File rental income on Borang BE if rental is your only non-employment income, or Borang B if you also have business, freelance, or sole-proprietor income. SPEEDHOME platform data shows landlords on managed tenancies default ~31 days later on first missed rent than self-managed landlords — the documented rent trail is what makes the rent section of the form a copy-paste job, not a reconstruction. For Year of Assessment 2026, LHDN's typical e-Filing window opens 1 March 2027, with BE/M due 30 April 2027 and B due 30 June 2027; confirm the current dates on mytax.hasil.gov.my, since LHDN updates the calendar annually.
At a glance — Borang B vs BE for rental income
For most landlords, the form choice is a one-line decision based on your income mix, not the size of your rent. BE covers salary + rent only; B adds a business account and balance sheet; M is for non-residents. The rental entry itself sits in the same HK section on both BE and B.
| Form | File where | Typical YA 2026 deadline | Key rent section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Borang BE | mytax.hasil.gov.my e-Filing | 30 April 2027 | HK-2 (rents received) |
| Borang B | mytax.hasil.gov.my e-Filing | 30 June 2027 | HK-1 (rents received) |
| Borang M | mytax.hasil.gov.my e-Filing | 30 April 2027 | Non-resident 30% flat |
Confirm the current year's exact deadline on mytax.hasil.gov.my — LHDN updates annually.
Borang BE vs Borang B — which form to file for rental income
The form follows your income mix, not your rental amount. File BE if rental is your only non-employment income; file B if you also earn business, freelance, or sole-proprietor income. The rent section is identical on both forms.
Most salaried landlords file BE — only the supplementary business sections differ between BE and B, and the rent fields sit in the same place on both forms.
| Form | Use if you have | Typical filing window |
|---|---|---|
| Borang BE | Employment income + rental income only (no business source) | Around 30 April of the year after the assessment year |
| Borang B | Business income + rental income (freelance, sole proprietor, small business) | Around 30 June of the year after the assessment year |
| Borang M | Non-resident individual (less than 182 days in Malaysia in the year) | Around 30 April of the year after the assessment year |
If you spend fewer than 182 days in Malaysia, the non-resident rules apply (see the non-resident section below).
Documents to gather before you open e-Filing
Collect these first. Stopping mid-form to chase a receipt is the most common reason landlords mis-file — and missing a document at audit is what turns a clean return into a penalty.
- EA form / pay slips — for your employment income.
- Annual rent received — the total rent actually collected in the year, not invoiced.
- Quit rent (cukai tanah) and assessment receipts — annual local-council and state bills.
- Property insurance premium — fire or landlord cover paid on the let property.
- Mortgage interest — the interest portion only, from the bank-issued tax certificate (not the principal).
- Repair receipts — labour and materials, with the contractor's SST number where applicable.
- Tenancy stamp duty receipts — paid via e-Duti Setem on MyTax.
- Bank statements — proof that the rent landed in your account.
For the full deductible-vs-non-deductible breakdown, see the Malaysian landlord tax deductions guide. Two rules to keep in mind while you gather: only the interest portion of the mortgage is deductible, and the costs of getting your first tenant (advertising, first-letting legal fees, stamp duty on that first agreement, first-tenant agent commission) are initial expenses and are not deductible against rent.
Step-by-step: filing rental income on Borang B / BE via e-Filing
Log in at mytax.hasil.gov.my with your IC and LHDN PIN. First-time filers register via e-Daftar or the nearest LHDN branch before they can log in. The rental entry sits in the rents-received section of the form; everything else flows from your EA and your deductions.
- Pick the form (BE, B, or M) that matches your income mix and residency.
- Personal particulars (Section A). Auto-filled from your IC where on file — verify and correct.
- Employment income (Section B1). Pull from your EA; e-Filing auto-imports where the employer submitted to LHDN.
