From the Year of Assessment 2024 onwards, LHDN moved sports equipment and gym memberships out of the general lifestyle relief and into a separate sports relief with its own RM1,000 limit.

It’s a recent change, so plenty of tax filers still assume a badminton racket or a Fitness First membership goes under the same RM2,500 lifestyle relief as their laptop and books. It doesn’t anymore. 

Getting the category wrong could mean you miss out on your entitlement. So to make sure you get the most out of your benefits, here’s our quick guide to Lifestyle and Sports tax relief.

Two Separate Reliefs, Two Separate Limits

The general lifestyle relief lets you claim up to RM2,500 for self, spouse, or child. The sports relief is a separate category capped at RM1,000, it also covers expenses for your parents, as long as they are resident in Malaysia. Because the two reliefs are separate, a taxpayer who spends in both areas can claim up to RM3,500 in total.

Both categories cover more than the typical purchases. On the lifestyle side, the reading materials include electronic publications, not just print, and the device relief covers a tablet or smartphone, not only a laptop.

On the sports side, sports training counts too, meaning coaching, classes, clinics, and workshops for any of the 103 sports gazetted under the Sports Development Act 1997, from aquatics and badminton to motorsports and esports.

Sports attire, including jerseys and sports shoes, does not qualify under either relief because LHDN treats it as clothing rather than equipment. Motorised bicycles are excluded from the sports relief. Club memberships that happen to include gym facilities do not qualify either, since the relief is meant for standalone gym fees, not country club packages.

The Reliefs No Longer Bundle

In the past, if you bought RM3,000 of sports equipment, you would claim RM2,500 under lifestyle and the remaining RM500 under the old additional sports relief. The two stacked because sports equipment was considered part of the lifestyle relief.

The rules have changed. A sports expense cannot spill over into your lifestyle allowance, and a lifestyle expense cannot spill into sports. If your laptop alone uses up the full RM2,500 lifestyle limit, your gym membership still has the whole RM1,000 sports relief to itself. If your sports spending exceeds RM1,000, the excess is simply lost, not pushed back into lifestyle.

A Clear Example Of Claims

Say you spent the following over the year: RM3,200 on a new laptop, RM150 on books, RM850 on an annual gym membership, and RM400 on badminton court bookings.

The laptop and books come to RM3,350 under lifestyle, but the limit caps your claim at RM2,500. The gym membership and court bookings come to RM1,250 under sports, capped at RM1,000. Your total relief across both is RM3,500.

If you had wrongly placed the gym and court fees under the lifestyle category, you would have tried to claim RM4,600 under a RM2,500 cap, lost the excess, and left the entire RM1,000 sports relief unclaimed.

Keep The Right Receipts For Each Category

LHDN requires you to keep supporting documents for seven years, that means you must have an official receipt from a registered business. For a gym membership, the gym needs to be registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia. For sports training, the provider needs to be registered with the Sports Commissioner or the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

Bank-in slips, transfer screenshots, and WhatsApp payment confirmations are not widely accepted on their own, so a preloved racket bought off a casual seller usually can’t be claimed unless that seller can issue a proper tax receipt.

If you are filing for the first time, the simplest way to get the categories right is to sort your receipts into two piles before you open MyTax. Anything you read, type on, or browse with goes under lifestyle, and anything you use for sport or exercise goes under sports.

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Steffi Manisha Arokiam

Steffi Manisha Arokiam is a Tax Director at ThinkTX Consultants, where she leads the firm’s Transfer Pricing and e-Invoicing practice. She advises both individuals and corporations across a wide range of tax matters, including Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), stamp duty, estate tax, and global mobility for expatriates. Recognised for combining strong technical expertise with a practical, solutions-driven approach, Steffi helps clients navigate complex tax issues with clarity and confidence.

A respected thought leader in taxation, Steffi has authored numerous technical articles and professional newsletters. Her work has been published by the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) and Wolters Kluwer (CCH), and she has been featured on BFM 89.9 discussing crypto taxation.

 

Professional Affiliations

• Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA)
• Member of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (CTIM)
• ASEAN Chartered Professional Accountant (ASEAN CPA)
• Member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA)
• Professional Trainer certified by HRD Corp

As a trusted tax partner of RinggitPlus, Steffi reviews and verifies all content relating to Malaysian taxation to ensure it is accurate, up to date, and practical — helping readers better understand the tax system and make the most of their tax position.

About THE AUTHOR

Steffi Manisha Arokiam

Steffi Manisha Arokiam

Steffi Manisha Arokiam is a Tax Director at ThinkTX Consultants, where she leads the firm's Transfer Pricing and e-Invoicing practice. She advises both individuals and corporations across a wide range of tax matters, including Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT), stamp duty, estate tax, and global mobility for expatriates. Recognised for combining strong technical expertise with a practical, solutions-driven approach, Steffi helps clients navigate complex tax issues with clarity and confidence. A respected thought leader in taxation, Steffi has authored numerous technical articles and professional newsletters. Her work has been published by the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) and Wolters Kluwer (CCH), and she has been featured on BFM 89.9 discussing crypto taxation.   Professional Affiliations

• Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA)
• Member of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (CTIM)
• ASEAN Chartered Professional Accountant (ASEAN CPA)
• Member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA)
• Professional Trainer certified by HRD Corp

As a trusted tax partner of RinggitPlus, Steffi reviews and verifies all content relating to Malaysian taxation to ensure it is accurate, up to date, and practical — helping readers better understand the tax system and make the most of their tax position.

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