Stamp duty on a tenancy, worked out to the item
Rent and term in, duty out: the RM250 parts, the rate column Item 49(a) gives that term, the RM10 floor, the duplicates and any s.47A penalty — each line with its section.
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Fill in the rent, the term and the two dates, then press Run.
Every line, with its section
| Line | Figure | Section |
|---|
Total including any penalty —
The duplicates are charged on top of the original, and only once the original is duly stamped — s.12 makes a duplicate’s stamping conditional on it. The penalty above is computed on the principal instrument’s duty; each duplicate is its own instrument with its own exposure under s.47A.
Arithmetic on published rates, not advice. The rates are Item 49(a) as substituted by the Finance Act 2024 [Act 862], in force 1 January 2025; the RM2,400 exemption was repealed with it. Any penalty shown is the statutory maximum — s.47A(2) lets the Collector reduce or remit it.
Malaysian rules & edge cases
This page is arithmetic, not advice. It applies Item 49(a) of the First Schedule to the Stamp Act 1949 to the rent, term and dates you type, and prints the item or section behind every line. It does not decide whether your document is a lease, who must stamp it, or what LHDN's own system would assess — since 1 January 2026 that is self-assessment through STSDS, with its own rounding. Any penalty shown is the statutory maximum: s.47A(2) lets the Collector reduce or remit it.
The four rate columns, and the part that is counted
| Lease term | For every RM 250.00 or part thereof | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Not exceeding one year | RM 1.00 | Item 49(a) |
| Exceeding one year, not exceeding three | RM 3.00 | Item 49(a) |
| Exceeding three years, not exceeding five | RM 5.00 | Item 49(a) |
| Exceeding five years, or any indefinite period | RM 7.00 | Item 49(a) |
"For every RM 250.00 or part thereof" means the parts are counted, not divided: an annual rent of RM 2,750.01 is twelve parts — eleven whole ones and a part of one sen — so a one-year tenancy pays 12 × RM 1.00 = RM 12.00. The boundaries are "exceeding", so exactly twelve months is the first column and thirteen months the second; the fourth column also covers a tenancy with no fixed end.
The base is the rent for a whole year: Item 49(a) charges "the average rent and other considerations calculated for a whole year". A six-month tenancy at RM 2,000.00 a month is therefore assessed on RM 24,000.00 — monthly × 12 — the same base as a twelve-month one, and only the rate column changes. LHDN does not write that multiplication down anywhere in its guidance, so it is this page's reading of the item's own words, not a quotation from LHDN.
The floor, the duplicate copies and the two late-stamping bands
| What | Rule | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum duty, per instrument | RM 10.00 where the duty would be less. A floor, not a cap: a RM 8.00 assessment is stamped at RM 10.00, and cheques and contract notes are the only exceptions. | s.36CB |
| Each duplicate copy | RM 10.00 where the original's duty exceeds RM 10.00; the same duty as the original where it does not. Charged only once the original is duly stamped. | Item 34, s.12 |
| Stamped within 30 days of execution | No penalty at all. s.47A applies only to an instrument that was not stamped inside the period — so days 0–30 cost nothing extra, and a calculator that adds RM 50.00 here is wrong. | s.47A read with LHDN's 30-day period |
| Within 3 months after the time for stamping | The greater of RM 50.00 or 10 % of the deficient duty. | s.47A(1)(a) |
| More than 3 months after it | The greater of RM 100.00 or 20 % of the deficient duty. | s.47A(1)(b) |
The penalty is charged on the deficient duty — what is still unpaid — and this page computes it on the principal instrument only: each duplicate is its own instrument with its own exposure. s.47A(2) reads "The Collector may, if he thinks fit, reduce or remit such penalty", so the figure is a maximum, never a bill.
Two traps this page is built around
The RM 2,400 exemption is gone. Act 862 substituted Item 49(a) "and the particulars relating to it" as a whole with effect from 1 January 2025, and the substituted particulars carry no threshold at all: the charge runs from the first ringgit of annual rent. If you have the AGC's consolidated Stamp Act 1949 as at 1 January 2026 open, its printed page 103 shows the new four-column line and then, underneath it, the old rows — "Does not exceed RM2,400 — Nil Nil Nil" and "for every RM250 or part thereof in excess of RM2,400 — 1.00 2.00 4.00". Those are the pre-2025 particulars, left in place by a half-applied substitution. Do not read the tiers off that page, and do not subtract RM 2,400 from anything.
A fine or premium is a different item, and a rent that is not fixed has no base. Item 49(b) charges a lease with a fine or premium as a conveyance, not at the per-RM 250.00 rate, so this page refuses one rather than adding the premium to the rent. A stepped, turnover-linked or percentage rent has no "average rent … calculated for a whole year" until somebody works that average out, so the tool asks for the averaged annual rent and refuses without it.
