When selling your house and setting a price, there are certain costs to take into consideration to ensure you don’t sell at a loss.
Things like stamp duty, agent fees, and legal fees are some to factor into the selling price. However, one thing that often gets overlooked is the Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT).
What Is Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT)?
Not a role-playing game, RPGT is a tax incurred on the sale (disposal) of a property.
The seller of the property – also referred to as the original owner – is responsible for paying the tax, but only if there is a profit from the sale.
What if the sale is a loss? Or perhaps, no profit or loss at all, but a breakeven, as in you bought the property for RM600,000 and sold it for the same price? Do you still have to pay RPGT?
The answer is no, you don’t have to pay RPGT if you lose money or don’t make a profit from selling (disposing) the property. You only need to pay RPGT if you earn a profit selling the property, and depending on when you choose to sell, the tax rates can be vastly different.
RPGT Rates For 2025
There are different RPGT rates for citizens, non-citizens, and companies. Here are the Real Property Gains Tax rates for 2025.
1) For Malaysian citizens and permanent residents:
| Year of Disposal | Tax Rate |
| First to third year | 30% |
| Fourth year | 20% |
| Fifth year | 15% |
| Sixth year and onwards | 0% |
2) For non-citizens and foreigners:
| Year of Disposal | Tax Rate |
| First to fifth year | 30% |
| Sixth year and onwards | 10% |
3) For companies:
| Year of Disposal | Tax Rate |
| First to third year | 30% |
| Fourth year | 20% |
| Fifth year | 15% |
| Sixth year and onwards | 10% |
How To Calculate RPGT
To calculate RPGT, the first thing you need to know is what your chargeable gain is. The chargeable gain is the difference in amount between the purchase price of the property and the final selling price.
For instance, if you are a Malaysian citizen who bought a property at RM600,000 in 2020 and sold it for RM800,000 in 2025, your chargeable gain is RM200,000.
Purchase price: RM600,000
Selling price: RM800,000
Chargeable gain: RM200,000
Since the property is being sold in its fifth year of ownership (2020 to 2025), the RPGT tax rate is 15%.
RPGT amount to be paid: RM200,000 × 15% (RPGT rate for 5th year) = RM30,000
Yes, that means you may not be able to enjoy the full RM200,000 profit you thought of when selling your house. But don’t worry – you can apply for an exemption if you’re eligible to reduce the amount of RPGT to pay.
RPGT Exemptions 2025
The rates for RPGT may seem high, but there are some exemptions. RPGT tax exemptions for 2025 are:
1) A once-in-a-lifetime exemption
- Only for Malaysian citizens and permanent residents.
- An exempted amount of RM10,000 or 10% of the chargeable gain (whichever is higher).
- Only for the disposal of private residential properties.
- A formal request for the exemption must be done in writing and cannot be changed once made. The requestor can only be exempted once, and no additional exemptions will be granted for the future sales of other private properties.
2) Transfers between family members
- Only for Malaysian citizens.
- Only for property transfers between spouses, parents and children, and grandparents and grandchildren.
3) Waiver of chargeable gains
- An exempted amount of RM10,000 or 10% of the chargeable gain (whichever is higher).
Allowable Expenses And Loss for RPGT
Allowable expenses and loss serve the same purpose: to help you reduce the tax or chargeable gain for your RPGT. Don’t overlook them, as they can help when it’s time to pay up!
| Info / Type | Allowable Expenses | Allowable Loss |
| What is it? | Any additional costs that may occur during the sale of the property. | If the sale of a property incurs a loss, the loss can be used to offset the gains from the sale of other properties (only applicable for property sales within the same transactional year). |
| Example | Agent’s commission, legal fees, property valuation fees, accounting fees, maintenance fees, administrative fees, advertising costs, etc. | If you sell your landed house and earn a profit and also sell your condominium but make a loss, the loss from the condo’s sale can be used to reduce the profit tax of your landed house. |
How To File And Pay RPGT
First, prepare the essential documents you need:
- The Sale And Purchase Agreement (SPA)
- The e-CKHT 1A Form (which you can access and submit online)
- Any additional documents to support your RPGT exemptions or deductions
Once you have compiled everything, log in to the MyTax portal with your Tax Identification Number (TIN). Locate the e-CHKT section and fill in the necessary information.
Important: Make sure you complete this filing and payment within 60 days of the property’s disposal. Any delays or non-submissions can result in penalties.
Don’t Forget Your RPGT
If you plan on selling your property soon, ensure you’re up-to-date and informed on what RPGT is, how to pay it, and most importantly, when. Evading tax and late payments can result in a hefty penalty and eat even more into your profits, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.