A resident individual with no business income files Form BE by 30 April. A resident with business income files Form B by 30 June. Non-residents file Form M, partnerships file Form P, and employers file Form E by 31 March. Individual and partnership forms carry a 15-day e-Filing grace period; Form E and company forms carry one month.
- Individual forms get 15 days of e-Filing grace, not one month — Form E gets one month
- Business income moves your deadline from 30 April to 30 June, and your form from BE to B
- The grace period also extends the s.103(1) balance-of-tax payment, except for Forms E, P and CPE
- Form BT and Form MT are for knowledge workers, experts and non-citizens in key positions
- e-Filing has been mandatory for individuals, partnerships, associations and estates since YA2023
- Missing the deadline exposes you to s.112(3) penalty or s.112(1) prosecution; Forms E and P fall under s.120(1)
Who this applies to: Any individual, partnership, estate, association or employer identifying the correct LHDN return and date.
On this page
Two things decide your form: whether you are resident under s.7(1), and whether you have business income. Everything else follows.
Decision table
| You are | Form | e-Filing form | Statutory deadline | e-Filing grace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resident individual, no business income | BE | e-BE | 30 April | 15 days |
| Resident individual with business income | B | e-B | 30 June | 15 days |
| Resident knowledge worker, expert, or non-citizen in a key position | BT | e-BT | 30 April, or 30 June with business income | 15 days |
| Non-resident individual | M | e-M | 30 April, or 30 June with business income | 15 days |
| Non-resident knowledge worker | MT | e-MT | 30 April, or 30 June with business income | 15 days |
| Partnership (the firm’s own return) | P | e-P | 30 June | 15 days |
| Association or society | TF | e-TF | 30 April, or 30 June with business income | 15 days |
| Deceased person’s estate | TP | e-TP | 30 April, or 30 June with business income | 15 days |
| Hindu joint family | TJ | e-TJ | 30 April, or 30 June with business income | 15 days |
| Employer, return of remuneration | E | e-E | 31 March | 1 month |
| Company | C | e-C | 7 months after the accounting period closes | 1 month |
| Limited liability partnership | PT | e-PT | 7 months after the accounting period closes | 1 month |
Deadlines fall in the year after the year of assessment. Form BE for YA2025 was due 30 April 2026, with e-BE accepted to 15 May 2026.
What the grace period does and does not cover
| Point | Position |
|---|---|
| Applies to | Returns submitted through e-Filing only |
| Also extends | The s.103(1) balance-of-tax payment date |
| Does not extend the payment date for | Form E, Form P and Form CPE |
| Effect of missing it | The return is treated as late from the original statutory date, not from the end of the grace period |
That last row is the trap. LHDN’s own Example 1 in the filing programme: an e-BE for YA2025 submitted on 16 May 2026 is deemed late from 1 May 2026. The grace period is not a fifteen-day cushion on the penalty clock — it is a window that either you land in or you do not.
Forms E and P are excluded only from the payment extension, because neither carries a balance of tax. Both still receive their filing extension.
Mandatory e-Filing, by category
| Category | Mandatory from |
|---|---|
| Companies (e-C) | YA2014 |
| Employers that are companies or Labuan companies (e-E) | Remuneration year 2016 |
| Limited liability partnerships (e-PT) | YA2021 |
| Individuals, partnerships, associations, estates (e-BE, e-B, e-BT, e-M, e-MT, e-P, e-TF, e-TP) | YA2023 |
| Employers other than companies (e-E) | Remuneration year 2023 |
| Petroleum operations (e-CPP, e-CPE) | YA2023 |
| Co-operatives and trusts (e-CS, e-TA, e-TC, e-TR) | YA2024 |
| Hindu joint family (e-TJ) | YA2024 |
| Labuan entities (e-LE1) | YA2025 |
Tax agents file through TAeF 2.0 rather than MyTax.
The employer’s parallel calendar
| Document | To whom | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Form EA | Each employee | 28 February, s.83(1A) |
| Form E with C.P.8D | LHDN | 31 March, one-month e-Filing grace |
| CP22 | LHDN, new employee | Within 30 days of commencement |
| CP22A | LHDN, cessation | At least 30 days before cessation |
| CP21 | LHDN, employee leaving Malaysia | At least 30 days before departure |
| CP58 | Agents, dealers, distributors | 31 March |
Form E is only accepted as complete when C.P.8D is submitted by the same deadline. Dormant companies, LLPs, trust bodies and co-operatives must still file Form E and C.P.8D. A sole proprietorship, partnership, Hindu joint family or estate with no employees is excused C.P.8D.
Consequences of filing late
| Form | Provision |
|---|---|
| All returns other than E and P | Prosecution under s.112(1) or penalty under s.112(3) |
| Forms E and P | Action under s.120(1) |
Common mistakes
- Assuming a one-month grace on Form BE. It is 15 days. The one-month figure belongs to Form E and the corporate forms, and mixing them up puts a return two weeks past the point of no return.
- Filing BE with freelance income. Any s.4(a) business source moves you to Form B and 30 June. Filing BE instead understates your sources.
- Thinking Form P settles a partner’s tax. Form P is the partnership’s information return. Each partner still reports a share on Form B.
- Treating Form E as optional when dormant. Companies, LLPs, trust bodies and co-operatives must file it whether or not they traded.
- Waiting for a paper form. e-Filing has been mandatory for individuals since YA2023; the postal column of the filing programme carries no extension at all.
What’s next
Confirm your residence status before choosing between the BE and M families, then check the rate table and reliefs that apply to the year you are filing.
What is the deadline for Form BE?
30 April of the year following the year of assessment, with a 15-day e-Filing extension. For year of assessment 2025, Form BE was due 30 April 2026 and e-BE by 15 May 2026. A form submitted on 16 May is treated as late from 1 May and can attract a s.112(3) penalty.
What is the difference between Form B and Form BE?
Form B is for a resident individual carrying on a business, including sole proprietors, freelancers assessed under s.4(a) and partners. Form BE is for a resident individual with no business income. The deadline differs: 30 June for Form B, 30 April for Form BE.
Which form does a foreigner working in Malaysia file?
A non-resident individual files Form M. A non-resident knowledge worker files Form MT. A resident non-citizen holding a key position under an approved incentive scheme, or an approved knowledge worker or expert who is resident, files Form BT.
Is the e-Filing grace period one month for individuals?
No. The 2026 filing programme gives individual, partnership, association, estate and Hindu joint family forms a 15-day extension. The one-month extension applies to Form E and to the company, LLP, co-operative and trust body forms.
The following are deliberately unstated or described only qualitatively until confirmed by a subject-matter expert:
- Dates here are taken from the filing programme issued 30 December 2025 and updated 1 April 2026, which governs returns for year of assessment 2025. LHDN issues a new programme each year — re-read it before relying on a later cycle
Sources
- Program Memfail Borang Nyata (BN) Bagi Tahun 2026 — Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia
- Income Tax Act 1967 (Act 53), reprint of 21 May 2024 — ss.77, 83, 103, 112, 120 — Attorney General's Chambers
Change history
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01.00 | 20 Jul 2026 | Approved and published. | — |