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When you're looking at car ownership costs in Malaysia, the annual road tax is one of those fixed expenses you just can't avoid. The system is pretty straightforward: the bigger your car's engine capacity (measured in cc), the more you'll have to pay. It’s a progressive system, which means a small runabout might only set you back RM20 a year, whereas a high-end luxury car could easily cost you thousands.
As you budget for a used car, the road tax is a recurring fee that’s important to get right. While lots of things add up to the total cost of ownership, the road tax itself is calculated based on a few clear-cut factors set by the Road Transport Department (JPJ). Getting your head around these will help you know exactly what to expect.
The main driver behind the price is your vehicle's engine capacity. Think of it as a ladder—the higher you climb in engine size (cc), the more you pay. This is why a 1.3L Perodua Myvi has a tiny road tax bill compared to a 2.5L Toyota Camry. The price doesn't just go up smoothly; it jumps at specific thresholds.
So, what exactly goes into the calculation? It really boils down to three core elements:
This system applies to standard passenger cars, but it's part of a bigger framework that also covers other vehicles, touching on things like the requirements for road legal electric carts and commercial transport. Essentially, road tax is the mandatory annual fee you pay to keep your car legally on the road. For context, vehicles under 1,000cc usually pay between RM20-RM60, but once you get over 2,500cc, the bill can easily exceed RM1,000 each year.
To give you a clearer picture, here’s a quick look at how the prices stack up for private cars in the Peninsular.
This table shows estimated annual road tax prices based on engine capacity (cc) for privately owned saloon cars in Peninsular Malaysia, illustrating the progressive rate structure.
| Engine Capacity (CC) | Estimated Annual Road Tax (RM) |
|---|---|
| Up to 1000cc | RM20 |
| 1001cc – 1200cc | RM55 |
| 1201cc – 1400cc | RM70 |
| 1401cc – 1600cc | RM90 |
| 1601cc – 1800cc | RM200 |
| 1801cc – 2000cc | RM380 |
| 2001cc – 2500cc | RM880 |
| 2501cc – 3000cc | RM2,130 |
As you can see, the jump in price becomes much steeper once you go past the 1,600cc mark. This is a crucial factor to consider when choosing between different models of a used car.
Understanding the road tax is great for budgeting, but it's not the first thing you should be worried about when buying a used car. Your top priority, without a doubt, should be the vehicle's safety and history. A cheap road tax is pointless if the car is hiding major structural damage from a previous accident.
Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car! A low road tax can't compensate for an unsafe vehicle. Verifying its history is the most important investment you can make.
How to SCRUT?
https://www.scrut.my
So, how do you figure out the actual road tax cost for that used car you're eyeing? It’s not just a random number. The JPJ’s formula might look a bit intimidating at first, but it’s actually built on a pretty logical, progressive system.
Think of it this way: you pay a flat base rate for the "category" your engine size falls into. Then, for every single cubic centimetre (cc) your engine goes over the starting line for that category, you pay a little extra. This two-part structure is exactly why a seemingly small jump in engine size can lead to a surprisingly big hike in your annual road tax.
Getting a handle on this—the base rate plus the progressive charge—is the key to avoiding a nasty bill down the road. It helps you compare different car models not just by their price tag, but by what they’ll actually cost you to own year after year.
For privately owned petrol cars in Peninsular Malaysia, the calculation follows a tiered system. If your car’s engine is up to 1,600cc, things are simple—you just pay a flat fee. Anything above that, and the progressive rate comes into play.
Here’s the breakdown of the logic:
Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car! A cheap road tax doesn't mean much if the car you're buying has a hidden history of major accidents. Your first step should always be to ensure the vehicle is structurally sound.
Theory is one thing, but let's see how this plays out with a couple of very common cars on Malaysian roads.
Example 1: 1.5L Perodua Myvi (1,496cc)
Example 2: 2.0L Honda CR-V (1,997cc)
It’s also important to point out that diesel-powered private cars follow a different—and usually more expensive—rate structure than their petrol-powered cousins of the same engine size.
The principle of a base rate and a progressive rate still applies, but the actual amounts are different. If you’re considering a diesel vehicle, make sure you double-check the specific road tax rates, as the annual cost can be significantly higher.
Before you commit to any car, remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car!
How to SCRUT?
Here’s a fascinating quirk of owning a car in Malaysia: the road tax price for the very same model can change drastically depending on where you register it. We're not talking about a small discount either. The difference between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia is one of the biggest factors in your long-term running costs, making it a critical piece of knowledge for any smart used car buyer.
This isn't just a random price gap. It's a long-standing policy put in place for very specific historical and economic reasons. The government has always recognised that conditions in Sabah and Sarawak are unique—think tougher terrain and a greater need for more rugged, larger-capacity vehicles to get around.
