Relief by situation · YA2026
Newly married and both working: joint or separate assessment? — YA2026
The first year of marriage raises the same question in every home: should we file jointly? With you on RM5,500 a month and your spouse on RM4,800, this page works out both options with the same engine as the calculator — including the most tax-efficient split of lifestyle, sports and travel receipts — so the decision rests on numbers, not assumptions.
In short: Separate assessment with the optimised split totals RM2,562; joint assessment RM9,825 — separate assessment saves RM7,263 for YA2026. For you alone, RM4,900 of example receipts cut the tax from RM1,830 to RM1,386. Your employer deducts about RM1,830 of PCB a year, so after filing with receipts you get a refund of about RM444.
- Automatic reliefs
- RM13,000
- Tax with example receipts
- RM1,386
- Estimated PCB refund
- RM444
The YA2026 relief table on this page is based on the Budget 2026 tax measures published by the Ministry of Finance, combined with LHDN's latest official table — LHDN has not published the official YA2026 table yet. This page updates itself as soon as it is published. Budget document (belanjawan.mof.gov.my)
No credit card · BM, English & 中文 · your records live in the cloud, not on one phone
Updated
Checked against official LHDN sources: relief table · rates, deadlines & rules . Checked automatically every day; a change is accepted only after two identical readings. Year of assessment: YA2026.
Reliefs you get without any receipt
| Relief | Amount (RM) |
|---|---|
| Individual & dependent relatives | 9,000 |
| Life insurance & EPF | 4,000 |
| Total | 13,000 |
Given by your status on Form BE; the employee EPF contribution is estimated at 11% of salary and claimed under Life insurance & EPF.
The receipt-based reliefs that matter most here
| Relief | Cap (RM) | Example receipts (RM) | Given (RM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| Lifestyle — sports | 1,000 | 600 | 600 |
| Entrance fees to tourist attractions & cultural programmes | 1,000 | 800 | 800 |
| Medical check-up & mental health | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Education & medical insurance | 4,000 | – | – |
Caps from LHDN's YA2026 table. Example amounts are typical spending; the “Given” column is what the engine allows after caps and shared caps.
The tax at different salaries in the same situation
| Monthly salary | Automatic reliefs | Tax, no receipts | Tax with receipts | Saved | PCB refund |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RM3,800 | 13,000 | 128 | 0 | 128 | 128 |
| RM5,500 | 13,000 | 1,830 | 1,386 | 444 | 444 |
| RM7,700 | 13,000 | 5,486 | 4,555 | 931 | 931 |
| RM11,000 | 13,000 | 14,150 | 12,925 | 1,225 | 1,225 |
Monthly salary × 12; the same example receipts at every level. Refund = the PCB your employer deducts (without receipts) versus the real tax with receipts — which is why keeping receipts brings money back.
Husband & wife: who should claim, separate or joint?
You RM5,500 a month, your spouse RM4,800 a month, example receipts shared. Separate assessment: the optimiser splits every category and the child reliefs so the family's total tax is lowest; joint assessment: incomes combined under one name (that spouse gets the husband/wife relief, the other's individual relief is lost).
| Option | You (RM) | Spouse (RM) | Total tax (RM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separate assessment (optimised split) | 1,386 | 1,176 | 2,562 |
| Joint assessment | 9,825 | – | 9,825 |
Engine result: separate assessment saves RM7,263 a year.
The most tax-efficient split of the example receipts:
- Lifestyle: you RM2,500 · your spouse RM0
- Lifestyle — sports: you RM600 · your spouse RM0
- Entrance fees to tourist attractions & cultural programmes: you RM800 · your spouse RM0
- Medical check-up & mental health: you RM1,000 · your spouse RM0
Why the numbers come out this way
Under joint assessment the spouses' incomes are combined under one name; that name gets the Spouse / alimony relief of RM4,000, but the combined spouse's RM9,000 individual relief is lost and the combined income climbs into higher rate bands. When both earn a moderate salary, that loss almost always outweighs the relief gained — joint assessment only wins when one income is very small.
Under separate assessment each person has their own caps: two Lifestyle caps of RM2,500, two Lifestyle — sports caps of RM1,000, two Medical check-up & mental health caps. Whose name is on the receipt decides who can claim it, and the optimiser shows the split with the lowest tax — on this profile your marginal rate is 6%.
Tips for this situation
- Update your marital status in MyTax and on Form BE in the year you marry — the joint-or-separate choice is made every year.
- Buy lifestyle and sports items separately (two caps, two receipts) rather than one large receipt in one name.
- Entrance tickets to tourist attractions and cultural programmes in Malaysia qualify under Entrance fees to tourist attractions & cultural programmes (cap RM1,000) — keep the tickets for both of you.
- If one of you stops working or takes long unpaid leave, run the numbers again — the Spouse / alimony relief of RM4,000 may become yours that year.
How ListBelanja handles it for you
- Create a group for the two of you; every scanned receipt shows who paid.
- The household tax optimiser compares joint and separate assessment with your real numbers and splits the shareable receipts.
- Each of you gets your own Form BE to copy into MyTax — or one combined form if joint comes out cheaper.
Planning estimates from the ListBelanja engine with LHDN YA2026 data — not an official assessment; your real circumstances may differ. Work it out with your own numbers in the free calculator or the app.
Frequently asked questions
Just married — should we file jointly or separately?
For this profile (RM5,500 and RM4,800 a month), separate assessment saves RM7,263: separate RM2,562 against joint RM9,825. Joint only wins when one income is very low — check your own numbers in the calculator's husband-and-wife mode.
Is the husband/wife relief given when both work?
Not under separate assessment — the Spouse / alimony relief of RM4,000 is only given when the spouse has no income or elects joint assessment. In return, both of you keep your own RM9,000 individual relief.
Can my spouse claim a lifestyle receipt in my name?
Receipt-based reliefs are claimed by the person who paid and whose name is on the receipt. The most tax-efficient split for this profile is shown in the husband-and-wife section above; in the app the optimiser works it out for your real receipts.