Cost of living

Hi Varun!

Welcome to Expat.com!

Armand

Hi Varun

The tax slab in Malaysia is 24-27% after Tax free slab of MYR 9000 per year so can consider approx. tax of MYR 1200-1500 on monthly salary of MYR 7500...There are some reliefs for wife and child also...

For decent Cost of living is approx. MYR 2000 per month and rent for furnished accomodation in nice Condominium of 3 BHK will be approx. MYR 2500 - 3000.

hi rabbas,

I have been offered a salary of 7000MYR. So could you tell me the monthly cost of leaving in johor bahru? i mean including rent and monthly expanses.

Regards,
Sandip

HI Sandip,

For a single person the salary is good enough.

If you are living in Malaysia for less tha 182 days in any one calendar year (Jan - Dec) you pay a flat tax rate of 26%. That is almost RM2000 on salary of RM7500.There is no refund at any time. 

Once you have lived here for more than 182 days you then go on to the graduated tax that is outlined above.

Just watch out for the job scams and do not pay any money upfront on request of the hiring company or an employment agency.

Living expenses are low e.g. electricity RM100 per month - Water RM20 - Gas RM30 per month. Transport RM5-7 per day max.

Electricity up 15% from January 2014..... everything is getting more expensive here quite quickly.

Goods and services tax starts in April 2015. It is 6% with few exceptions.

Seen this before.  How to inflate the economy and aim for Malaysian exclusivity.

Gravitas, would you be able to confirm pls. the news that expat can not buy property less than RM 1 million, starting Jan. 2014? Or this matter still under discussions?
I presume if this is the case, there would be a slow down in the real estate market, and more over drop in the prices of those properties between 500,000 and 1 million range. Isn't it?tks..

TS2011 - the rule has already been implemented during the 2014 Budget back in November, and comes into effect as you say on 1st January 2014.  There are also tougher capital gains taxes and foreigners will always be liable however long they hold a property - new twist.

There is also a new 6% tax on property purchased by foreigners in the Johor Bahru area being operated by the local authorities there. On Penang Island foreigners can buy landed property but it has to cost more than RM2 million.

Business capital investment is now a minimum of RM1million for 100% foreign owned businesses - that will change the diaspora. I am already aware of some of these businesses closing down and leaving Malaysia. So where is the next "Shangri-La".....???

Will the next step be to hike the MM2H deposit level or changes to the minimum pension or monthly income required?

What will be the effect on the property market? Others can probably comment more thoroughly. I don't see why properties in the price bracket you mention would drop. Most expats I know who have bought property have paid at least RM1m and above. Expats only tend to buy in certain areas where there is an international "feel". Property values have always and will always be based on Location, Location, Location. If its in the right location it retains its value, whatever it may be. However, I think some local investors are going to loose their shirts as in the last 5 years there have been a lot of buy-to-let purchases made and the market has flattened out considerably with fewer high earning expats coming to Malaysia and more short term (1yr) knowledge transfer workers entering and leaving - they only rent at about RM 3000 or flat share to maximise their income.

Condos that have over 60% occupancy rates are shouting it from the roof garden..... So while the skyline is changing, the roads and pavements (?) are not more or less busy.....

1 million is small change these days in the property market. Places in Bandar Utama that I remember were 300-400k ten year ago are 1.5 million plus now. I asked Maybank recently they said I could borrow a million for a house purchase. Easy credit = high house prices.

Expats have no real impact on house prices as far too few.

The new ruling for foreigners buying properties in Malaysia for more than RM1 million has been delayed to May 2014. However, as of 1st January 2014 foreigners will all have to pay 5% RPGT if they have owned that property for more than 5 years, and a lot more if they have owned it for less. My advice, keep a few properties here in Malaysia and then look to invest in other Asian countries.

I am a bit confused. When the Budget was released in November, I thought the PM stated that there would be:

1. a 5% levy applied to foreigners who purchase property in Johor and Iskander.
2. foreigners would always pay at least 3% of any gains made at any time when the property is sold (Malaysian's liability to the same tax ended from year 5/6 of ownership onwards).

I would be interested to see the 3 new pieces of information above from an official source, if that could be arranged.

Thanks in advance.

The budget was released in November 2013 but finally not all of the points were implemented. It is best to check with the lawyer who handles your property transactions to get the accurate update. The 5% RPGT for foreigners is already implemented as of January 1st 2014. The increase to RM1million for foreigners buying properties is currently rescheduled for 1st May 2014 but may still not be implemented. We are waiting to see what happens. Even in a transaction if both lawyers agree to backdate the signing date of the S&P to avoid RPG Tax it may not help because it will be based on the date that Consent is confirmed. If you are not active in the property market then ask your bank for a list of their panel lawyers and give them a call for the latest update. For Johor, Iskandar and Penang I am not following.

Hi all,

Again we moved some off topic messages.
I suggest one sticks to the topic or we shall moderate again.

Thanks
Armand
Expat.com Team

looks like malay is cost effective compared to usa where i studied before, looking forward to move to malay for my mba

hi i am a graphics designer from algeria
i would like to know about this kind of job there ( about the salary ) and if its easy or hard to get this job there
i have a plan to find a job and live there
thank u

I would say very difficult to find that kind of job for a foreigner. My wife is a freelance photographer and graphic/product designer for magazines and companies here in Malaysia and in Indonesia but she doesn't want to work full time because of the mediocre salary and the rules governing MM2H.