To put it simply, the lower road tax rates in Sabah and Sarawak are a practical acknowledgement of the local reality. For many people there, a vehicle with a big engine isn't a luxury item; it's a necessity for navigating the local landscape. To make vehicle ownership more affordable and fair, a separate, much cheaper road tax structure was created just for them.
This has resulted in a significant price divide across the nation.
Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car! Registering and driving a car in Sabah or Sarawak can save you a huge amount on your annual road tax, but only a safe, inspected car makes this saving worthwhile. For cars with larger engines, the savings can easily be over 50% compared to the rates in Peninsular Malaysia.
This infographic gives you a great visual on how road tax costs scale with engine size under the current system, and even hints at how a future emissions-based model might work.
As the chart shows, the price you pay is tied directly to your car's engine capacity. The bigger the engine, the steeper the climb in cost—that’s the core principle of Malaysia’s road tax system today.
To really see the difference, let’s look at some direct comparisons.
This table breaks down the annual road tax fees for some common engine sizes, showing you exactly how much you would pay in each region.
| Engine Capacity (CC) | Peninsular Malaysia (RM) | Sabah & Sarawak (RM) |
|---|---|---|
| 1,600 | 90 | 56 |
| 2,000 | 380 | 200 |
| 2,500 | 880 | 322.50 |
| 3,000 | 2,130 | 585 |
The numbers don't lie. For a car with a 3.0-litre engine, someone in Peninsular Malaysia pays a staggering RM2,130 per year, while a resident of Sabah or Sarawak pays just RM585. That’s a massive difference and highlights why this regional detail is so important.
This naturally brings up a tempting question: can you, as someone living in Kuala Lumpur, just register your car in Sabah or Sarawak to cash in on the lower road tax?
The short answer is no, not legally. The system has rules in place to prevent this. To qualify for the cheaper East Malaysian rates, you must have a valid residential address in either Sabah or Sarawak and be able to prove it. Simply using a friend’s address won’t cut it.
For those who genuinely live and work in East Malaysia, these savings are a well-deserved financial advantage. For everyone else, it’s a non-starter.
But before you even get to worrying about road tax, there's a much more important first step: making sure the car itself is sound. After all, what good is a cheap road tax if the car is a money pit?
That’s where a proper vehicle history check comes in. Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car!
How to SCRUT?
Getting this pre-purchase check done ensures you're buying a safe vehicle, which makes any potential road tax savings truly worthwhile.
Most of the time, when we talk about road tax price, we're usually thinking about our personal saloon cars. But that's just one piece of a much bigger puzzle. The way road tax is calculated can change dramatically depending on the type of vehicle you’re looking at, which is a big deal if you're buying a used car for more than just your daily commute. Knowing these differences can save you a lot of money and headaches down the road.
Take motorcycles, for example. From a road tax standpoint, they are easily the most affordable option. While the price is still based on engine size, the costs are incredibly low. A bike with an engine up to 150cc will only set you back RM2 a year. Even a high-performance superbike over 1000cc has its road tax capped at RM350—a tiny fraction of what a car with similar power would cost.
Things get a lot more expensive when a vehicle is registered under a company's name. For a regular saloon car, you can expect the road tax to be roughly double what you'd pay for the exact same car registered privately. This is a critical detail for business owners or anyone getting a company car, as it directly bumps up the operating costs.
Commercial vehicles like vans and lorries play by a completely different set of rules. Here, engine size doesn't matter. Instead, the road tax is calculated based on the vehicle's gross vehicle weight (BDM – Berat Dengan Muatan). This makes sense, as heavier vehicles cause more wear and tear on our roads. So, a small business owner deciding between a big SUV and a small van for deliveries will be looking at two very different road tax bills.
Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car! A vehicle’s registration type—whether it’s private, company, or commercial—is a massive factor that can completely change your annual road tax. Always work this into your budget, especially if you're looking at a vehicle for business use or considering options like reconditioned cars.
Speaking of different ownership paths, it's always smart to weigh the financial pros and cons. We dive deeper into this kind of cost-benefit thinking in our article on the reasons why reconditioned cars are a worthwhile purchase.
It doesn't matter if you're getting a motorcycle, a company car, or a commercial lorry—there’s one step you absolutely cannot skip: checking its history. The cheap road tax on a motorbike won't mean a thing if it’s hiding major damage from a past accident. Likewise, a great deal on a delivery van becomes a nightmare if you later discover it has a dodgy chassis.
This is exactly why a pre-purchase inspection is non-negotiable.
Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car!
How to SCRUT?
https://www.scrut.myIf you want to grasp the true cost of owning a car in Malaysia, you need to look past the yearly road tax. While your road tax price is a steady, predictable expense, it’s the hefty upfront taxes that can really hit your wallet hard—especially if you've got your eye on a foreign car. I’m talking about import and excise duties.