- Rents received (the rental section). On Borang BE this sits in Section HK-2; on Borang B it sits in Section HK-1. Enter your gross annual rent received, your total allowable deductions, and let e-Filing compute the net rental income (gross minus deductions).
- Tax reliefs. Personal, EPF, life insurance, PRS, SOCSO and the rest apply to your total income in the normal way for residents. There is no relief specific to being a landlord — reliefs reduce total income, not just the rental line.
- Tax payable. e-Filing computes from your aggregated income against the bracket. Cross-check the final figure against your monthly PCB (the Potongan Cukai Bulanan your employer has been deducting) and the RB-3 interest statement from the bank — a refund or a top-up appears here.
- Submit and pay. If tax is payable, pay via FPX, card, or over the counter. Refunds typically process within 30 working days for straightforward e-Filed returns where there is no additional document request; the exact current timeline and any queue-driven extension sits on the LHDN portal.
Keep the e-Filing acknowledgement PDF and the payment receipt. LHDN can request supporting documents for past years, so keep the folder organised — quit rent receipts, repair invoices, mortgage interest statement, stamp duty receipts.
How rental income is actually taxed (the parts that decide your number)
Rental income is reduced by allowable expenses under LHDN Public Ruling 12/2018, then your ordinary personal reliefs apply to total income. For ordinary residential letting, the deductible expenses are the direct costs of producing the rent — not capital improvements or first-tenant costs.
What you can normally deduct for a residential let: assessment and quit rent; interest on the loan taken to buy the property; fire insurance premium; rent-collection and rent-enforcement costs; the cost of renewing a tenancy or changing tenant (including agent commission for a renewal or subsequent tenant); and repairs that keep the property in its existing state. What you cannot deduct: renovations and capital upgrades (depreciation/capital-allowance territory, not a same-year deduction), your mortgage principal, and the costs of securing the first letting.
A worked RM example: RM2,000 a month, residential let
A single condo let at RM2,000 a month produces RM24,000 a year in gross rent. Stack the standard deductions against it and the figure that flows into the resident bracket looks like this:
| Line | Amount (RM) |
|---|---|
| Gross rent received (RM2,000 × 12) | 24,000 |
| Quit rent (cukai tanah) | −300 |
| Local council assessment (cukai pintu) | −1,200 |
| Mortgage interest portion (bank-issued tax certificate) | −3,000 |
| Fire insurance premium | −500 |
| Allowable repairs (labour + materials, same-spec) | −1,500 |
| Renewal / agent commission for a subsequent tenant | −500 |
| Net rental income flowing into the resident bracket | 17,000 |
The RM17,000 then aggregates with your employment income from the EA, and your ordinary reliefs (personal, EPF, life insurance, PRS, SOCSO) apply to total income. e-Filing does the bracket math — your deductions need receipts and the bank interest certificate behind them.
Resident reliefs that apply to your total income (and their scope)
Reliefs are deducted from total chargeable income — not from the rental line. There is no landlord-specific relief: EPF, life insurance, PRS, SOCSO and lifestyle categories work the same whether your other income is salary, business, or rent.
| Relief | Scope | Where to find the limit |
|---|---|---|
| Individual + dependent relief | Automatic for resident individuals | LHDN relief schedule for the YA |
| EPF / KWSP contributions | Employee EPF on employment income | EPF statement / EA |
| Life insurance + EPF i-Saraan | Premiums paid for self; medical/education insurance with limited scope | Insurance receipt + policy |
| Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) | Deferred annuity + PRS contributions, capped | Annual PRS statement |
| SOCSO / EIS contributions | Employment-side only, on the EA | EA form |
| Lifestyle (laptops, books, sports, smartphone, EV charging) | Per-category caps; subject to YA limits | Receipts + serial numbers for selected items |
For the working numbers and the most recent caps, cross-check the LHDN reliefs schedule for the current YA on mytax.hasil.gov.my — the per-category caps revise periodically and e-Filing rejects entries above the cap.
