered in Malaysia	10
Dividends (single-tier)	Exempt
Business income, employment income, discounts, rents, premiums, pensions, annuities, other periodical payments and other gains or profits (include payments received for part-time / occasional broadcasting, lecturing, writing, etc.)	30
Income other than the above	10

Personal reliefs for resident individuals

Types of relief	YA 2022 (RM)
Self	9,000
Disabled individual - additional relief for self	6,000
Spouse	4,000
Disabled spouse - additional spouse relief	5,000
Child:
a) per unmarried child
i) below 18 years old	2,000
ii) over 18 years old: - receiving full-time instruction at school, college, university or similar establishment; OR	2,000
- receiving full-time instruction at an establishment of higher education (approved by the government) in respect of: - diploma level and above in Malaysia, or - degree level and above outside Malaysia, OR serving under articles or indentures in a trade or profession in Malaysia	8,000
b) per physically / mentally disabled child:
- unmarried,	6,000
- AND IF over 18 years of age receiving full-time instruction at an establishment of higher education (approved by the government) in respect of: - diploma level and above in Malaysia; or - degree level and above outside Malaysia, OR serving under articles or indentures in a trade or profession in Malaysia	additional 8,000
Life insurance premiums (Notes 1 & 2)	3,000*
Employee Provident Fund (EPF) contributions and contributions to pension schemes by individuals or public servants (Notes 1 & 2)	4,000*
Private retirement scheme contributions and deferred annuity scheme premiums (until YA 2025)	3,000*
Insurance premiums for education or medical benefits	3,000*
Expenses on medical treatment, special needs or carer expenses for parents (evidenced by medical certification)	8,000*
Employee’s contribution to Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) and Employment Insurance System	350*
Medical expenses for self, spouse or child suffering from a serious disease, expenses incurred on fertility treatment, or vaccination up to RM1,000 (including fees of up to RM1,000 incurred by self, spouse or child for complete medical examination, COVID-19 detection test and mental health examinations or consultations). W.e.f. YA 2023, expanded to include intervention expenditure for Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Global Developmental Delay, Intellectual Disability, Down Syndrome and Specific Learning Disabilities limited to RM4,000 as below: i. diagnostic assessment certified by a medical practitioner registered with the Malaysian Medical Council; ii. early intervention and rehabilitation programmes conducted by health profession practitioners registered under the Allied Health Profession Act 2016.	8,000* (10,000 from YA 2023)
Fee expended for: any course of study up to tertiary level, other than a degree at Masters or Doctorate level, undertaken for the purpose of acquiring legal, accounting, Islamic financing, technical, vocational, industrial, scientific or technological qualification or skill any course of study for a degree at Masters or Doctorate level undertaken for the purpose of acquiring any qualification or skill any course of study undertaken for the purpose of upskilling and self-enhancement, limited to RM2,000 (until YA 2023)	7,000*
Purchase of supporting equipment for self (if a disabled person) or for disabled spouse, child or parent	6,000*
Lifestyle relief consolidated with the following: purchase or subscription of books, journals, magazines, newspaper and other similar publications (in the form of hardcopy or electronic) for the purpose of enhancing knowledge purchase of personal computer, smartphone or tablet purchase of sports equipment and gym memberships, and internet subscription	2,500*
Purchase of breastfeeding equipment	1,000*
Fees paid to childcare centre and kindergarten (until YA 2023, extended to YA 2024)	3,000*
Deposit for child into the Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional account (until YA 2022)	8,000*
Domestic travelling expenses (accommodation, entrance fee to tourist attractions and domestic tour package) (until YA 2022)	1,000*
Additional relief (on top of lifestyle relief) for purchase of personal computer, smartphone or tablet	2,500*
Additional relief (on top of lifestyle relief) for cost of purchasing sports equipment, entry / rental fees for sports facilities and registration fees for sports competition	500*
Costs related to electric vehicle charging facilities, including installation, rental, hire-purchase of equipment, or subscription fees (YAs 2022 and 2023)	2,500*

^{* Maximum relief}

Note:

^{1. For public servants under the pension scheme, combined relief up to RM7,000 is given for Takaful contributions or payment for life insurance premium (until YA 2022).}

^{2. W.e.f YA 2023 the scope of the relief is expanded to cover voluntary EPF contributions}

Tax rebates for resident individuals

Types of rebate	RM
Individual’s chargeable income does not exceed RM35,000	400
If husband and wife are separately assessed and each chargeable income does not exceed RM35,000	400 (each)
If husband and wife are jointly assessed and the joint chargeable income does not exceed RM35,000	800
Rebate for Zakat, Fitrah or other Islamic religious dues paid	Actual amount expended
Rebate for departure levy paid for performing umrah and pilgrimage to holy places.	Actual amount expended (twice in a lifetime)

The above rebate granted is deducted from tax charged and any excess is not refundable.