Service Tax in Malaysia: 8% or 6%, and what changed in 2025–2026

Service Tax is charged by Malaysian businesses registered with Royal Malaysian Customs on taxable services. There are two rates, and which one you charge depends on the service.

The free Malaysian invoice generator offers both, and shows each with its own tax on the invoice.

The rates

Most freelancers and consultants who are registered charge 8%. Cafés and caterers, and businesses that rent out space or equipment, charge 6%.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• 1 March 2024: the general Service Tax rate rose from 6% to 8%; food and beverage, telecommunications, parking and logistics stayed at 6%.
• 1 July 2025: the scope widened to more services, including rental and leasing, construction, financial services and private healthcare and education above set thresholds — mostly at 8%.
• 1 January 2026: rental and leasing came down to 6%, first through an exemption and then formally by an amendment order gazetted in March 2026, backdated to 1 January.

When a rate changes, use the rate for when the service is provided. A rental invoice for December 2025 is at 8% even if you issue it in January 2026.

Registration thresholds

You must register for Service Tax once your taxable services pass, or are expected to pass, these amounts in 12 months:

• RM500,000 for most taxable services;
• RM1,000,000 for rental and leasing, and for fee-based financial services;
• RM1,500,000 for food and beverage.

Below the threshold you don't charge Service Tax; your invoices show none.

Service Tax and Sales Tax

Sales Tax is separate: it's charged by registered manufacturers of taxable goods, at 10% or 5%. A business can be registered for both — a printer that makes goods and provides design services, for example. Each tax and rate is shown separately on the invoice.

A worked example

Bukit Bintang Digital Sdn. Bhd. is registered for Service Tax. In October 2026 it bills a client RM10,000 for a website redesign at 8% (RM800) and RM1,200 for renting a server rack at 6% (RM72). The invoice shows both rates with their tax, the total tax of RM872, and the total of RM12,072. The SST calculator works out each rate.

When the tax is due

Service Tax is accounted for on a payment basis: you include it in the SST-02 return for the taxable period in which you're paid. If you aren't paid within 12 months of providing the service, the tax becomes due the day after those 12 months anyway. Signed-in Invoice Native businesses see their Service Tax by rate in the SST-02 summary, with any invoices caught by the 12-month rule listed.

Services that aren't taxable

Many services fall outside Service Tax entirely: services you provide to customers outside Malaysia that are consumed there, most services by businesses below the threshold, and services not on the taxable list. Exported services aren't charged Service Tax; Invoice Native has an "outside Malaysia" supply type that prints "Not subject to SST: exported services or goods".

Mixed invoices

When one invoice has services at 8% and 6% — design work and a rental, say — show each rate with its tax, and the total. If some items aren't taxable at all, show them as "Not subject to SST" with no tax.

Checking the rate

Customs publishes a Service Tax guide for each kind of service, with what's taxable and at which rate. If your service could fall into more than one group — a café that also rents out its space, say — check the guides for both, and charge each part at its own rate on separate lines.

Prices for consumers

Prices shown to the public are often quoted including Service Tax. On an invoice, still show the amount excluding tax, the rate and the tax.