21st October 2026 - 4 min read
M40 households who have lost their jobs or seen their income drop can ask the government to check if they now qualify for aid. Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong told the Dewan Rakyat that appeals are open every day. He added that the government will look at what you earn now instead of what you earned before.
If your household earned too much for aid in the past, a job loss or pay cut may change that. Liew didn’t name a specific programme. The main aid based on household income is Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), which is cash paid into your bank account, so that’s the one to check first. If you’ve never received STR, you can send in a new application any day of the year. Apply online through the STR portal, or in person at any HASiL (LHDN) office.
STR counts your household’s total monthly income before EPF and tax deductions. If you’re married, this is your salary and your spouse’s added together. MyGOV’s STR page lists the limits for each group.
| Your situation | Monthly household income |
| Married, or a single parent | RM5,000 and below |
| Single, aged 21 to 59 | RM2,500 and below |
| Single OKU, aged 19 and above | RM2,500 and below |
| Aged 60 and above, with no spouse | RM5,000 and below |
For example, if you earn RM2,800 a month and your spouse earns RM4,200, your household income of RM7,000 is above the limit. If your spouse loses their job, your household income falls to RM2,800 and you can now apply. But if a pay cut only brings your household income down to RM5,500, you’re still above the limit.
STR also comes with SARA credit on your MyKad. STR households earning RM2,500 or less get RM1,800 a year in SARA, while those earning RM2,501 to RM5,000 get RM1,200. You can spend it on everyday items at shops that take SARA, and on fresh food at FAMA farmers’ markets.
Adults aged 18 and above who don’t receive STR get RM200 in SARA MADANI for the year 2027, paid in two RM100 payments.
Without STR, the couple in our RM2,800 example would get RM400 in SARA MADANI between them, which is RM200 each. With STR, they’d get RM1,400 to RM2,150 in STR cash and SARA for the year, based on how many children they have.
MySTR is your account on the STR portal. If you already receive STR, log in and update your income and job details. STR 2026’s first payment went out from 20 January. Apply or update by the end of December to be ready for the first 2027 payment. If your application is rejected, you can appeal, but in 2026 each payment phase had its own appeal deadline. The 2027 appeal dates haven’t been announced yet, so check the STR portal for them. Our STR 2027 guide walks you through each step, and you can call HASiL’s hotline at 1-800-88-2747 if you have questions.
Liew also pointed to Budget 2027’s tax changes for M40 households. Tax relief lowers the amount of income you pay tax on. Every taxpayer gets a basic one called individual relief, and Budget 2027 will raise it from RM9,000 to RM12,000. It’s the first increase since 2010.
The higher relief makes the most difference if your household still earns too much for STR. Someone earning about RM6,500 a month would pay RM330 less tax a year. Budget 2027 also lets you claim relief for care after giving birth and your children’s tuition fees, so keep the receipts. For everything else that changes next year, see our Budget 2027 summary.
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Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.
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