A Guide to Maximise Your Income Tax Filing in 2024

April’s almost over, and that means the deadline to file your income tax is coming up soon! Love it or dread it, you’ve got to do it. While most tax deductibles are somewhat standard through the years, there are slight changes that may be beneficial to you, especially during these tough financial times. To see what’s new or understand your deductible options, this guide is for you.

First, log in or create your e-Filing account with Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN) on their website. For new accounts, you would be required to submit your IC and wait a few days to receive your account number and verifications.

Let’s Get Started

To begin filing your income tax, you would need to input or double-check all the information on the first part of the e-Filing form. This would be your personal details, banking information, and employee information. Under the income declaration section, copy the information provided in your EA form (obtained from your employer).

However, if you have multiple streams of income, don’t forget to add it up and declare that as well. This would include freelance jobs, side hustles, property rentals, and other relevant income sources.

ProTip: If you have multiple full-time jobs in 2023, request your EA forms from all the companies and add up the sum of income, tax deductions, and other required information.

Maximise Your Deductibles!

To ensure you file your taxes correctly, go through all the deductibles so you’re aware of what’s available and where to input your expenses. Here are most of the available items and their limits:

Self & Spouse

Automated individual entitlement of RM9,000 – this is automatically provided in your online form
Care for disabled spouse, RM5,000
Disabled individual, RM6,000
Husband/Wife/Alimony payment to ex-wife, RM4,000

Medical

Medical treatment, caregiving, or equipment for your parents, up to RM8,000
Any supporting equipment for a disabled parent, spouse, child, or self, up to RM6,000
Medical expenses for self, spouse, or child up to RM10,000. This includes:
- Treatments for serious illnesses
- Full medical check-ups
- Fertility treatments
- Vaccinations (limited to RM1,000)
- COVID-19 tests, inclusive of RTK home kits (limited to RM1,000)
- Mental health examinations
- Assessments and treatments for intellectual disabilities for child aged 18 and below (limited to RM4,000)

Education for Self

If you have upskilled in 2023, you would be entitled to a total tax relief of up to RM7,000. This primarily focuses on Master’s, Degree and Doctorate certificates. However, there is a tax relief option for any course taken for the purpose of upskilling and self-enhancements, with a sub-limit of RM2,000.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle expenses are tax deductible up to RM2,500. This includes any of the following items:

Books, journals, magazines or any digital subscriptions that offer reading material
A personal computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone
Sports equipment or gym memberships
Home internet bills – don’t forget, the bills need to be in your own name!

Additional Lifestyle Deductibles

Sports equipment, gym memberships, fees to sports facilities, or registration fees for sports competitions up to RM500
Purchase, installation, or rental of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment for personal use, up to RM2,500

ProTip: Use the first lifestyle column to claim your internet bill and reading materials so you can save your sports receipts to be claimed under its individual section. Additionally, seeing that reading materials have a high limit, it’s a good excuse to pick up a book habit or subscribe to online news portals this year!

Parental Benefits

Breastfeeding equipment for own use for child aged 2 and below, up to RM1,000 (Deduction allowed once every TWO (2) years)
Child care fees for registered daycare centres or kindergartens, up to RM3,000
Net deposit in SSPN – parents who have invested in Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional (SSPN) are eligible for a tax relief of up to RM8,000
Child, under 18, unmarried – Parents are eligible for a tax relief of up to RM2,000 for every child unmarried under the age of 18. Do note that if parents file their taxes separately, only one parent is allowed to claim the deductible per child.
Child above 18, studying – Parents are eligible for a tax relief of up to RM2,000 for children in pre-university courses and RM8,000 for children undertaking their tertiary education such as a Diploma, Undergraduate, Masters or Doctoral Degree. This deductible is only valid if the course and institution is recognised by the Ministry of Education.
Disabled child – Parents are eligible for a tax relief of up to RM6,000
Unmarried disabled child, aged 18 and above, studying – An additional RM8,000 tax relief can be claimed for an unmarried disabled child, aged 18 and above, pursuing a diploma or higher qualification in Malaysia or a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification outside Malaysia. This is only valid for courses and institutions recognised by the Ministry of Education.

Finances – Insurance & Investments

Life insurance or family takaful or additional voluntary contributions to Employees Provident Fund (EPF) have a tax relief of up to RM3,000 per annum. However, retired public workers have a limit of up to RM7,000 per annum but do not qualify for EPF deductions as per below.
Mandatory or voluntary contributions to EPF or other approved schemes have a relief of up to RM4,000
Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) and deferred annuity contributions are eligible for a tax relief of up to RM3,000
Education and medical insurance or takaful, up to RM3,000
Contribution to SOCSO, up to RM350

Rebates

Departure levy (taxes/fees) for umrah or other recognized religious pilgrimages, up to RM150 per trip, limited to 2 trips per lifetime.
Total payment for zakat or fitrah

When filing your taxes, don’t forget that you must have proof of expenses, whether it’s a physical receipt or a digital copy. You are required to keep these receipts for up to 7 years, during which LDHN may have random audits and can request proof of payments at any time.

ProTip: Just in case you missed it; if you’ve made a purchase online, don’t forget to download the receipts and add them to your claims. This includes receipts for RTK test kits, books, magazines, or sports equipment for those home workouts!

Important Dates

The due dates for filing individual income tax returns are as follows:

Category	Manual Filing	Online Filing (e-Filing)
Residents who do not carry on a business (filing the BE Form)	30 April 2024	15 May 2024
Residents who carry on a business (filing the B Form)	30 June 2024	15 July 2024

Final ProTip: File your income tax as soon as possible. The earlier you submit your form, the faster you get your returns. Besides, that last-minute scramble to make the deadline just means you might miss out on a claim or two.

The information contained in this blog is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as advice on any matter. Etiqa accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from reliance on information contained in the article. This information is correct as of 28th April 2024.