Capital allowances vs same-year deduction
Renovations and capital upgrades (a new kitchen, retiling, built-in cabinets) are not a same-year repair deduction. For commercial property and for capital-renovation work on a residential let, the rules live in the capital allowances schedule, not in the rent section — confirm treatment with a tax agent and keep the asset register. The line that catches landlords at audit is calling a renovation a repair.
Jointly-owned property
Each co-owner declares their own share of the rent, and each co-owner claims their own share of the deductions, on their own return. One spouse cannot declare the full rent on a joint filing if the property is in both names — split by ownership proportion and file accordingly. For the full breakdown, see the Malaysian landlord tax deductions guide.
Salaried landlord: PCB vs the EA / RB-3 reconciliation
If you are a salaried landlord, your monthly PCB (potongan cukai bulanan) is an estimate against your final bill. When you file, e-Filing pulls your EA from the employer side; cross-check it against the RB-3 statement the bank issues for the loan interest. A mismatch on the interest claim is one of the recurring adjustment triggers — file what the RB-3 actually says, not what the loan schedule implies.
RPGT and disposal — what happens when you sell
Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) is a separate tax from income tax and only applies on disposal, not on the rental income you declared each year. The RPGT rate depends on how long you held the property before selling; a private individual selling a residential home is exempt in defined circumstances, but rental income earned during ownership is still chargeable income and must appear on Borang B / BE every year.
| Holding period | RPGT rate (individual, Malaysian citizen/PR) |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 years | 30% |
| Year 4–5 | 20% (historically 15%; verify current rate with LHDN) |
| Year 6 and beyond | 10% (historically 5%; verify current rate with LHDN) |
| Private individual, one residential home, exempt category | Exempt — see conditions below |
A private individual disposing of one residential property in their lifetime, used as their own home, may be exempt under the "private residence exemption" — but the exemption has conditions on ownership period, the proportion of own-use vs rented years, and on whether you have already claimed the exemption on another property. Rental income during any year you let the property out is chargeable income and must be declared on the form, even when the eventual disposal itself ends up exempt. Confirm the RPGT position with a tax agent before signing the disposal — RPGT is not a same-year deduction and is not part of the Borang B / BE bracket math.
Filing after submission — how to amend Borang B or BE
e-Filing stays open for amendments within a defined window after the original submission. A revised return replaces the original; LHDN treats the latest submission as the operative figure and recomputes the bracket on the new total.
- Log in to mytax.hasil.gov.my and open the e-Filing history for the relevant YA.
- Select the "Amend" or "Revised Return" option for the return you need to correct.
- Edit the figure (commonly the rent total, the deductions total, or a relief that was missed), re-submit, and download the new acknowledgement PDF.
- If the amendment produces additional tax payable, pay via FPX or card before the amendment deadline; additional tax unpaid past the window becomes arrears with the late-payment uplift.
If you discover a problem after the amendment window has closed (or your facts have changed materially), file an appeal under section 131 of the Income Tax Act 1967 within the prescribed time. Keep the original and revised acknowledgement PDFs — LHDN retains both on the taxpayer record.
If LHDN queries you — what an audit letter looks like
An LHDN query is usually a written request for documents, not a penalty. The response window is short and the penalty for ignoring it is not — read the letter, list what is asked, and reply inside the deadline.
A typical LHDN audit letter for rental income asks for: tenancy agreements for the year under review, the EA / pay slip if employment income is in scope, the bank tax certificate (RB-3) showing loan interest split, receipts for the deductions claimed (quit rent, assessment, fire insurance, repairs, agent commission), and the stamp duty receipt for the tenancy instrument. The reply should include a cover letter listing each document, the documents themselves, and a short explanation of any figure that differs from the original submission. Send the reply inside the stated window (typically 14 days for a routine query, shorter for a field audit); keep a copy and the courier/tracking proof.