These taxes aren’t part of your annual road tax payment. Instead, they’re baked directly into the car's sticker price, making vehicles here significantly more expensive than in many other countries. Think of it this way: the road tax is like a small annual subscription for using the roads, but the import duties are a massive, one-time "entry fee" you pay the moment the car arrives in Malaysia.
So, why are cars so pricey here? It all goes back to policies designed to give our national car brands, Proton and Perodua, a home-field advantage. By levying steep taxes on imported vehicles, the government makes them less competitive on price.
And the effect is huge. For completely built-up (CBU) foreign cars—meaning those assembled overseas and imported as a whole unit—the duties are eye-watering. A passenger car with an engine bigger than 2,500 cc can be slapped with combined duties and taxes exceeding 130% of its original value. This means a car can easily cost more than double its international price by the time it hits a Malaysian showroom. You can dig deeper into the specifics of Malaysian motor vehicle import duties to see the full breakdown.
This tax structure has a direct knock-on effect on the used car market, influencing the resale value and depreciation of foreign models. Be warned, though—some sellers might try to hide a car's true origins or history, a tactic we cover in our article about watching out for deceptive sellers.
Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car! Understanding these upfront taxes is just as crucial as knowing the recurring road tax price. It provides the full picture of why certain cars are priced the way they are, helping you make a much smarter purchase decision.
Before you even think about buying a car, especially an imported one, getting a comprehensive history report is non-negotiable.
Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car!
How to SCRUT?
https://www.scrut.my.Alright, so you've got a handle on how road tax prices are calculated. What's next? Actually renewing it. Thankfully, this isn't the headache it used to be. You've got a few solid options to get it done and keep your car on the road legally.
You can easily handle your renewal online through portals like MyEG or even directly from your phone using the MyJPJ app. If you're more comfortable doing things in person, you can always head to the classic counters at any post office or JPJ branch. Just make sure you have your active car insurance policy (your e-sijil) and your vehicle details on hand.
Hold on, though. Before you start worrying about the annual road tax for that used car you're eyeing, there's a much bigger fish to fry. A cheap road tax means absolutely nothing if you end up with a car that's been in a major accident and has hidden structural damage.
This is where a pre-purchase check isn't just a good idea—it's essential.
This screenshot shows just how simple it is to start a vehicle history check on the SCRUT website. All it takes is the car's Chassis Number (also known as the VIN) to uncover its complete history.
Running this check is the only way to be sure the car is safe and genuinely worth your money. It puts the road tax cost into perspective, because what's a few hundred Ringgit a year compared to buying a potential death trap? It can be tough, especially when you're figuring out how to convince a dealer to let you inspect the car, but your safety and financial future depend on it.
Always remember to SCRUT first before you even think about buying. It's the one step that confirms the car is safe, making all the other costs, like road tax, actually mean something.
Here's your simple game plan for a smarter, safer car purchase. To see how it works, head over and visit SCRUT's official website.
https://www.scrut.my.When you're looking at used cars, all the different costs can feel a bit overwhelming. Let's clear up some of the most common questions people have about road tax so you can budget with confidence.
Absolutely. The Road Transport Department (JPJ) gives you the choice to renew your road tax for either six months or a full year. This is a handy option if you like to spread your bigger expenses out. It's also perfect if you think you might sell the car in the near future and don't want to pay for a full year you won't use.
The price is straightforward—it’s exactly half of the annual fee. There are no hidden fees or penalties for choosing the shorter period, making it a smart way to manage your cash flow.
This is something you really want to avoid. Once your road tax expires, your car is officially off-limits for public roads. If you're caught driving, you could be looking at a fine from the JPJ or police, which usually runs between RM150 and RM300.
But the fine is the least of your worries. An expired road tax automatically voids your car insurance. If you get into an accident, your insurance company can legally refuse to cover the damages. Suddenly, you'd be on the hook for all repair costs yourself, which could be financially devastating.
A Quick Reality Check: Before you even think about road tax, your first move with any used car should be checking its history. Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car! Your safety is what truly counts.
This is a common point of confusion, but the answer is no. Your road tax is a fee set by JPJ and is completely separate from sales taxes like the Sales and Services Tax (SST) or the old Goods and Services Tax (GST).
While those taxes do impact the overall price of cars and the auto market—you can learn more about how these tax systems work in Malaysia—they don't change the actual road tax calculation. Your road tax bill will always come down to your car's engine size, type, and where in Malaysia it's registered.
Before you commit to any used car, your top priority should be uncovering its history. Don't risk buying a vehicle with a dangerous past. SCRUT.my gives you the complete vehicle history check you need for total peace of mind.
Remember to SCRUT First before you buy any car!
How to SCRUT?
