What you earn goes on your yearly income tax return with LHDN. Tourism tax is RM10 a room a night, paid by foreign guests. On Airbnb bookings, Airbnb collects it for you. Service tax of 8% starts only once your stay takings pass RM500,000 in 12 months. Talk to your tax agent for your own case.
Which applies to you
Four questions sort almost every host. Work down from step 1.
Everyone: put the income on your yearly return
Rental No business services? Declare it on Form BE, due 30 April, or 15 May online.
Business Full maintenance and support services, by you or someone you hire? Declare it on Form B, due 30 June, or 15 July online.
Do guests from abroad stay with you?
Yes Tourism tax of RM10 a room a night applies to them. Go to step 3.
No Malaysians and permanent residents pay no tourism tax. Go to step 4.
Where did the foreign guest book?
Airbnb Airbnb adds the RM10 and pays Customs. Leave it out of your own Airbnb pricing.
Direct With five rooms or more, register on MyTTx and collect RM10 at check-in. With four or fewer, you are exempt.
Do your stay takings pass RM500,000 in 12 months?
Yes Register for service tax with Customs and charge 8% on the stay.
No Service tax registration waits until you cross that line.
Airbnb tax in Malaysia: the three taxes, side by side
Each tax has its own collector and its own trigger. Here they are in one place.
| Tax | Who collects it | When it applies | Source, date read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income tax | You, on your yearly return to LHDN | Each year you earn from the unit, as rental or business income | hasil.gov.my, Public Ruling 12/2018, 29 Sep 2026 |
| Tourism tax, RM 10 a room a night | Airbnb, on Airbnb bookings. You, on direct bookings, with five rooms or more | Foreign guests only. MyKad and MyPR holders pay none | myttx.customs.gov.my and Airbnb help 3362, 29 Sep 2026 |
| Service tax, 8% | You, once registered with Customs | Taxable stay takings above RM500,000 in 12 months | mysst.customs.gov.my, Accommodation guide, 29 Sep 2026 |
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Airbnb income tax in Malaysia: business or rental income?
LHDN's Public Ruling 12/2018 sets the line. It turns on the services you provide around the property. The label decides your form and your deadline.
| Test | Business income, section 4(a) | Rental income, section 4(d) |
|---|---|---|
| When it fits | You provide maintenance or support services comprehensively and actively, yourself or through someone you hire | You let without those services, or they come with owning the unit |
| Ruling's example | A company lets condo units and maintains the building, playing fields and car parks | An owner whose condo pool and courts are run by the management corporation |
| Your form | Form B, due 30 June, or 15 July online | Form BE if you run no business, due 30 April, or 15 May online |
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The ruling's examples are buildings and condos. It does not name short stays. So bring your own facts to your tax agent, and let them place you.
Do you have to declare homestay income?
Plan to. LHDN lists rent and business profit among the income it taxes each year. Malaysia runs on self assessment. You work out your own taxable income, file the return and pay the tax.
That makes your booking records the first thing to keep. Each payout statement shows what you earned, and your agent works from it.
Tourism tax on Airbnb in Malaysia
Customs charges tourism tax on foreign guests at RM10 a room a night. The rate order in force since 15 December 2025 keeps it at RM10. A "room" is the unit you advertise, so a two-room chalet let whole counts once.
| How the guest booked | Who collects the RM10 | What that means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | Airbnb, on bookings made from 1 January 2023 | Remove any tourism tax you added in Airbnb, so guests pay it once |
| Another platform registered with Customs | The platform, when it takes the guest's payment | A registered operator collects nothing more once the guest shows proof of payment |
| Direct, five rooms or more | You, at check-in, once registered on MyTTx | Register within 30 days of starting. Rooms count across all your premises |
| Direct, four rooms or fewer | Nobody | You are exempt from registering and collecting |
| MOTAC Homestay Programme host | Nobody, for your own collection | Registered programme hosts are exempt from registering and collecting |
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Customs counts rooms per operator, not per home. Its guide gives the example of two homes with three rooms each. Six rooms in all, so that host registers.
Airbnb SST in Malaysia
Service tax treats a homestay or a service apartment as accommodation premises. The rate is 8% from 1 March 2024. Registration follows your takings, never your room count.
| Item | What Customs says |
|---|---|
| Who is covered | Hotels, inns, lodging houses, service apartments and homestays |
| Rate | 8% from 1 March 2024 |
| When you register | Taxable value above RM500,000 in 12 months, however many rooms you have |
| Once registered | Charge the tax, issue invoices, file SST-02 returns and keep records |
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Airbnb's own fee is a separate line. Airbnb says the fee it shows hosts already includes VAT where it applies. Our host fee guide puts that fee in ringgit.
Airbnb withholding tax in Malaysia
Airbnb's Malaysia tax page names one tax it collects: tourism tax, from guests. It names no income tax taken from your payout. So the income tax on your payout goes through your own return.
Sources & dates
- LHDN, Public Ruling No. 12/2018, Income from Letting of Real Property, published 19 December 2018. The business and non-business test in paragraphs 4 and 5, and Examples 1 and 7. Read 29 Sep 2026.
- LHDN, Introduction to individual income tax: rent and business profit as taxed income, and self assessment. And reporting income: Form BE and Form B deadlines, which LHDN notes may change. Read 29 Sep 2026.
- Customs, Panduan Cukai Pelancongan ke atas Pengendali Premis Penginapan, as at 6 December 2024. Who is an operator, the RM10 rate, the room rule, the exemptions and Examples 13 to 15. Read 29 Sep 2026.
- Customs, Tourism Tax (Rate of Tax) Order 2025, P.U. (A) 423, in force 15 December 2025, and the Guide on Tourism Tax (Digital Platform Service Provider), 11 March 2025. Both from myttx.customs.gov.my. Read 29 Sep 2026.
- Customs, Public Ruling No. 01/2025, Liability of Operator and DPSP to Account for Tourism Tax Received, effective 1 December 2025, on myttx.customs.gov.my. Read 29 Sep 2026.
- Customs, Panduan Penginapan for service tax, version 4, 26 February 2024, listed under MySST industry guides. Scope, the 8% rate and the RM500,000 threshold. Read 29 Sep 2026.
- Airbnb, Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in Malaysia. RM10 per listing per night, bookings from 1 January 2023, citizens and permanent residents exempt. Read 29 Sep 2026.
Taking direct bookings? Keep the whole booking.
A direct booking skips the platform fee. With five rooms or more, the RM10 tourism tax then passes through you. Our Position Check shows how guests find your stay today.
Orientation, not tax advice. Talk to your tax agent for your own case before any money decision.
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