If a figure was genuinely understated, the revised return plus the additional tax plus the section 4(ta) uplift is usually a better outcome than a silent non-response. Confirm any settlement in writing — verbal agreements with LHDN officers do not bind the next officer on the file.
If you are a non-resident landlord
A non-resident individual landlord is taxed at a flat 30% on net Malaysian rental income, with effect from Year of Assessment 2020. No personal reliefs, no rebates, no graduated resident bands — but allowable expenses are still deducted first, so the 30% applies to net rent, not gross.
For the full non-resident breakdown, see the non-resident rental income tax Malaysia guide.
Common mistakes LHDN flags (and how to avoid them)
The recurring audit flags are the same handful every year: claiming capital improvements as repairs, deducting mortgage principal, and forgetting to declare rent at all. Get these three right and most filings pass without a query.
- Claiming improvements as repairs. Replacing a broken unit with same-spec is a repair (deductible same year). Upgrading with higher-end materials is a capital improvement (not a same-year deduction). Mixing the two is the most common audit flag.
- Deducting mortgage principal. Only the interest portion is deductible. Use the bank tax certificate that splits interest from principal.
- Not declaring rental at all. Cash rent under a verbal agreement is still taxable income. Declaring late but voluntarily is far safer than not declaring.
- Wrong year of assessment. Rent received in one calendar year is filed in the following year of assessment — do not mix years.
- No supporting documents on file. Keep the receipts behind every deduction — they are what an audit letter asks for, and they are what makes a deduction defensible.
For the repair-vs-improvement line specifically, see are repairs tax-deductible in Malaysia.
The SPEEDHOME angle: a records trail built for filing day
SPEEDHOME platform data shows that landlords on managed tenancies default ~31 days later on first missed rent than self-managed landlords — the documented rent trail, repair approvals, and tenancy papers are exactly the records LHDN cross-references at audit. Clean records turn the rent section of the form into a copy-paste job, not a reconstruction.
On a managed tenancy, rent collection is recorded systematically — date received, amount, tenant, bank landing — and the tenancy agreement, stamp duty receipt, and repair approvals sit in one place. That removes the most common reconstruction pain at filing time. To see how that works for landlords, visit the SPEEDHOME landlord page.
Reviewed by Aisyah Rahman, SPEEDHOME Head of Landlord Operations (MCom, Tax). References in this guide: LHDN Public Ruling 12/2018 (Renting out of property), the LHDN non-resident individual income tax rate table, and the Income Tax Act 1967 (sections on amendment, RPGT, and reliefs). datePublished and dateModified are declared in the page's Article JSON-LD. Speak to a Malaysian tax agent for your specific position — this is procedural guidance, not tax advice.
FAQ
I rent one unit to friends below market rate — do I still file?
Yes. Any rent received is taxable income regardless of whether it is below market. Keep it at a defensible rate and document it.
My rental made a loss — can I offset it against my employment income?
Generally no for the same year. A rental loss is normally carried forward and offset against future rental income from the same source, not against your salary.
Do I file if my rental income is small (e.g., RM6,000 a year)?
You file if your total income crosses the chargeable threshold. Most salaried people are already above it from employment alone, so rental is added on top — do not skip filing because the rental line seems small.
What if I lose receipts mid-year — can I still claim deductions?
Reconstruct where you can — re-request quit rent from the council, mortgage interest from the bank. For genuinely lost minor repair receipts, file what you have. LHDN penalises false claims, not missing receipts.
Can I file rental for my parent or spouse on the same form?
Each owner declares their own share. If the property is solely owned by one spouse, only that spouse declares the rent — even on a joint filing.
Borang B or BE — does it change how my rental is taxed?
No — the form choice follows your income mix, not the rental amount. The rent section and the allowable deductions are identical, so swapping between BE and B never changes your net rental income line. What changes is what you file alongside it: B carries business accounts and a balance sheet, BE does not. The rental number itself is the same.