For every vehicle owner, there are many financial commitments that they will have to bear. The fuel for the vehicle’s daily usage, the maintenance fees incurred by said vehicle, insurance for the vehicle, and the road tax.
Every year, every vehicle user will have to pay the amount specified for their vehicle’s road tax, along with the insurance for said vehicle.
But have you ever wondered how the rates for the road tax is calculated? In this article, that’s what we’re going to explore.
What is a road tax?
But before we can explore just how our road taxes are calculated, first we have to understand just what exactly is a road tax.
And to understand road tax, there is one big misconception that we need to clear up first.
Road tax doesn’t exist
That is; there is no such thing as a road tax.
If you look closely on your so-called ‘road tax’ sticker, do you see the words road tax or cukai jalan printed anywhere on it? No?
This is because the official name for it is actually a Malaysian Vehicle Licence or Lesen Kenderaan Malaysia (LKM).
So without an LKM, it means that your car cannot be driven legally on Malaysian roads. We’re still going to call it a road tax in this article, because that’s how most people refer to it.
What happens if we drive without a road tax?
If you’re caught driving a vehicle without a valid road tax, you’re liable to be charged under Section 15(1) and Section 90(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which carries with it a compound of RM300.
Four factors that affect road tax rates
To understand how road tax rates are calculated, first we need to acknowledge that there are four factors that affect the rates.
These four factors are;
- Engine capacity
- Location
- Vehicle type
- Ownership type
Now let’s have a look at how these three factors affect how much you pay.
Engine capacity
How engine capacity affects your road tax is very simple, the bigger the engine capacity, the more you end up paying.
This ruling came about because when the government started issuing road taxes, they wanted to tax the vehicles with larger engine capacities more, as they produce more pollution compared to their smaller counterparts.
Here’s a table of road tax rates for vehicles up to 1600cc;
| Engine Capacity | Rate |
|---|---|
| 1000cc and below | RM20.00 |
| 1001cc to 1200cc | RM55.00 |
| 1201cc to 1400cc | RM70.00 |
| 1401cc to 1600cc | RM90.00 |
For vehicles with engine capacity higher than 1600cc, a progressive rate kicks in after an initial base rate has been applied. Here’s a table to help you visualise it;
| Engine capacity | Base rate | Progressive rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1601cc to 1800cc | RM200.00 | RM0.40 for every cc after 1600cc |
| 1801cc to 2000cc | RM280.00 | RM0.50 for every cc after 1800cc |
| 2001cc to 2500cc | RM380.00 | RM1.00 for every cc after 2000cc |
| 2501cc to 3000cc | RM880.00 | RM2.50 for every cc after 2500cc |
| 3000cc and above | RM2,130 | RM4.50 for every cc after 3000cc |
Now with electric vehicle (EV)’s rise in popularity, the government has also issued a ruling for EVs. But instead of using CCs to determine the rates, EVs will be judged on their battery capacity, which is measured in kWH.
Just like CCs however, the higher the kWH, the higher the rate.
However, right now EV users can relax for a bit, as right now EVs are enjoying a tax exemption period, which will end in 2025.
Location
If you take two cars of the same model and engine capacity, and place one in Peninsula Malaysia and the other in Sabah or Sarawak, you’ll find that the road tax is cheaper for the car in Sabah and Sarawak compared to the one in Peninsula Malaysia.
Why is this? Because location is another factor that can affect rates. The reason behind this is for places where the infrastructure can be a little lacking, and the roads are not in the best condition, the road tax rate will be lower.
For example, a 1001 to 1200cc vehicle’s road tax will cost RM55.00 in Peninsula Malaysia, but only RM44.00 in Sabah.
Vehicle type
Another factor that affects the rates of your road tax is the vehicle type.
Yes, different rates obviously apply to a motorcycle compared to a car, but did you know that there are differences in rates depending on the type of cars as well?
The two types of cars in this context are saloon or non-saloon. Saloon cars include car types such as sedans, hatchbacks, coupes, and wagons, while non-saloon vehicles refers to vehicles like MPVs, SUVs, pickup trucks, and commercial vehicles.
