Foreigner RPGT: 30 percent within 5 years, 10 percent thereafter.
RPGT payable
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Chargeable gain
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Exemption
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Rate applied
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Net proceeds
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The five-year cliff that defines foreigner RPGT
If you are not a Malaysian citizen or permanent resident and you sell property here, your Real Property Gains Tax follows a sharp two-step shape rather than the gentle slide citizens enjoy. The rate this calculator applies is 30 percent on any disposal within the first five years of ownership, then a flat 10 percent from the sixth year onward. There is no taper in between, no 20 percent or 15 percent year. It is a cliff: sell on the last day of year five and you pay 30 percent, sell one day later in year six and you pay 10 percent on the same gain. For non-citizen owners that single date can be worth a great deal, so planning the disposal around it is the most useful thing this tool can show you.
The exemption still applies to you
Foreign individuals are taxed more heavily on the rate, but the statutory exemption is not taken away. Before the rate is charged, this calculator deducts the higher of RM10,000 or 10 percent of the chargeable gain, exactly as it does for citizens. On a healthy gain the 10 percent figure usually wins. This is the order the tool follows, and because the exemption amounts and rates are set by statute and adjusted in Budget cycles, treat the figures here as the model's assumption and confirm the current position with LHDN, the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia.
A non-citizen selling in year three: RM900,000
Run the defaults. A foreign owner sells a condominium for RM900,000 that cost RM650,000, with RM25,000 of incidental costs such as legal and agency fees, after holding it for three years. The chargeable gain is RM225,000. Ten percent of that gain is RM22,500, which beats the RM10,000 floor, so the exemption is RM22,500 and the amount actually taxed is RM202,500. The sale sits inside the first five years, so the rate this calculator applies is 30 percent, giving RPGT of RM60,750. The gain retained after RPGT is RM164,250. That is profit after tax, not the cheque on completion, since the original RM650,000 of capital comes back as well.
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The bars use the identical taxed amount of RM202,500. Disposing within five years costs RM60,750. Crossing into the sixth year cuts the bill to RM20,250, a saving of RM40,500 from nothing more than the calendar. If you are close to the boundary and not forced to sell, the arithmetic strongly favours waiting.
No general share capital gains tax for individuals
One point that reassures many foreign investors: Malaysia does not levy a general capital gains tax on shares for individuals. If you are a foreign individual selling listed shares on Bursa Malaysia, there is normally no capital gains tax on that profit. RPGT is a tax on real property, meaning land and buildings, together with shares in a real property company whose assets are mostly land. So this calculator is the right tool for a condominium, a landed house, or commercial property. It is not the tool for an ordinary share portfolio, which generally falls outside the gains-tax net for individuals.
Who should use this, and a trap to avoid
This is built for expatriates, foreign property investors, and Malaysians abroad who are unsure of their tax residence status for a disposal. The common trap is confusing immigration residence with tax residence. Holding a long-term pass or even an MM2H visa does not by itself make you a permanent resident for RPGT, and the foreigner rates can still apply. If your status is borderline, confirm it before you assume the citizen scale.
Do foreigners pay RPGT on inherited property?
An inheritance is generally not itself a chargeable disposal, but when the foreign heir later sells, the holding period and acquisition cost typically trace back to the deceased's position under the rules, which can change the rate band that applies. Because the treatment of acquisition date and price for inherited property is technical, run the sale past a Malaysian tax agent rather than guessing the holding period.
Is the RPGT rate the same in every Malaysian state?
Yes. RPGT is a federal tax administered by LHDN, so the foreigner scale of 30 percent within five years and 10 percent thereafter is the same whether the property is in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, or Sabah. State authorities set things like quit rent and assessment rates, but not RPGT.