Every person whether resident or not resident is chargeable to Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) on gains arising from disposal of real property, including shares in a real property company (RPC). Real property is defined as any land situated in Malaysia and any interest, option or other right in or over such land.
RPC is a controlled company where its total tangible assets consist of 75% or more in real property and / or shares in another RPC. A controlled company is a company owned by not more than 50 members and controlled by not more than 5 persons. With the introduction of capital gains tax (CGT) (refer to Tax on Capital Gains), the disposal of shares in an RPC by persons subject to CGT from 1 January 2024 will be subject to CGT instead of RPGT.
Disposal is generally triggered upon transfer of ownership from one person to another whether by way of sale, conveyance, assignment, settlement, alienation, etc.
Disposal |
RPGT rates |
||
Companies / Trustee1 / Society3 (%) |
Individuals# (%) |
Individuals2, Executor of deceased estate2, Companies2 (%) |
|
Within 3 years |
30 |
30 |
30 |
In the 4th year |
20 |
20 |
30 |
In the 5th year |
15 |
15 |
30 |
In the 6th and subsequent years |
10 |
0 |
10 |
# Citizens and permanent residents
1 – Companies incorporated in Malaysia or a trustee of a trust
2 – Non-citizens and non-permanent residents and companies not incorporated in Malaysia
3 - Society registered under the Societies Act 1966 and body of persons registered under any written law in Malaysia
For each disposal, both the disposer and acquirer are required to submit RPGT returns respectively within 60 days from the date of disposal. The Director General of Inland Revenue (DGIR) shall raise an assessment based on the RPGT returns. W.e.f 1 January 2025, the self-assessment system will be implemented for RPGT and the returns furnished will be deemed as assessments raised by the DGIR.
The date of disposal is taken as the date of the written agreement of the disposal. In the absence of a written agreement, the date shall be taken as the earlier of full payment of the purchase consideration or the date when all things which are necessary for the transfer of ownership of the real property under any written law has been done. Where the disposal is subject to approval from the Government or State Government, the date of disposal is the date of such approval or if the approval is conditional, the date when the last condition is satisfied.
Where the purchase consideration consists wholly or partly of cash, the acquirer is required to withhold the lower of the entire cash consideration or:
That amount, whether or not withheld by the acquirer, is to be remitted to the DGIR within 60 days from the date of disposal. The amount remitted to the DGIR is to be applied against the RPGT payable by the disposer.
The disposer is required to settle the balance of RPGT payable within 30 days from the date of the notice of assessment.
The following are some examples of exemptions from RPGT:
The following are some examples of transactions where the disposal price is deemed to be equal to its acquisition price:
The following are some examples of transactions where the disposer is treated to have received no gain and suffered no loss:
CGT is imposed, from 1 January 2024, on the gains from disposal of capital assets by companies, LLPs, co-operatives and trust bodies as follows
a) Capital asset situated in Malaysia
**Exemption is given for disposals made on or after 1 January 2024 to 29 February 2024, and in the case of resident unit trust (which is not a Real Estate Investment Trust or Property Trust Fund listed on Bursa Malaysia) for disposals made on or after 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2028, where the gains are not treated as business income.
Acquisition date of capital asset | CGT rate |
||
On net gains (chargeable income) |
On gross disposal price |
||
Before 1 January 2024 |
10% |
or | 2% |
From 1 January 2024 |
10% |
Not applicable |
However, subject to conditions, CGT exemption will be given for disposal of shares relating to:
Initial Public Offering approved by Securities Commission or Bursa Malaysia, where applicable
Restructuring of shares within the same group
for disposals made from 1 March 2024 to 31 December 2028, subject to approvals by the authorities.
It is also proposed that CGT exemption be given for disposal of shares relating to Venture capital companies.
b) Gains from disposal of all types of capital assets situated outside Malaysia, remitted into Malaysia
Based on prevailing income tax rate of the taxpayer, for example:
Companies, LLPs and trust bodies: 24%
Co-operatives: 0% - 24% (scaled rates)
However, gains remitted into Malaysia from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2026 are eligible for CGT exemption subject to meeting economic substance requirements.
Individuals are not subject to CGT.