SST in Malaysia explained (with a free calculator)
A plain-English overview of Malaysia's Sales and Service Tax (SST) for small businesses — what it is, who charges it, and a free SST calculator.
Sales and Service Tax (SST) is Malaysia's consumption tax, administered by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD). This is a plain-English overview for small businesses — not tax advice.
What SST is
SST has two parts:
- Sales tax — charged on certain taxable goods, typically at the manufacturing or import stage.
- Service tax — charged by registered businesses on certain taxable services.
Whether you must register, and the rate that applies, depends on your business activity and turnover against the registration threshold. These rates and thresholds are set by RMCD and change over time, so always confirm the current figures on the official RMCD/MySST portal before relying on them.
How to calculate it
Working out tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive amounts by hand is error-prone. The free SST calculator does it instantly — enter the amount and rate to see the tax and total. (It's an estimate tool; verify the current rate for your case.)
Putting it on your documents
Once you know the amount, add it to your customer paperwork:
- Create invoices with the Invoice generator.
- Issue Receipts for payments received.
Other Malaysian payroll figures
If you're an employer, you'll also deal with statutory contributions — see our EPF & SOCSO calculator for those.
This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Verify current rates with official sources.