Tax Income for Foreigners in Malaysia

There are two ways to get a work permit (called an employment pass). First way is to get a job and the business will apply. Each permit is strictly related to a job at a particular company, so it would have to be changed to move jobs.  The second way is to set up a company. You will need RM1 million paid up capital to have a 100% foreign owned company with two directors. It is possible to open a company with Malaysian partners, whereby the paid up capital is RM350,000.

People who do not live for 182 days in a calendar year in Malaysia are non-tax resident and pay 25% flat rate. There are no allowances and no deductions or rebates/returns.

This is the tax structure once a person is tax resident:

                 2015
0-5,000                    0%                                                 
5,000-10,000      1% RM50
10,001-20,000    1%  +RM50
20,001-35,000    5%  +RM750
35,001-50,000   10%  +RM1,500
50,001-70,000   16% +RM3,200
70,001-100,000   21% +RM6,300
100,001-250,000  24% +RM36,000
250,001-400,000  24.5% +RM36,750
Exceeding 400 000  25%  (+?)

Thank you for your reply.

Just a quick question tho - the amount you stated is it based on monthly or yearly income?

I had a job offer, I am holding a social visit pass. They said I need to pay for my visa and they will only help me with the documents that I would need. On the Immigration website there is no fee for the employment visa unless for temporary employment. Do you happen to have an idea how much would it probably cost me?

26% is if you are new to Malaysia. if you more than 6 months in malaysia then its normal slab based on your current income. i have one excel to calculate tax. not sure how i share here.. one other way is you can google and see

The tax bands are on annual salary. So you can add up the amounts on right and then divide by 12 to get the monthly deduction.

You may be under the foreign worker scheme. This is quite expensive. I think the medical and visa cost about RM3700-4500. There are levies (see process and link below) which is why it costs a lot.

You can get assistance here regarding the process etc. http://www.philembassykl.org.my/filcom.htm#A. 

The company has to assist you, as they have to prove that they could not find a Malaysian to do the job.

http://www.mida.gov.my/home/immigration … res/posts/

Beware of job scams and companies that play games by saying that if YOU get a work permit they will give you a job - that just is not possible, as they have to be involved as well and get permission to hire you and register you for income tax. Its just a let you down easy ploy.

Here is the immigration description

http://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/en/main … ign-worker

For this permit you can only apply for the first stage when you are in your home country. Then you get clearance and can come to Malaysia for the medical and get the visa in your passport. The above link explains this.