Here’s a comparison of the rates of the two vehicle types;
Road tax rate for saloon cars
| Engine Capacity | Rate |
|---|---|
| 1000cc and below | RM20.00 |
| 1001cc to 1200cc | RM55.00 |
| 1201cc to 1400cc | RM70.00 |
| 1401cc to 1600cc | RM90.00 |
Road tax rate for non-saloon cars
| Engine capacity | Rate |
|---|---|
| 1000cc and below | RM20.00 |
| 1001cc to 1200cc | RM85.00 |
| 1201cc to 1400cc | RM100.00 |
| 1401cc to 1600cc | RM120.00 |
As you can see, the road tax rate for non-saloon cars is quite significantly higher compared to saloon cars.
Ownership type
And finally, the ownership type of a vehicle can also affect its road tax rates.
Any vehicle registered under a company is treated as a commercial vehicle rather than a private vehicle, and will be charged more.
Here’s an example;
Road tax rate for a private saloon vehicle
| Engine Capacity | Rate |
|---|---|
| 1000cc and below | RM20.00 |
| 1001cc to 1200cc | RM55.00 |
| 1201cc to 1400cc | RM70.00 |
| 1401cc to 1600cc | RM90.00 |
Road tax rate for a commercially owned saloon vehicle
| Engine capacity | Rate |
|---|---|
| 1000cc and below | RM20.00 |
| 1001cc to 1200cc | RM110.00 |
| 1201cc to 1400cc | RM140.00 |
| 1401cc to 1600cc | RM180.00 |
Now that you understand the factors that can affect a vehicle’s road tax rate, let’s have a look at how the rates are calculated.
How you can calculate your own road tax rates
Now, there’s no better way to learn about road tax rates than trying to do it yourself.
Hence why in this section, we’re going to show you a couple of road tax rates calculations as an example, so you can use it as a reference for you to calculate your own rate.
To calculate the road tax rate of your car, there are only three things you need;
- Your vehicle’s engine capacity
- A JPJ released guide on tax rates
- A calculator
Let’s move on to the first example.
A 1.5 Perodua MyVi
| Engine Capacity | Rate |
|---|---|
| 1000cc and below | RM20.00 |
| 1001cc to 1200cc | RM55.00 |
| 1201cc to 1400cc | RM70.00 |
| 1401cc to 1600cc | RM90.00 |
According to JPJ’s road tax rate calculation table above, a Perodua MyVi 1.5 falls in the 1500cc category, which means that their road tax rate will be RM90.00.
For vehicles below 1600cc, the calculation is fairly straightforward because all you need to do is refer to the correct table
But when a vehicle exceeds the 1600cc limit, the calculation gets a little bit more complicated, as a progressive rate kicks in.
Let’s have a look at an example of this.
Toyota Vellfire 2.5
For a Toyota Vellfire 2.5, the engine capacity is 2487cc.
What does the JPJ rate calculation table tell you about vehicles above 1600cc? Let’s have a look.
| Engine capacity | Base rate | Progressive rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1601cc to 1800cc | RM200.00 | RM0.40 for every cc after 1600cc |
| 1801cc to 2000cc | RM280.00 | RM0.50 for every cc after 1800cc |
| 2001cc to 2500cc | RM380.00 | RM1.00 for every cc after 2000cc |
| 2501cc to 3000cc | RM880.00 | RM2.50 for every cc after 2500cc |
| 3000cc and above | RM2,130 | RM4.50 for every cc after 3000cc |
So from this table here, we can see that the Toyota Vellfire falls into the 2001 to 2500cc category, which comes with a base rate of RM380.
So, the calculation will be as follows;
2487 – 2000 = 487
487 x RM1.00 = RM487
RM487 (progressive rate) + RM380 (base rate) = RM867
And there you have it! That’s how you calculate your road tax. This is something you should always keep in mind when buying a new car, especially if you’re on a budget. A bigger car might be more impressive, but it can easily disrupt your financial plans if you keep paying more than your lifestyle can support.
