Malaysia

Individual - Taxes on personal income

Last reviewed - 06 December 2023

An individual, whether tax resident or non-resident in Malaysia, is taxed on any income accruing in or derived from Malaysia. Resident individuals are also subject to tax on foreign-sourced income received in Malaysia (see the Income determination section).

Personal income tax rates

The following rates are applicable to resident individual taxpayers for year of assessment 2023 onwards:

Taxable income (MYR) Tax on column 1 (MYR) Tax on excess (%)
Over Not over
5,000 20,000 0 1
20,000 35,000 150 3
35,000 50,000 600 6
50,000 70,000 1,500 11
70,000 100,000 3,700 19
100,000 400,000 9,400 25
400,000 600,000 84,400 26
600,000 2,000,000 136,400 28
2,000,000 528,400 30

A non-resident individual is taxed at a flat rate of 30% on total taxable income.

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 resident individual under the Returning Expert Programme having or exercising employment with a person in Malaysia would also enjoy a tax rate of 15% for five years on income from an employment.

A qualified person (defined) who is holding a key position (C-Suite) is taxed at the rate of 15% on income from employment with a company that has been granted a relocation tax incentive under the PENJANA initiative. 

Local income taxes

There are no local taxes on personal income in Malaysia.