Tax

It's that time of the year again. Have you filed your taxes? If you haven't, do so now as if you missed the 30 April deadline, you'll be fined RM100, which is better spent on other things.

Anyway, in addition to being timely, I hope you fill your tax forms correctly. Taxpayers are required to keep their records for seven long years and may subject to a tax audit, or worse, tax investigation. So, do ensure that all your tax documents are kept safely.

I know it's a bit late but I just want to share with you one strategy to reduce your taxes. Maybe you can apply this for this year's tax. Its based on my experience as a taxpayer and common sense.

As a taxpayer, we should aim to have a low chargeable income (item E1 in the BE2007 form). You can't lie or cheat on the amount of income because that's illegal and I don't think you'd want to end up in jail. So, the next best thing is to maximise, where possible, all the reliefs (items D1-D13) and rebates (items E4-E7) available to you.

Two things I usually do are buy books and magazines (item D8 - maximum relief RM1,000) and get an annual medical check-up (item D7 - maximum relief RM500). Besides the amount limits, you should also know the conditions for the reliefs and rebates. For further reference, buy a Malaysian tax guidebook and don't forget to claim relief for it.

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