The new Malaysia Tourism Tax has now been confirmed by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department with a proposed implementation date of 1 Sep 2017. The official date of implementation was announced by the Malaysian Tourism & Culture Minister.

Malaysians and permanent residents will be exempted from paying the tax, while foreign tourists will be charged a flat rate of RM10 per room/night for all hotel classifications. The hotels will be collecting the tax locally from guests upon check-in/check-out.

The tax will not apply to homestays and kampung stays registered with the Ministry, premises maintained by religious institutions for non-commercial purposes, premises operated by federal and state governments for non-commercial purposes, and premises with four or less rooms.

At this stage the new tourism tax will be additional to the existing fees/taxes levied in Malacca, Penang and Langkawi (these taxes are paid locally by guests).

As declared by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, “Tourism is a tax charged and levied on a tourist staying at any accommodation premises made available by an operator at the rate fixed by the Minister. It is the duty of the tourist to pay tourism tax to the operator. The rate of tax imposed on a tourist staying at an accommodation premises is fixed at a flat rate of RM10 per room per night. This rate also applies on a stay for part of the day.”

If you have any further questions regarding the new Malaysia tourism tax, please contact [email protected]