I Filed My Taxes For 3 Years Without Claiming Half These Reliefs. Here's The Full List M'sians Might Miss Out On

Tax season is here and if you’re like most Malaysian Gen Z workers, you’ll log into MyTax, punch in your salary, and submit — without realising you just left hundreds, possibly thousands of ringgit on the table.

Tax reliefs in Malaysia are LHDN’s way of rewarding you for specific spending and saving behaviours. Every ringgit of relief reduces your chargeable income: the amount your tax rate is applied to.

Get it right and you could drop into a lower tax bracket entirely, or score a refund.

wk tax and calculator — For illustration purposes only. Photo via WeirdKaya.

This guide covers the YA2025 (Year of Assessment 2025) reliefs filed during the April 2026 e-Filing season. These are all based on LHDN’s officially released list. We focus on the ones that most Gen Z working adults are either missing completely or claiming wrongly.

Quick explainer: relief vs rebate vs deduction

Tax relief reduces your chargeable income (the income your tax rate is applied to). Tax rebate reduces the actual tax you pay at the end (e.g. RM400 personal rebate, zakat payments). Tax deduction reduces your aggregate income before chargeable income is calculated. This article focuses on reliefs — the biggest opportunity for most employees.

Lifestyle Relief: Your Phone, Laptop, Books & Internet

This is the relief most Gen Z workers either don’t know about or claim incorrectly. Under LHDN’s Lifestyle Relief category, you can claim up to RM2,500 for a surprisingly wide range of everyday purchases.

What qualifies under Lifestyle Relief (RM2,500 cap):

📱 Smartphone, tablet or personal computer Within RM2,500 cap

Covers your phone, laptop, or tablet — but only if purchased for personal use, not business. The item must be in your name on the receipt. A new iPhone counts. Your company laptop does not. Keep the original receipt.

📚 Books, journals, magazines, newspapers Within RM2,500 cap

Physical and digital publications both qualify. This includes Kindle purchases, online magazine subscriptions, and even printed textbooks. Get a receipt for every book — even from Popular or Shopee.

🌐 Monthly internet subscription bill Within RM2,500 cap

Your Unifi, Maxis, TIME, or Celcom home broadband bill qualifies — but the subscription must be registered under your own name. If it’s under your parents’ name, you cannot claim it. Fix this now for YA2026 by transferring the account to your name.

🎓 Upskilling / personal development course fees Within RM2,500 cap

Courses recognised by the Department of Skills Development (JPK) qualify here. Note: if you’re pursuing a formal higher education degree, that falls under the separate Self Education Fees relief (up to RM7,000) instead.

Sports Lifestyle Relief: Additional RM1,000

On top of the RM2,500 lifestyle relief, there’s a separate RM1,000 relief for sports-related expenses. This covers gym membership fees, sports equipment purchases, sports facility rental fees, and registration fees for approved sports competitions. Yes, your gym membership is claimable — as long as you keep the receipt.

EPF Contributions: The Relief You’re Already Getting (But Might Not Be Maximising)

Every month your EPF contribution comes out of your salary automatically. What most Gen Z employees don’t realise is that this mandatory deduction is already generating tax relief — and you can boost it further with voluntary contributions.

EPF mandatory + voluntary contributions Up to RM4,000

Your standard 11% EPF deduction counts here. If you earn RM3,000/month, that’s RM330/month or RM3,960/year — which already hits the RM4,000 cap. Any voluntary top-up via i-Saraan or i-Topup also counts toward this relief.

Life insurance / family takaful premiums Up to RM3,000

Your life insurance or takaful premium goes into a separate bucket — up to RM3,000. Combined with EPF, the total combined cap is RM7,000. If your life insurance premium is RM150/month (RM1,800/year), you can claim that in full here.

Education and medical insurance Up to RM4,000

This is a separate relief category from life insurance — covering your medical card or education insurance premiums. If you’re paying for your own medical card (e.g. Great Eastern, AIA), this is where it goes. Up to RM4,000, separate from the EPF/life insurance bucket.

Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) Up to RM3,000

PRS contributions go into their own separate bucket — completely independent from EPF and life insurance. So you can claim RM4,000 EPF + RM3,000 life insurance + RM3,000 PRS = up to RM10,000 in retirement/insurance reliefs alone. This is massively underutilised.

