Malaysia Income Tax Foreign Salary (Not Business)

[inector]

A lot of posts on this about business, but I wanted to ask about salary / freelance income. If a company pays me or platforms like Upwork do that.

Here is what ChatGPT summarized:

“If you do not remit your foreign‑sourced income (e.g., income or salary) into Malaysia,that is, you leave it offshore in your account,even if you use a card linked to that account in Malaysia, then under current Malaysian tax law it is not considered “received in Malaysia,” and thus not taxable under the foreign‑sourced income (FSI) rules.” It’s until 2036.

It seems that if I receive salary abroad, it will be 0% tax in Malaysia?

 

[intlman]

Are you sure? Isn't the income still deemed "locally sourced", irrespective of where it's paid?‌

 

[andrew28fl]

This is the story in most Southeast Asia countries. There‍ is no enforcement of the rule that work performed locally counts as locally sourced income.⁠ I have had people on mm2h tell me that even when they tried to pay⁤ taxes in Malaysia, they were denied because they are not allowed to work on an⁣ mm2h visa. Of course, if you consult a professional, they will show you the text⁢ in the tax code to point out that you owe taxes. Flying under the radar︀ is the best strategy, in my opinion.