How this is calculated
Take-home = gross − EPF employee (11%) − SOCSO employee (0.5% of wages capped at RM6,000) − EIS employee (0.2%, same cap) − estimated PCB. PCB is derived by annualising gross, subtracting the RM9,000 individual relief plus EPF relief capped at RM4,000 and SOCSO/EIS relief capped at RM350, and running the remainder through the resident tax bands.
Worked example on RM6,000 a month with no bonus: EPF RM660.00, SOCSO RM30.00, EIS RM12.00. Chargeable income for the year works out at RM58,650, giving annual tax of about RM2,101 and monthly PCB of roughly RM175. Total deductions are around RM877, so take-home is roughly RM5,123 — about 14.6% of gross.
Employer cost on the same salary is RM6,000 plus EPF employer at 12% (RM720), SOCSO employer (RM105) and EIS employer (RM12), so roughly RM6,837 a month. That figure is worth knowing when you negotiate: the number your employer weighs is not your gross.
Where the deductions actually go
Only PCB leaves your control. EPF is retirement savings in your own account, earning a dividend that has historically run in the 5–6% range — treating it as a tax understates your real compensation by about 11% of gross.
SOCSO and EIS together take under 1% and buy insurance you would otherwise have to arrange: injury and invalidity cover, and a job search allowance if you are retrenched. Both are calculated on wages capped at RM6,000, so as your salary rises they shrink to a rounding error.
How bonus months change the picture
A bonus is EPF-liable and taxable, so a two-month bonus does not arrive as two months of take-home pay. EPF takes 11% of it, and because the bonus pushes your annual income up, some of it is taxed at your top marginal rate rather than your average one.
Setting the bonus field in this calculator adds those months to the annual gross used for the tax estimate, which raises the monthly PCB figure across the year — that is the same smoothing LHDN's own additional-remuneration formula applies, though the official method spreads it more precisely across the remaining months.
What this estimate leaves out
The tax half assumes a single resident with no dependants and only the standard reliefs. A spouse without income, children, education fees, medical expenses, insurance premiums and lifestyle relief all reduce chargeable income, and some of them substantially — so for most people with a family the real PCB is lower than shown here.
It also excludes anything specific to your employer: zakat deductions, union fees, loan repayments, unpaid leave, overtime, and any allowance treated differently for EPF purposes. Compare against your own payslip once and you will know which of these apply to you.
How to use the malaysia salary calculator
- Enter your gross monthly salary. Use the figure before deductions. If you are comparing a job offer, use the monthly equivalent of the annual package excluding bonus.
- Add your bonus months, if any. Enter it in months — a two-month bonus is 2. This raises the annual income used for the tax estimate, which is how a bonus really affects your monthly deduction.
- Read the take-home row. That is your gaji bersih. The rows below it show each deduction so you can see which one is doing the work.
- Check the employer cost row. This is what you cost your employer per month, including their EPF, SOCSO and EIS contributions. Useful when negotiating or comparing offers across countries.