PETALING JAYA: The annual tax refund season is back, and many Malaysians will be filing their returns early and ensuring that they have maximised their claims.
Financial literacy advocate Amy Seok said it is important for taxpayers to take note of updated relief expansions.
“Several medical and parental care reliefs have been enhanced, so relying on last year’s checklist may cause you to under-claim,” she added.
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Seok said taxpayers can claim up to RM8,000 for parents’ medical treatment and examinations, up to RM7,000 for education fees (self), and up to RM2,500 for lifestyle relief, which includes purchases for books, Internet subscription, smartphones and computers.
“This year is less about new taxes and more about properly maximising expanded reliefs,” she said.
Seok added that taxpayers often overlook filing claims for reliefs under some categories, such as lifestyle, sports, self-medical expenses, medical expenses for parents and self-development courses.
She said taxpayers must keep all receipts and payment records for seven years as required by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN).
Seok said it is important for taxpayers to file their returns before the April 30 deadline. She said taxpayers should prepare their documents in advance, store their receipts digitally and double-check their banking details.
“Early preparation not only avoids technical congestion but also reduces the risk of errors and penalties,” she added.
Accounting firm KPMG’s senior tax policy adviser Dr Veerinderjeet Singh said taxpayers should make sure they have claimed all that they are entitled to, including relief for interest on loan for a first home purchase.
Under Budget 2026, first-time homebuyers whose sale and purchase agreements were completed between Jan 1, 2025 and Dec 31, 2027 will get a tax relief of up to RM7,000 for purchasing residential homes priced up to RM500,000.
For properties priced between RM500,000 and RM750,000, buyers will qualify for a tax relief of up to RM5,000.
According to Veerinderjeet, taxpayers are entitled to claim up to a maximum of RM1,000 for medical check-up fees, including vaccination costs.
“My advice is that once you have all the documents with you, including your EA form from your employer, start filling out the tax return rather than postponing it,” he added.
Financial expert Jarvic Lau said taxpayers can claim up to RM1,000 for sports lifestyle relief, which includes gym membership, sports equipment and competition fees for themselves, spouse, children and parents.
Lau said if a taxpayer with RM100,000 chargeable annual income, and has contributed RM3,000 for his Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) and RM8,000 for his child’s Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional (SSPN) as of Dec 31 last year, that would give the said taxpayer a total of RM11,000 in deductions, making his chargeable annual income reduced to RM89,000.
“The outcome is way more than tax savings for taxpayers with SSPN and PRS, it has investment returns, too,” added Lau.
Beginning yesterday, individual and non-individual taxpayers can submit their tax return forms for the year of assessment 2025 through LHDN’s e-Filing system.
LHDN advised taxpayers to use the e-Filing service through the MyTax portal at https://mytax.hasil.gov.my or through the HASiL official portal at https://www.hasil.gov.my.
