Tax Map · Relocation rankings

Tax residency in Malaysia

How to become a tax resident — and how hard it is to leave.

How to become a tax resident

Typically after 182+ days of presence in a year — or any of:

• 182 days or more in the basis year
• less than 182 days but linked to a 182+ day period spanning adjacent years
• 90 days or more in the basis year plus resident/present for 3 of the previous 4 years
• resident for the previous 3 years and resident again in the following year
• deemed resident for certain citizens employed by public services/statutory authority while posted abroad

Malaysia has an investor-focused Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) style residence-by-investment programme for longer-term stays, plus the DE Rantau Nomad Pass for 3–12 months (renewable once) for qualifying remote workers earning at least about USD 24,000 per year and working for non-Malaysian employers.

Malaysia’s residence rules are mainly day-count and look-back/look-forward tests, so leaving can be straightforward if you also avoid linked periods and multi-year continuity. It is harder than a pure 183-day test because residence can continue through adjacent-year linkage and the 3-of-4-years / prior-3-plus-following-year rules.

“7. (1) For the purposes of this Act, an individual is resident in Malaysia for the basis year for a particular year of assessment if – (a) he is in Malaysia in that basis year for a period or periods amounting in all to one hundred and eighty-two days or more; (b) he is in Malaysia in that basis year for a period of less than one hundred and eighty-two days and that period is linked by or to another period of one hundred and eighty-two or more consecutive days ... (c) he is in Malaysia in that basis year for a period or periods amounting in all to ninety days or more ... for any three of the basis years for the four years of assessment immediately preceding ... or (d) he is resident in Malaysia within the meaning of this Act for the basis year for the year of assessment following ... having been so resident for each of the basis years for the three years of assessment immediately preceding ...” — Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN/IRBM)

Estimate — confirm against the linked sources. See methodology.