Before and after
Before
Rent: RM 1,800.00 a month
Term: 2 years
Agreement executed on: 2026-01-10
Stamped on (or to be stamped on): 2026-03-05
Duplicate copies: 1After
Tenancy stamp duty — Stamp Act 1949, Item 49(a)
Rent: RM 1,800.00 a month
Annual rent charged on: RM 21,600.00 [Item 49(a)]
Parts of RM250.00 (every RM250.00 or part thereof): 87 [Item 49(a)]
Lease term: 24 months — exceeding one year, not exceeding three [Item 49(a)]
Rate per part: RM 3.00 × 87 [Item 49(a)]
Duty before the minimum: RM 261.00
Minimum duty per instrument: not applied — RM 261.00 is above the RM 10.00 floor [s.36CB]
Duty on the original: RM 261.00
Duplicate copies: 1 × RM 10.00 [Item 34]
Total duty: RM 271.00
Stamping: 24 days past the deadline, within 3 months after the time for stamping: RM 50.00 — the greater of RM 50.00 or 10 % of the duty (RM 26.10). This is the statutory maximum [s.47A]
Total including any penalty: RM 321.00
Arithmetic on published rates, not advice. The rates are Item 49(a) as substituted by the Finance Act 2024 [Act 862], in force 1 January 2025; the RM2,400 exemption was repealed with it. Any penalty shown is the statutory maximum — s.47A(2) lets the Collector reduce or remit it.How it works
- Type the rent and say whether it is monthly or yearly, then the lease term in months or years — the term alone decides which of Item 49(a)'s four rate columns applies.
- Add the date the agreement was executed and the date it will be stamped (or tick “Not stamped yet”), then how many duplicate copies you need. Load the sample to see a two-year shop tenancy stamped a month late.
- Read the lines one by one — every one names its item or section — and press Copy result to keep the breakdown beside the agreement you are sending for stamping.
FAQ
My tenancy runs six months. Is the duty charged on six months of rent?
No. Item 49(a) charges on "the average rent and other considerations calculated for a whole year", so the base is a full year of rent whatever the term: six months at RM 2,000.00 a month is assessed on RM 24,000.00, exactly as a twelve-month tenancy at the same rent would be. What the shorter term changes is the rate column — six months sits in the first column, one year does too, but a two-year term would be charged at RM 3.00 per part. LHDN's guidance never writes "monthly × 12"; the multiplication is this page reading the item's own base, which is why it is stated that way rather than attributed to LHDN.
The arithmetic gives RM 8.00 but the page says RM 10.00. Which is right?
RM 10.00. s.36CB imposes "an amount of ten ringgit … as duty for each instrument where the duty is less than ten ringgit", with cheques and contract notes the only exceptions — so the minimum is a floor on the instrument, not a cap on the rate. A RM 150.00 monthly rent is RM 1,800.00 a year, which is eight parts of RM 250.00 at RM 1.00: RM 8.00 of duty, stamped at RM 10.00. The duplicate copies follow the original, so on that instrument each duplicate is RM 10.00 too, not RM 8.00 — Item 34(a) charges "the same duty as the original" where that duty does not exceed RM 10.00.
I need the original plus three copies. What does that cost?
Each duplicate is RM 10.00 where the original's duty is more than RM 10.00; where the original's duty does not exceed RM 10.00, each duplicate carries the same duty as the original instead (Item 34). So RM 72.00 of duty on the original plus three copies is RM 72.00 + 3 × RM 10.00 = RM 102.00. The copies are not automatic: s.12 makes a duplicate duly stamped only if it is stamped as an original or carries the Collector's certificate that the original was fully stamped — in practice you stamp the original first, then present the copies.
Is the RM 2,400 exemption still available?
No. It was paragraph (i) of Item 49(a)'s particulars, and the Finance Act 2024 substituted subitem (a) "and the particulars relating to it" as a whole with effect from 1 January 2025 — the replacement carries no threshold, so duty runs from the first ringgit of annual rent. The trap is that the Attorney General's consolidated Stamp Act 1949 as at 1 January 2026 still prints the old three-value rows under the new four-column line, because the substitution was only half applied on that page. Read the tiers off Act 862 or LHDN's First-Schedule guideline, not off that page.
I stamped 40 days after signing. Is it RM 50 or 10 %?
Whichever is greater. Days 0–30 after execution carry no penalty at all; from day 31 to three months after the time for stamping the penalty is the greater of RM 50.00 or 10 % of the deficient duty; beyond three months it is the greater of RM 100.00 or 20 %. On a RM 72.00 duty, 10 % is RM 7.20, so the RM 50.00 floor applies and the penalty is RM 50.00. The percentage only overtakes the floor once the duty passes RM 500.00. And s.47A(2) lets the Collector reduce or remit the penalty, so what this page prints is the maximum.