It’s that time of the year again! The very (in)famous income tax filing season is here and if it’s your first time, you might be a little more lost than excited.
Here’s our checklist to guide you through the many documents, steps and forms you need to navigate through to get your income tax filing done and dusted.
There are two types of filing: e-filing which as the name suggests, is done electronically and manual filing, which requires you to print out the income tax form and fill it manually.
Obviously, e-filing is more convenient, simple and user-friendly. The best part? It will calculate your income tax automatically, making the whole process less painful.
Now, before you can register and declare your income tax, you need to make sure you have the following documents on hand.
Document checklist
All you need to do is check off the items in the checklist of the tax documents to prepare below, and the best time to start gathering your receipts, documents and necessary details is right now.
| Latest salary statement (EA/EC form) or payslip. | |
| Identification card (IC)/ police IC/ army IC/ international passport. | |
| Marriage certificate (if applicable). | |
| Visit http://mytax.hasil.gov.my to fill up the registration of income Tax File (You will need to upload a copy of your IC here). | |
| Reference number (MyKad, Passport, Marriage, or Tax reference number). | |
| Income statement (EA form, dividends, rental, pension, royalties, etc.) | |
| EPF statement. | |
| Receipts to claim reliefs, rebates, and exemptions. | |
| Visit LHDN’s official website to do your taxes. | |
| Choose the right income tax form (If you are an individual with non-business income, choose Income Tax Form BE (e-BE), and choose assessment year 2020. ) | |
| Carefully fill in your tax reliefs, tax rebates and tax exemptions. | |
| Double-check all the information, declare, sign and send! | |
| Retain the proof of purchase or spending for the items you are claiming for up to seven years. |
Common tax reliefs
Check one by one if you are eligible to apply for these tax reliefs. Don’t miss anything!
| Yes | No | Reliefs |
| Education expenses
(Degree at Masters or Doctorate level for acquiring law, accounting, Islamic financing, technical, vocational, industrial, scientific or technological skills of qualification, Degree at Masters or Doctorate level for acquiring any skills or qualifications) |
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| Medical expenses
(For serious diseases for self, spouse or child, Complete medical examination for self, spouse or child, medical expenses for parents) |
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| Lifestyle expenses
(Purchase of books, journals, magazines, printed newspapers and other similar publications, personal computer, smartphone or tablet, sports equipment for any sports activity as defined under the Sports Development Act 1997 (excluding motorised two-wheel bicycles) and gym memberships for self, spouse or child and payment of monthly bill for internet subscription) |
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| Childcare expenses
(Breastfeeding equipment, ordinary child relief, child care fees to a child care centre or a kindergarten ) |
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| Insurance and other policies
(Life insurance, EPF, deferred annuity and PRS, insurance premium for education or medical benefit, SOCSO) |
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| Disability
(Disabled individual, child, wife, husband and basic supporting equipment) |
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| Children’s Education
(Education for unmarried child of 18 years and above for pre-tertiary and tertiary education in and outside Malaysia, additional exemption for disabled child pursuing higher education, net saving in SSPN’s scheme) |
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| General
(Self & dependent, alimony payments) |
Reduced income tax rate for certain income brackets
Check how much income tax you’ll pay with the latest tax rates and compare it to what you paid last year with iMoney’s Malaysia Income Tax calculator.
It was announced during the Budget 2023 that the personal income tax rate for the income brackets between RM35,000 and RM100,000 will be reduced by 2%.
Budget 2024, however, focused on increasing the service and high-value goods tax, which meant no changes were made to the personal income tax rate.
Quick income tax preparation checklist
For a more detailed and step-by-step guide on e-Filing, you can visit iMoney’s Malaysia Income Tax e-Filing Guide.
But if all you need is a quick refresher or something to refer to, below is a quick checklist of what you need to do to prepare you for filing your taxes.
- Checklist #1: Make sure you have your EA form ready
- Checklist #2: Register/Create an e-Filing account if you haven’t already
- Checklist #3: Make sure you have your receipts for any tax relief
- Checklist #4: Use an income tax calculator to optimise your tax relief
- Checklist #5: Update your bank account (for any potential tax refunds)
- Checklist #6: File your taxes as soon as you can
Read iMoney’s extensive list and explanation of tax relief here.
And, for everything there is to know about personal income tax in Malaysia, head to The Complete Guide To Personal Income Tax In Malaysia.
