The Income Tax Act 1967 (Act 53) is Malaysia's principal direct tax statute. It charges income tax on income accruing in or derived from Malaysia, defines chargeable income and the classes of income, and creates the assessment, collection and enforcement machinery. It is administered by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) and is amended almost every year by a Finance Act.
- Act 53; revised edition of 1971, with the most recent AGC online reprint dated May 2024
- Charges income accruing in or derived from Malaysia — a territorial base, not a worldwide one
- Amended almost annually by Finance Acts, so any single reprint is stale within a year
- Carries the largest body of subsidiary legislation of any Malaysian statute — hundreds of P.U.(A) exemption and deduction orders
- Administered by Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (LHDN) under the Ministry of Finance
- This page is the statute record only — rates, reliefs and filing rules live in the taxation cluster
Who this applies to: Readers who need the statutory identity, structure and amendment pattern of Act 53 rather than a rate table or a filing deadline.
On this page
This page is the statute record for Act 53 — its identity, structure, administration and amendment pattern. It does not carry rates, reliefs or deadlines, because those change faster than any statute page can honestly track. They live in the taxation cluster linked at the foot of this page.
At a glance
| Short title | Income Tax Act 1967 |
| Act number | Act 53 |
| Type | Act of Parliament (revised edition 1971) |
| Charge | Income accruing in or derived from Malaysia |
| Administered by | Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (LHDN), under the Ministry of Finance |
| Amendment vehicle | Finance Acts, passed almost every year |
| Latest AGC online reprint | May 2024 |
What the Act governs
Act 53 does four things. It imposes the charge to income tax and defines who is a chargeable person. It defines chargeable income — the classes of income in s.4, the deductions allowed and disallowed, capital allowances, and the reliefs and rebates. It sets the machinery of assessment: returns, self-assessment, instalment payments, appeals to the Special Commissioners of Income Tax, and the powers of audit and investigation. And it imposes withholding obligations on specified payments to non-residents.
Rates are not in the body of the Act. They sit in its Schedules — principally Schedule 1 — and are moved by Finance Acts.
Who administers it
Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia) assesses and collects tax under the Act, operating under the Ministry of Finance. LHDN also issues Public Rulings, operational guidelines and the MyInvois platform, and it administers the several other direct-tax statutes that sit alongside Act 53, including the Real Property Gains Tax Act 1976 and the Stamp Act 1949.
How the Act changes
Three mechanisms, and mistaking one for another is the commonest error in published Malaysian tax commentary:
| Mechanism | What it does | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Finance Act | Amends the Act’s sections and Schedules, including rates | Almost annually, usually effective from the following year of assessment |
| Subsidiary legislation (P.U.(A)) | Grants exemptions, prescribes deductions, sets rules | Continuously — dozens per year |
| Public Rulings and guidelines | LHDN’s stated interpretation; not law, but the position the Board will take | Irregular; supersession is not always signposted |
AGC’s timeline for Act 53 records revised and reprinted editions at October 1971 (revision), then reprints in 1980, 1993, 2002 and 2006, and online reprints in October 2017, March 2021, June 2022, November 2023 and May 2024. The volume of subsidiary legislation is the largest attached to any Malaysian statute — the AGC gazette API returns instruments under Act 53 by the hundred.
The practical consequence: never quote Act 53 from a reprint alone. Check the Finance Acts passed since the reprint date, and check whether an exemption order covers your facts. A reprint is a snapshot, not the current law.
Where the practical rules live
| Topic | Article |
|---|---|
| The administering agency | LHDN |
| Company rates | Corporate tax rates |
| Individual rates | Personal tax rates |
| Reliefs | Personal tax reliefs |
| Which return to file | Which tax form |
| Company filing and instalments | Form C and CP204 |
| Deductibility | Section 33 deductibility |
| Withholding | Withholding tax rates |
Which version of the Income Tax Act 1967 should I read?
Read the latest AGC reprint together with every Finance Act passed since it. The most recent online reprint recorded on AGC's timeline for Act 53 is dated May 2024. Because the Act is amended almost every year, a reprint alone gives superseded law with no warning that it is superseded.
Does the Income Tax Act tax foreign income?
The charge under Act 53 is on income accruing in or derived from Malaysia. Foreign-source income received in Malaysia has been the subject of separate, repeatedly amended treatment through exemption orders and Finance Act changes, so it must be checked against the current instruments rather than assumed.
Where do the tax rates actually come from?
Not from the body of the Act. Rates sit in the Schedules to Act 53, principally Schedule 1, and are changed by Finance Acts. Reliefs, deductions and exemptions are largely delivered by subsidiary legislation — P.U.(A) orders and rules — which is why the statute alone never answers a rate question.
Sources
- Act 53 — Income Tax Act 1967, principal Act timeline and subsidiary legislation — Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia
- Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia — LHDN
- Profil Korporat — Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia — LHDN
Change history
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01.00 | 20 Jul 2026 | Approved and published. | — |