What comes off your salary
Every Malaysian employee under 60 has four deductions taken from their gross pay each month.
- EPF (KWSP), 11%. Your retirement savings. KWSP uses a contribution table in RM20 wage bands up to RM5,000 and RM100 bands above that, so the amount is rounded up slightly compared with a straight 11%.
- SOCSO (PERKESO), about 0.5%. Covers work injuries and invalidity. Contributions stop growing once your wage passes RM6,000.
- EIS (SIP), about 0.2%. Pays out if you lose your job. Also capped at a RM6,000 wage.
- PCB, also called MTD. Monthly income tax paid in advance. Most people earning under about RM3,000 a month pay none.
How the PCB estimate works
This calculator works out your tax for the whole year using the 2026 resident tax bands, after the RM9,000 personal relief, up to RM4,000 of EPF relief, up to RM350 of SOCSO and EIS relief, and any spouse or child relief you tick. It then divides that by 12. For a fixed monthly salary this lands within a few ringgit of LHDN's official PCB formula. Bonuses, allowances and benefits in kind change the official figure.
What your employer pays
On top of your salary, your employer pays 13% EPF (12% if you earn over RM5,000), about 1.75% SOCSO and 0.2% EIS. That is why your cost to the company is higher than your gross salary.
Sources: KWSP contribution rates, PERKESO contribution table, LHDN tax rates.