A Malaysian payslip carries four separate statutory lines administered by four different bodies, and each one is computed on a different base, which is why the net figure rarely matches a simple percentage estimate. EPF is administered by KWSP and computed from banded wage tables rather than a clean percentage. SOCSO and EIS are administered by PERKESO under two different Acts, both capped at a RM 6,000 wage ceiling and both read off contribution schedules rather than calculated as straight rates. PCB is LHDN's monthly tax deduction, projected forward across the remaining months of the year. On the employer side there is also the HRD Corp levy for businesses in covered sectors, which never appears on the employee's payslip but forms part of the true cost of employment. This calculator lays out all four alongside the reliefs that reduce PCB, so you can see exactly which authority is taking what.

Key Regulatory Parameters & Frameworks (YA 2026)

Rule 01

Why the EPF Line Never Matches 11% Exactly

Employee contributions run at 11% and employer contributions at 13% where monthly wages are RM 5,000 or below, dropping to 12% above that. Payroll does not multiply your salary by those figures, however: for wages up to RM 20,000 a month the amount is looked up in a statutory schedule of wage bands, and a salary of RM 4,510 is treated identically to one of RM 4,600 because both sit in the same band. That is why the deduction shown on your payslip is almost always a few ringgit adrift of a straight percentage.

Rule 02

SOCSO Under Two Separate Acts

PERKESO administers two schemes. The Employment Injury and Invalidity Scheme under the Employees' Social Security Act 1969 takes roughly 1.75% from the employer and 0.5% from the employee for members under 60, giving about RM 29.75 from the employee at the RM 6,000 wage ceiling. The Employees' Social Security (Self-Employment) Act 2017 covers self-employed members separately. Employees aged 60 and above contribute nothing, with the employer paying a reduced employment injury rate only.

Rule 03

Employment Insurance System

EIS, established under the Employment Insurance System Act 2017, takes 0.2% from the employee and 0.2% from the employer, capped at the same RM 6,000 wage ceiling, giving roughly RM 11.90 a month from each side at the ceiling. It funds job search allowance, reduced income allowance, early re-employment allowance, and training benefits for retrenched workers. Coverage ends at age 60 and does not extend to those who first began employment after turning 57.

Rule 04

PCB and the Reliefs That Reduce It

PCB is the employer's monthly tax deduction, computed by projecting your remuneration to year end and spreading the resulting liability over the remaining months. The computation automatically allows the RM 9,000 individual relief and EPF contributions restricted to the RM 4,000 EPF relief cap, plus SOCSO and EIS within the RM 350 relief for those schemes. Additional reliefs such as lifestyle, medical, education, and insurance require a TP1 declaration to your employer or they are only recovered on filing.

Rule 05

Employer-Side Costs That Never Reach the Payslip

Beyond the employer's EPF, SOCSO, and EIS shares, employers in the sectors covered by the Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad Act pay an HRD Corp levy of 1% of monthly wages, reduced to 0.5% for some smaller employers, which funds claimable training. The national minimum wage rose to RM 1,700 a month from February 2025 under the Minimum Wages Order, with a deferred start for the smallest employers. Together these mean total employment cost typically runs 14% to 16% above gross salary.

Example Calculation: KL Corporate Manager

Scenario Context: Malaysian citizen under 60 earning RM 8,000 gross per month, RM 96,000 annually, single with no dependants and no TP1 reliefs declared.

Calculation Stage	Computed Value
Annual gross income	RM 96,000
Employee EPF at 11%	Approximately RM 880 a month, RM 10,560 a year
SOCSO and EIS at the RM 6,000 ceiling	Roughly RM 29.75 plus RM 11.90, about RM 41.65 a month or RM 500 a year
Less individual relief	RM 9,000
Less EPF relief, restricted to the statutory cap	RM 4,000
Less SOCSO and EIS within the RM 350 relief	RM 350
Chargeable income	Approximately RM 82,650
Tax: RM 3,700 cumulative at RM 70,000, plus 19% on the next RM 12,650	Approximately RM 6,104 for the year

Final Deducted Result:Take-home of roughly RM 78,840 a year, about RM 6,570 a month, after EPF of RM 10,560, SOCSO and EIS of around RM 500, and PCB of about RM 6,104. Declaring lifestyle, medical, or insurance reliefs on a TP1 would cut the PCB during the year rather than leaving it to be refunded after filing. The employer separately pays around RM 11,520 of EPF plus its SOCSO, EIS, and any HRD Corp levy.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which parts of my pay attract EPF, SOCSO, and EIS?▼

The statutory definition of wages covers salary, bonuses, commissions, allowances, and payments for leave, but excludes travelling allowances, gratuity paid on discharge or retirement, retrenchment benefits, and employer contributions to retirement schemes. The lists differ slightly between the EPF Act and the PERKESO schemes, so a benefit can be contributable for one and not the other. Bonus months are the usual flashpoint, since a large bonus lifts EPF sharply while SOCSO and EIS stay flat at the RM 6,000 ceiling.

Why is my EPF deduction not exactly 11% of my salary?▼

Because for monthly wages up to RM 20,000 the EPF Act's Third Schedule works in wage bands rather than exact percentages. Your wage is rounded up to the top of its band and the contribution is read from the table, so the deduction is typically a few ringgit above a pure 11% calculation. Only above RM 20,000 a month does the computation switch to a straight percentage rounded up to the nearest ringgit.

What is the SOCSO wage ceiling and what does it actually buy me?▼

Contributions are capped at a RM 6,000 monthly wage ceiling. In exchange the Employment Injury Scheme covers medical treatment, temporary and permanent disablement benefits, dependants' benefit, and a funeral benefit for accidents arising out of employment, including commuting accidents on the ordinary route between home and work. The Invalidity Scheme provides a pension for non-work-related invalidity or death before age 60, subject to a qualifying contribution record.

Do foreign employees contribute to EPF, SOCSO, and EIS in Malaysia?▼

The position differs by scheme. Foreign workers other than domestic servants are covered by SOCSO's Employment Injury Scheme, with the employer paying the contribution. EIS coverage does not extend to foreign employees. EPF has historically been voluntary for non-citizens at a nominal employer rate, and reform to bring foreign workers into mandatory EPF at a phased rate has been legislated, so expatriate payroll should be checked against the current commencement position rather than assumed.