The key deadlines at a glance
In Malaysia you file your income tax return in the year after you earned the income. The form you file in 2026, for example, covers the 2025 calendar year (year of assessment 2025). LHDN (Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri, also called IRBM) sets two main deadlines depending on whether you have business income.
The exact dates can shift slightly from year to year, and LHDN sometimes announces extensions, so always confirm the current deadline on the official LHDN website before you rely on it. As a rule of thumb, the typical deadlines are:
- Employment income only (forms BE / e-BE) — paper filing is usually due around 30 April, with e-Filing due around 15 May.
- Business or self-employment income (forms B / e-B) — paper filing is usually due around 30 June, with e-Filing due around 15 July.
- Partnerships (form P) and certain other categories follow their own dates — check your form type.
- The year of assessment matters: you are filing for income earned in the previous calendar year, not the current one.
The e-Filing grace period
One reason most Malaysians now file online is the grace period. Filing through MyTax e-Filing typically gives you roughly two extra weeks compared with the paper deadline — for example, employment-income filers often have until around 15 May rather than 30 April, and business-income filers until around mid-July.
Treat this grace period as a buffer, not a target. The MyTax portal is busiest in the final days before the cut-off, and a slow connection or a missing receipt at the last minute is exactly how people end up filing late. If you have your EA form and your relief receipts ready, there is no advantage to waiting.
What happens if you file late
Filing after the deadline is an offence under the Income Tax Act 1967. LHDN can impose a penalty on the tax payable, and the longer you delay, the larger that penalty tends to be. In practice late filers are often charged a percentage increase on the tax due — the exact rate is set by LHDN and can change, so do not assume a fixed figure.
Beyond the percentage penalty, persistent or serious non-filing can lead to further action, including compounds or, in extreme cases, prosecution and fines under the Act. Even if you cannot pay the full amount immediately, it is almost always better to file on time and arrange payment than to skip filing altogether — a late return usually costs more than a late payment.
- A late-filing penalty is typically calculated as a percentage of the tax payable for that year of assessment.
- The percentage generally rises the longer the return remains outstanding.
- Repeated or wilful failure to file can escalate to compounds, additional penalties, or prosecution.
- Filing on time but paying late is treated differently from not filing at all — file first, then sort out payment.
Penalties for under-declaring or incorrect returns
Deadlines are not the only risk. If you under-declare your income or over-claim reliefs you are not entitled to, LHDN can raise an additional assessment and impose a penalty on the under-charged tax. Penalties for incorrect returns or omitted income can be substantial, and they apply whether the error was deliberate or simply careless.
This is why accurate record-keeping matters as much as hitting the date. Only claim reliefs you can actually support with receipts, and keep those records for at least seven years in case of an audit. CukaiBro helps here by tracking which reliefs you genuinely qualify for and storing the matching receipts, so the figures you submit are accurate and defensible rather than guesses you may have to justify later.
How to pay the tax you owe
If your return shows a balance of tax payable, it is generally due by the same deadline as the return itself. Once you submit through e-Filing, the system shows your exact tax payable (or refund), and the MyTax portal offers several ways to settle the balance.
Pay early enough for the payment to clear before the deadline — a payment that is initiated on the last day but only credited afterwards can still be treated as late. If you overpaid through monthly deductions (MTD/PCB), LHDN refunds the difference to the bank account on your return, so make sure those bank details are correct.
- Online via the ByrHASiL / MyTax payment options (FPX online banking or card).
- At appointed banks or through internet banking using your tax identification number as reference.
- At an LHDN payment counter or via other channels LHDN currently accepts.
- Always keep the payment receipt and your filing acknowledgement together as proof.
Business income: instalments and CP500
If you have business or self-employment income, you usually do not wait until filing to pay everything at once. LHDN issues a CP500 instalment scheme — an estimate of your tax for the year, split into bi-monthly instalments (commonly six payments across the year). The accompanying CP501 notice tells you each instalment amount and due date.
If your actual income differs from LHDN's estimate, you can apply to revise the CP500 (using form CP502) by the deadline LHDN sets, typically around the middle of the year. Pay each instalment on time, because missing a CP500 instalment can attract its own increase on the unpaid amount. Salaried employees generally pay through monthly MTD/PCB instead, which works the same way — an instalment toward the final bill.
- CP500 — LHDN's instalment estimate for individuals with business income, usually paid in bi-monthly instalments.
- CP501 — the notice showing each instalment amount and due date.
- CP502 — the form to apply to revise (increase or reduce) your CP500 estimate, due by LHDN's stated cut-off.
- Late or missed instalments can attract an increase on the unpaid amount, so diarise each due date.
Simple habits to never miss a deadline
Most late-filing penalties are avoidable with a little preparation. Note your deadline as soon as you know which form applies to you, collect your EA form and receipts early in the year, and file well before the grace-period cut-off rather than on the final day.
Because the precise dates, penalty percentages and relief limits are reviewed each year of assessment, make a habit of confirming them on the LHDN website before you file. Using CukaiBro to track reliefs and compute your tax payable in advance means there are no surprises when you log in to e-Filing — you already know your number and your deadline.