Global Payroll Services in Malaysia

Already have a Malaysian entity, or running payroll across several countries? We place you with a vetted Malaysian payroll partner who keeps income tax, EPF, SOCSO, EIS, and LHDN filings exactly right, while you stay the legal employer and we stay on your side.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Multi-country ready

What running payroll in Malaysia involves

If you already employ people through your own Malaysian entity, you stay the legal employer, but you still have to run payroll correctly every month: income tax to LHDN, retirement contributions to KWSP, and SOCSO/EIS contributions to PERKESO, three separate filings, each with its own rate and wage ceiling, rather than one. This is where a specialist payroll partner earns its place: you keep the employment relationship, they keep the mechanics right across all three.

01

You stay the employer

You stay the legal employer of your Malaysian staff. The payroll partner runs the monthly mechanics; you keep the employment relationship.

02

Accurate every cycle

Income tax, EPF, SOCSO, and EIS calculated and withheld correctly, payslips issued, and statutory filings made to LHDN, KWSP, and PERKESO on schedule, every month.

03

Multi-country consolidation

Run payroll across several markets under one partner and one process, rather than a different vendor and standard in every country.

How managed Malaysian payroll works, step by step

From onboarding your employee data to filing and reconciliation.

01 — Scope & onboard

We map your entity, headcount, and where you employ people, place you with the right vetted Malaysian payroll partner, and onboard your employee data.

02 — Set up calculations

Income tax, EPF, SOCSO, EIS, and any statutory benefits configured correctly to current Malaysian rules, so every payslip is right from the first run.

03 — Run monthly payroll

Salaries calculated, income tax, EPF, SOCSO, and EIS withheld, payslips issued, and people paid on schedule, every cycle.

04 — File & reconcile

Statutory filings to KWSP, PERKESO, and LHDN made on time, with annual reconciliation handled for you.

What payroll in Malaysia costs

Your statutory employer costs, plus a payroll partner fee. Malaysia’s employer burden is predictable but split across three schemes; the value of the partner is accuracy and time, in a system where mistakes are visible and penalised.

Employer EPF, SOCSO & EIS

EPF calculated at 13% (wages up to RM 5,000) or 12% above that, uncapped, plus SOCSO at approximately 1.75% and EIS at 0.2%, both calculated to the RM 6,000 monthly wage ceiling, configured correctly every payroll run.

Minimum wage (2026)

RM 1,700 per month under the Minimum Wages Order 2024, mandatory for every employer, of every size, since 1 August 2025.

Income tax (employee)

Progressive resident bands from 0% to 30%, recalculated monthly under the PCB (Monthly Tax Deduction) system as pay changes, and filed correctly on every payslip.

Payroll partner fee

A transparent per-employee or per-payslip fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

One partner, many countries

If you run payroll across several markets, we consolidate it through vetted partners under one point of contact, not a different vendor and a different standard in every country.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

Pricing you can’t get direct

Malaysia runs three separate mandatory schemes, EPF, SOCSO, and EIS, each with its own rate and wage ceiling, and getting the split wrong on a payslip is an easy, visible mistake. We benchmark across our payroll network for rates typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate for you at renewal.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

Three-scheme rules that expose risk

The EPF/SOCSO/EIS contribution split, the ten-band progressive income-tax withholding, and the annual reconciliation deadline. We place you with partners who get the specifics right, and we stay on your side if anything needs escalating.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

20+ years and the local detail

Two decades running compliant payroll across global markets, the deadlines, the filings, the year-end detail that exposes risk.

  • Two decades of payroll
  • Deadlines & filings
  • Year-end handled

Built to scale across markets

Run payroll in one country or twenty through one partner and one process. As you add markets, the standard does not fragment, you keep a single point of contact and consistent compliance everywhere.

  • One process everywhere
  • Single point of contact
  • Consistent compliance

The payroll slips LHDN never misses

These are the ones that catch foreign employers, and the reason a specialist partner pays for itself.

Tax & deduction rates

Misapplying the ten-band progressive income-tax withholding. Getting the employer-versus-employee EPF, SOCSO, and EIS split wrong, or applying the wrong wage ceiling. Missing a statutory benefit or leave entitlement. Each is easy to get wrong alone and visible to LHDN and PERKESO when you do.

Filings, deadlines & reporting

Late remittance to KWSP, PERKESO, or LHDN, where penalties and interest apply automatically. None of these are hard for a specialist; all are easy to get wrong alone. That is the whole case for getting your Malaysian payroll partner right.

What managed payroll covers

One transparent fee covers the full monthly payroll cycle. No hidden extras.

Tax, EPF, SOCSO & EIS

Compliant Malaysian payroll processed monthly, with income tax, EPF, SOCSO, and EIS correct every run.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with income tax, EPF, SOCSO, and EIS calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: annual leave, sick pay, parental leave, notice and severance.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on running compliant payroll in Malaysia.

Do I need a Malaysian entity to use payroll services?

Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which usually means you have a Malaysian entity. If you have no entity and do not want one yet, you need an EOR instead, where the partner is the legal employer. We will confirm which applies to you.

Income tax calculation and remittance, employer and employee EPF, SOCSO, and EIS contributions, statutory benefits and leave, payslips, and all statutory filings to KWSP, PERKESO, and LHDN. You keep the employment relationship; they keep it compliant and on time.

Effective 1 July 2025, Malaysia expanded Service Tax to cover leasing/rental, construction, financial services, private healthcare, and private education, on top of the 8% tier introduced for financial services, logistics, and telecoms in March 2024. From 1 January 2026, the rate for industrial rental and leasing was cut back to 6%, with a higher small-business exemption threshold alongside it. None of this touches payroll withholding directly, but it changes what your Malaysian entity owes and registers for as a business, alongside its payroll obligations. A good payroll partner tracks both without you having to chase each change yourself.

Predictable, at approximately 14-15% of gross salary up to the RM 6,000 SOCSO/EIS ceiling: EPF at 12-13% (uncapped), plus SOCSO at approximately 1.75% and EIS at 0.2% (both capped). Add the transparent payroll partner fee and you have your all-in cost.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons companies come to us. One point of contact and a consistent process across markets, rather than a separate provider and a different standard in every country.

Yes. When you incorporate and become the legal employer, we move your people from the EOR arrangement onto your own compliant Malaysian payroll, and manage the handover so nothing is missed.

Need compliant payroll in Malaysia?

Tell us your entity setup and headcount and we will come back with the right partner and pricing you will not get direct, usually within a day. One process, every country you operate in.

Tax and labour data verified July 2026 (LHDN, PERKESO, KWSP). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your payroll.