Planning a visit to Malaysia?… Here is a new tax to consider when you are budgeting for your trip.
As of September 1, 2017 the government implemented a new Tourist Tax of 10MYR (US$2.50) per room per night or per bed per night for dormitory accommodation.
The good thing is that some accommodation is exempt from this new tax, here is the list:
- Homestays registered with Ministry of Tourism and Culture
- “Kampungstays” registered with Ministry of Tourism and Culture
- Accommodation premises established and maintained by religious institutions not for commercial purpose
- Accommodation premises with less than 10 rooms
- Accommodation premises operated by the federal government or state government or statutory body for training, educational or accommodation not for commercial purposes.
This means that sticking to homestays or small backpacker hostels will be the best option to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Keep in mind that this tax is in addition to the already heavily taxed accommodation in Malaysia:
- Service charge or property tax is 10% on room rate (some accommodation already include this in the price)
- Goods and services tax is 6% on room rate (some accommodation already include this in the price)
- Heritage tax, surcharge or local government fee (varies from location to location):
- Penang: 3MYR per room per night at 4 and 5 star hotels, 2MYR per room per night for 3 star and below including all dormitories, budget hotels, hostels and guesthouses.
- Langkawi: 9MYR per night on all hotel stays.
- Melaka: 2MYR heritage tax fee per night.
It is worth to mention that AirB&B has not been affected by the introduction of this new tourist tax.
In Booking.com you can determine if the hotel or hostel requires the payment of this new tax, check in the bottom section where it says “The fine print” of the hotel o hostel.
We hope this information helps other travel addicts when budgeting for their trip to Malaysia.