Tourism tax for foreign hotel guests at RM10 per room per night.
Tourism tax
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Room-nights
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Rate per room-night
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What the tourism tax actually is
The tourism tax is a flat charge on foreign tourists who stay at registered accommodation in Malaysia. It is fixed per room per night, not a percentage of the room rate, so a backpacker hostel and a five-star suite carry the same levy. The rate this calculator applies is RM10 per room per night. The tax is set under the Tourism Tax Act and administered by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, not LHDN, which handles income tax. The hotel collects it from you at check-in or check-out and remits it to Customs. Since 2023 the same duty falls on digital platform operators, so when you book a Malaysian hotel through an overseas online travel agent the levy is usually added there instead.
This tool is for two kinds of user: a foreign visitor checking what the line item on the folio should be, and a small accommodation operator working out what to collect and hand over. You enter the number of rooms and the number of nights, and it multiplies them by the per-room-night rate.
Who is charged and who is not
Malaysian citizens and permanent residents are exempt. The tax targets foreign tourists only, so a Malaysian passport or MyPR card at check-in clears the charge. Some categories of premises are also outside the net, including certain registered homestays and kampung stays, and very small establishments with few rooms. The exact room-count threshold for exemption is a detail to confirm with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, because the registration rules have shifted over the years. If you run a guesthouse, check whether you must register before assuming you are exempt. Penalties for collecting and not remitting are real.
Two rooms, three nights: the worked figure
Suppose a family from abroad books two rooms for a three-night stay. The room-nights are two rooms multiplied by three nights, which is six. At RM10 each, the tourism tax for the whole stay is RM60. That is the entire calculation, and it does not change with the room price.
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Reading the rest of your hotel bill
The tourism tax is easy to spot because it is the only flat-ringgit line. The trouble is that travellers often confuse it with two other charges that are percentages, so it is worth separating them. The first is the service tax, part of Malaysia's sales and service tax, SST, which the government levies on the accommodation as a percentage of the room rate. The exact service-tax percentage is one to verify with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, since SST rates have been revised more than once. The second is the hotel's own service charge, frequently around 10 percent. That is not a government tax at all. It is the property's charge, often shared with staff, and it stays with the hotel.
The chart sketches a sample folio for that two-room, three-night stay at a room rate of RM300 a night to show how small the flat levy is next to the percentage lines. The percentage figures are illustrative only, set here at a 10 percent service charge and an 8 percent service tax purely to show the shape of a bill.
So on a roughly RM2,184 stay, the tourism tax is the smallest slice. A practical tip for operators: invoice it as its own line rather than folding it into the room rate, because Customs expects it shown and collected separately, and guests querying their bill will want to see it broken out.
Common questions
Do children count as separate guests for the tax?
No. The tourism tax is charged per room per night, not per person. A room booked for a family of four foreign guests still attracts RM10 for that room for that night, the same as a single occupant. Add up rooms and nights, not heads.
I booked through an overseas website. Will the hotel charge me again at check-in?
It should not double up. Since the duty was extended to digital platform operators, an overseas online travel agent will often collect the tourism tax at the point of booking. Keep your booking confirmation. If the hotel tries to charge it a second time, show that the platform already collected it.
Is the tourism tax refundable if I cancel or leave early?
The tax is tied to nights actually stayed in registered accommodation. If you leave early, you are only liable for the room-nights you used, so a fair folio should reflect the shorter stay. Cancellation refunds depend on the property's policy, not on Customs rules.