Gentle Reminder: This post is for YA2024 (transactions that happen from 1 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024), which is what you will be submitting for your personal income tax in year 2025. Don't get confused with income tax relief for YA2025.

• Purchase of books, journals, magazines, newspapers and other similar publication
• Purchase of personal computer, smartphone or tablet
• Payment of monthly bill for internet subscription
• Payment of fees for upskilling or self-enhancement courses

These expenses can be for yourself, your spouse or your child.

Generally, all reading materials are allowed to claim for deduction.

• INCLUDE school textbooks, e-books, periodicals, and comics.
• INCLUDE those purchased in-store or online.
• INCLUDE those purchased locally or overseas.
• INCLUDE subscriptions.
• EXCLUDE any banned reading materials such as morally offensive magazines.

• INCLUDE second-hand and refurbished computers, laptops, smartphone and tablet.
• INCLUDE those purchased under an instalment plan. However, for such case, there is no official guideline provided (1) whether you should claim the full amount in 1 year, limit to RM2,500, or (2) whether you should claim throughout the instalment period (more than 1 year) based on amount of instalment paid.
• EXCLUDE additional charge for the warranty.
• EXCLUDE computers, smartphone or tablet used for the purpose of own business. Example if Ali, a sole proprietor purchased computer for business usage, he cannot claim deduction under this relief. Instead, Ali should claim Capital Allowance to deduct against his statutory business income.
• EXCLUDE any subsequent replacement or repair of parts/equipment (monitor, keyboard, mouse or pen).

• To claim this deduction, the account must be registered under your own name.
• INCLUDE postpaid plan (but only the portion for mobile data is allowed).
• EXCLUDE the expenses for other services or products bundled together with the internet package. Only the portion for internet (usually specified in the monthly bill) is allowed for deduction.

• The courses do not need to be registered or recognized by any government body.
• INCLUDE courses related to hobbies, religion, languages, and so on.
• EXCLUDE the fees paid for courses of study undertaken under the “Further Education Fees” relief. Please note that there is a separate category for payment of fees for the purpose of further education.
• The course taken must be one that encourages you to learn skills that are unrelated to your job.

The total tax relief that you can claim under this category is based on the actual amount you spent during the year, up to the maximum of RM2,500.

1. You will need to keep all the supporting documents of your expenses (e.g. receipt, invoice or any proof of payment)
2. When submitting your income tax return form (i.e. Form BE or Form B), input the total amount spend during the year 2024 into the specified column for "Lifestyle" relief

You will need to keep the supporting documents for at least 7 years. It is recommended to either save a softcopy of the document in cloud (e.g. Google Drive), or make a photocopy of the document and file in properly.