💡 Kaya Bestie tip — SOCSO too

Your SOCSO contribution is also claimable — up to RM350. It’s small but it’s already coming out of your salary automatically. Just make sure you declare it. Check your EA form from your employer — it’ll show your exact EPF and SOCSO amounts for the year.

Medical Relief: Way More Than Just Doctor Visits

The medical expense relief is one of the most generous but most misunderstood categories. The maximum claim is RM10,000 for medical expenses for yourself, your spouse, and your children — but the categories are wider than most people realise, and there are sub-limits you need to know about.

Serious illness treatment Up to RM8,000

Covers treatment for cancer, kidney disease, leukemia, Parkinson’s, AIDS, and other serious conditions. The treatment must be certified by a doctor registered with the Malaysian Medical Council.

Fertility treatment Within RM8,000

For married individuals only. IVF and other fertility treatments qualify under the expanded medical relief — this is a newer addition many Malaysians don’t know about.

Full medical check-up Up to RM1,000 sub-limit

Annual health screenings, blood tests, and full medical check-ups are claimable — but with a RM1,000 sub-limit within the larger medical relief. Keep your clinic or hospital receipt.

Mental health treatment Within RM8,000

Therapy and psychiatric treatment by registered practitioners qualifies. This is one of the most underutilised sub-categories — if you’re seeing a therapist, keep those receipts.

Medical expenses for parents Up to RM8,000 (separate)

This is a completely separate RM8,000 relief for your parents’ medical, dental, and special needs expenses. A doctor must certify the medical condition. If you’re helping support your parents’ health costs, this is a significant relief many Gen Z employees miss entirely.

Education Relief: Not Just for Students

There are two separate education relief categories, and which one applies depends on what you’re studying and at what level.

Self education fees — higher education Up to RM7,000

Postgraduate (Masters / PhD): any course qualifies. Undergraduate: only law, accounting, Islamic financing, technical, vocational, industrial, scientific, or technology courses qualify. If you’re a working adult pursuing a part-time degree, check if your course qualifies.

Upskilling courses (JPK-recognised) Up to RM2,000

This falls under the lifestyle relief category (within the RM2,500 cap). Short courses, professional certifications, and skills training recognised by the Department of Skills Development. This runs until YA2026.

SSPN education savings (net deposit) Up to RM8,000

If you have children or are saving for a child’s education via Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional (SSPN), your net deposit (total deposit minus withdrawals in 2025) qualifies for up to RM8,000 relief. This is often missed by young parents.

The Full Picture: Every Relief at a Glance (YA2025)

Here’s a complete visual summary of all key reliefs available for YA2025. Save this image for easy reference when filing.

The Most Common Mistakes :Don’t Let These Cost You

Beyond what’s in the image, here are a few more filing traps to avoid:

Claiming lifestyle and education relief in the wrong bucket
Short upskilling courses (JPK-recognised) go under Lifestyle Relief (RM2,500 cap).
Formal degree fees go under Self Education Fees (RM7,000 cap). Putting a degree in the wrong category reduces your claimable amount.
Not keeping receipts for 7 years
Your full medical check-up is claimable, but only up to RM1,000 within the larger RM10,000 medical relief. If you spent RM1,500 on a comprehensive health screening, only RM1,000 is claimable for that specific item.

LHDN can audit you up to 7 years after filing. You don’t have to submit receipts when filing, but you must keep them. Digital photos of receipts are accepted — just keep them organised by year and category.

What’s New for YA2025 — Key Changes From Last Year

🏠 NEW: First-time homeowner housing loan interest relief New for YA2025

For properties with Sale & Purchase Agreements signed between 1 Jan 2025 and 31 Dec 2027. RM5,000 relief for properties up to RM500k; RM7,000 for properties between RM500k–RM750k. First-time buyers only.

♿ Increased: Disabled person relief RM7,000 (up from RM6,000)

For individuals registered as a person with disabilities (OKU) with the Social Welfare Department (JKM) — increased by RM1,000 from YA2024.

⚡ Expanded: EV charging + composting machine Up to RM2,500

The green tech relief now includes domestic food waste composting machines in addition to EV charging equipment. Not the most Gen Z relevant, but worth knowing if you’re eco-conscious.