What counts as proof? Receipts, statements and the 7-year rule

Malaysian tax runs on self-assessment: you file, LHDN trusts — and reserves the right to check. Supporting documents must be kept for seven years from the end of the year the return was filed. Nothing is attached when you file; everything must be producible if asked.

Proof is broader than “a receipt”

A cash-register slip works, but so do official statements: your EPF and insurance annual statements, zakat payment records, SSPN statements, even a boarding pass plus visa for the umrah departure-levy rebate. The test is simple — does the document show who paid, to whom, for what, and when?

The receipts people lose

Thermal receipts fade to blank within months — photograph them the day you get them. Online purchases hide their invoices inside apps and emails — export the PDF. Clinic and pharmacy slips get crumpled in cars and pockets. The pattern behind every lost claim is the same: proof postponed is proof lost.

This is the exact problem the Fiskal app’s vault exists for: snap the receipt once, tag its relief, and it’s stored, organised by year, backed up, and exportable as an audit pack the day LHDN ever asks.

Fiskal — the site you’re reading — is a Malaysian tax tool: free calculators and relief guides on the web, and an app that keeps receipts organised for every relief. Fiskal prepares; you file on MyTax yourself.

This article is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation. Figures refer to YA 2025 and cite LHDN's official sources; rules can change between years.