Filing Income Tax in Malaysia: Registration, Deadlines & e-Filing

Are you a tax resident?

Your residency status decides which rates and form apply. You are a tax resident for a year if you are physically in Malaysia for 182 days or more in that basis year (calendar year), or you qualify under the linking / temporary-absence rules. Residents are taxed on the progressive scale (0%–30%) and can claim reliefs. Non-residents are taxed at a flat 30% with no reliefs and file the Form M instead. Most Malaysians working locally are residents.

Who must file

As a rule of thumb, a resident individual must register a tax file and submit a return once annual employment income after the EPF deduction exceeds RM34,000 — roughly the point at which tax becomes payable. You may also need to file if you have business, rental, dividend or other income, even below that figure.

If your only income is employment and your employer deducted PCB (MTD) correctly for all 12 months with one employer, you may be able to treat PCB as your final tax and skip filing under Section 77C — see the PCB / MTD guide for the full conditions. When in doubt, file: it is the only way to claim reliefs and recover any over-deducted PCB as a refund.

Registering for a tax number

First-time taxpayers register once through e-Daftar on the LHDN MyTax portal (mytax.hasil.gov.my) to get an income tax number (TIN). You will need your MyKad details; most new files are activated quickly, and you then set up a MyTax / e-Filing login. Employers usually notify LHDN when a new employee starts, but the responsibility to register is ultimately yours.

Which form, and the deadline

The form and its due date depend on the type of income you earn:

Paying the tax

Any balance of tax payable is due by the same deadline as the return. Employees whose PCB was deducted monthly have usually pre-paid most or all of it, so the balance is small or nil — and if too much was deducted, filing triggers a refund to your bank account. Payment is made online through ByrHASIL / FPX on the MyTax portal, at appointed banks, or via other LHDN channels.

Those with business income may be issued CP500 instalment notices and pay in bi-monthly instalments through the year, reconciled when the Form B is filed.

Penalties for filing or paying late

Missing the deadline is expensive. Late payment of the tax due attracts a 10% increase on the outstanding amount under the Income Tax Act. Failing to furnish a return, or under-declaring income, carries its own penalties that can be a multiple of the tax undercharged. You must also keep your supporting documents — receipts for every relief, your EA form, statements — for seven years in case of an audit, even though they are not submitted with the return.

Important caveats

Deadlines, thresholds and e-Filing grace periods are set by LHDN and can change year to year — e-Filing has often been given a short grace period beyond the paper dates, so always check the current calendar on mytax.hasil.gov.my before relying on a date. This guide is general information, not tax advice. Estimate your liability with the calculator below, then file and pay through official LHDN channels.