Country topic
Tax in Malaysia
You are a Malaysian tax resident for a year if you are in Malaysia for 182 days or more in it. A shorter stay can also count as resident if it links to a period of 182 or more consecutive days in the year before or after, or if you spend 90 days or more in the year and were resident or present 90 days or more in three of the four years before. LHDN’s page was last updated on 10 August 2026. [T1] Residents pay graduated rates on chargeable income. LHDN’s table for 2023, 2024 and 2025 (it shows no 2026 table) is 0% on the first RM 5,000, then 1%, 3%, 6%, 11%, 19%, 25% (RM 100,001 to RM 400,000), 26%, 28% and 30% above RM 2 million. Non-residents pay a flat 30% on Malaysian income and get no reliefs. [T2] [T3]
What we found
The research, with its sources.
Research information, not advice. Rules change, so check the source before you act on one.
- You are a Malaysian tax resident for a year if you are in Malaysia for 182 days or more in it. A shorter stay can also count as resident if it links to a period of 182 or more consecutive days in the year before or after, or if you spend 90 days or more in the year and were resident or present 90 days or more in three of the four years before. LHDN’s page was last updated on 10 August 2026. [T1]
- Residents pay graduated rates on chargeable income. LHDN’s table for 2023, 2024 and 2025 (it shows no 2026 table) is 0% on the first RM 5,000, then 1%, 3%, 6%, 11%, 19%, 25% (RM 100,001 to RM 400,000), 26%, 28% and 30% above RM 2 million. Non-residents pay a flat 30% on Malaysian income and get no reliefs. [T2] [T3]
- LHDN’s 2025 slides say employees exercising employment in Malaysia are taxed on their full income from it even if part is paid from outside Malaysia or the employer has no office there. Employment income can be exempt where the days worked in Malaysia in a year do not exceed 60, with conditions. [T4]
- MDEC’s FAQ says a foreign remote worker staying 61 days or more is taxable, with the rate based on residence status, and that stays of 60 days or less are not taxed. For foreign freelancers it describes 10% withholding tax (or a treaty rate) for the first 182 days, then taxation as a resident, with the withholding credited. How this applies to you depends on your facts, so ask an adviser. [T5]
- LHDN’s guideline exempts foreign income, other than partnership income, that a resident individual receives in Malaysia if it was taxed where it arose or meets listed exceptions, for 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2026. A Malaysian newspaper reports the Budget 2025 speech extended this to 31 December 2036, and Bloomberg Tax reports an order (P.U.(A) 451/2024, gazetted 24 December 2024) sets it from 1 January 2027. We could not open the gazette, so confirm with LHDN. Whether your pay counts as foreign, given the work-location rule, needs an adviser. [T6] [T7] [T8]
- LHDN lists comprehensive tax agreements in force with Canada (signed 1976), Australia (signed 1980) and New Zealand (signed 1976, with protocols). For the United States it lists only a limited agreement (P.U.(A) 242/1989), and the IRS list of US income tax treaties does not include Malaysia. What an agreement does for you depends on where you are resident and what kind of income it is. [T9] [T10] [T11]
- Foreign individuals register for a Malaysian tax identification number online through e-Daftar on the MyTax portal, with a copy of a valid passport. MDEC lists the LHDN income tax e-registration slip among the documents needed to complete a DE Rantau endorsement. [T12] [T5]
- Your home country’s rules apply separately. The IRS says US citizens abroad file based on worldwide income, and the 2026 foreign earned income exclusion is up to $132,900 per person. New Zealand tax residents become non-resident only if they have no permanent place of abode there and are away more than 325 days in any 12 months. The ATO says you are generally an Australian resident if you go overseas temporarily and set up no permanent home in another country. [T13] [T14] [T15] [T16]
The country
More on Malaysia.
Topics
More about Malaysia.
Questions about Tax in Malaysia.
How many days before I become a tax resident of Malaysia?
LHDN treats you as resident for a year if you are in Malaysia for 182 days or more in it. Linked periods and a 90-day test tied to earlier years can also make you resident. Tax residence is separate from your visa, and stays of 60 days or less may be exempt for employment income.
What are the income tax rates in Malaysia?
For residents, LHDN’s table for 2023 to 2025 runs from 0% on the first RM 5,000 through 25% on RM 100,001 to RM 400,000 to 30% above RM 2 million; no 2026 table is shown. Non-residents pay a flat 30% on Malaysian income with no reliefs. What you owe depends on your reliefs.
Is my foreign income taxed in Malaysia?
LHDN’s guideline exempts foreign income a resident individual receives in Malaysia if it was taxed where it arose, to 31 December 2026. Bloomberg Tax reports an order extending it to 2036 from 2027; we could not open the gazette, so confirm with LHDN. Pay for work done in Malaysia is a separate rule.
Do I pay Malaysian tax if I work remotely for a foreign employer?
LHDN says employment exercised in Malaysia is taxed there even if paid from abroad, and 60 days or less in a year can be exempt. MDEC’s FAQ says remote workers staying 61 days or more are taxable. Treatment depends on your facts, so ask an adviser. This is not tax advice.
Does Malaysia have a tax treaty with my country?
LHDN lists comprehensive tax agreements in force with Canada, Australia and New Zealand. For the United States it lists only a limited agreement, and the IRS treaty list does not include Malaysia. What an agreement does for you depends on your residence and the type of income.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [T1] Residence status (section 7, Income Tax Act 1967), Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T2] Individual tax rates, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [T3] Introduction to individual income tax, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T4] Tax treatment of residents and non-residents (2025 slides), Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T5] DE Rantau Nomad Pass FAQ, version 10.0 (28 August 2026), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [T6] Tax treatment in relation to income received from abroad (amendment, June 2024), Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T7] QuickCheck: has the tax exemption on foreign-sourced income been extended?, The Star (Malaysian newspaper, not official). Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T8] Malaysia Gazettes Order Extending Income Tax Exemption on Foreign Income, Bloomberg Tax (news report, not official). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [T9] Comprehensive double taxation agreements, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T10] Limited double taxation agreements, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T11] United States income tax treaties, A to Z, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T12] Registration of a tax identification number (e-Daftar), Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN / HASiL). Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T13] US citizens and residents abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T14] Foreign earned income exclusion limit, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- [T15] Tax residency status for individuals, Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 11 October 2026.
- [T16] Australian resident for tax purposes, Australian Taxation Office (Internet Archive copy). Checked 15 October 2026.