The Real Property Gains Tax Act arrived on 7.11.1975, a Tuesday, and swept away the Land Speculation Tax Act 1974. The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, known locally as HASiL, has administered it ever since.
What the tax actually catches
RPGT — CKHT in Malay, cukai keuntungan harta tanah — falls on the gain from disposal of a chargeable asset situated in Malaysia. Houses, commercial buildings, farms, vacant land. Since 21.10.1988, shares in real property companies joined the list. HASiL defines ‘chargeable asset’ broadly to cover any real property, including any interest or right in or over an asset. The Act defines ‘dispose’ as sell, convey, transfer, assign, settle or alienate, whether by agreement or by force of law. ‘Gain’ excludes anything already chargeable or exempt under the Income Tax Act 1967, and for unit trusts, gain not treated as income under that Act.
The tax is imposed in the year of assessment where the disposal takes place. The year of assessment is the calendar year.
Who files
Tax liability falls on the disposer, resident or not, for gains accruing from the disposal of chargeable assets located in Malaysia. The category covers individuals, companies, partnerships, organisations, trustees and other chargeable persons pursuant to Schedule 1 (section 6) RPGTA.
The 2024 shift
Capital Gains Tax took effect on 1 January 2024. From that date, gains or profits from the disposal of shares in a real property company by companies, limited liability partnerships, trust bodies, and cooperatives, including Labuan entities subject to the Income Tax Act 1967, are no longer subject to RPGTA. Labuan entities conducting business under section 2B of the Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990 still see their RPC share disposals taxed under RPGTA. Companies, limited liability partnerships, trust bodies and cooperatives, Labuan entities included, stay within RPGTA for the disposal of other chargeable assets.
The board’s operational guidelines for RPGT were last updated 17.3.2026. Earlier versions dated 6.1.2023, 13.6.2018 and 18.6.2013 apply where relevant.
