Rental Yield Calculator Malaysia 2026
Work out the gross and net rental yield of a Malaysian property, counting empty months, running costs and what it cost to buy.
Preview page. The rates are checked against official sources; the page is awaiting final review before it is published.
Result
This is an estimate for planning. Confirm the final figure with the bank, JPJ or LHDN before you commit.
How it's calculated
Rental yield is the rent a property earns in a year as a share of what it cost. The gross figure is quick and flattering; the net figure is what an owner actually keeps.
gross yield = monthly rent × 12 ÷ purchase price
net yield = (rent collected − running and yearly costs) ÷ (purchase price + buying costs)
Rent collected is the monthly rent multiplied by the months the unit is let. Buying costs are the stamp duty on the transfer and the legal fee for the sale and purchase agreement, worked out with the same rates as the stamp duty calculator, plus any renovation and furnishing you enter.
Worked example (the default inputs). A RM 500,000.00 unit rents for RM 1,800.00 a month. A full year of rent is RM 21,600.00, so the gross yield is 4.32%.
With half a month empty, rent collected is RM 1,800 × 11.5 = RM 20,700.00. Running costs of RM 300.00 a month and RM 1,000.00 a year come to RM 4,600.00, leaving net income of RM 16,100.00 a year, RM 1,341.67 a month.
Buying cost RM 9,000.00 in transfer duty and RM 6,250.00 in legal fees, so the total cost is RM 515,250.00. The net yield is 16,100 ÷ 515,250 = 3.12%.
Costs people forget
Maintenance fees and sinking fund are the big ones for strata property, and they rise over time. Quit rent and assessment are small but certain. Fire insurance is usually required by the strata title or the bank. Repairs between tenants, repainting, appliance replacement and the agent’s fee for finding a tenant all come out of the rent. A furnished unit earns more rent but needs more replacement. Put a realistic yearly figure into the calculator rather than zero; a yield that only works with no repairs does not work.
Yield is not the whole return
Rental yield ignores capital growth, and many buyers in Malaysia rely on the property rising in value rather than on the rent. Growth is uncertain and differs sharply by location and property type, and selling within five years attracts real property gains tax on the profit. Treat the net yield as the return you can count on, and any price growth as a bonus you cannot.
FAQ
What is a good rental yield in Malaysia?
It depends on what you compare it with. A net yield should at least beat what the same money earns with little risk, such as a fixed deposit or EPF, because a rental property adds vacancy, repairs, tenant risk and illiquidity. Gross yields of 4% to 5% on residential property often shrink to 3% or less once running costs and empty months are counted, which is why the net figure matters more.
What is the difference between gross and net yield?
Gross yield divides a full year of rent by the purchase price and ignores everything else. Net yield first takes off the months the unit sits empty, the maintenance fee, sinking fund, quit rent, assessment, insurance and repairs, and then divides by everything you paid to own the property, including stamp duty, legal fees and renovation. Agents usually quote gross; your bank account sees net.
Should I include the loan in rental yield?
Yield measures the property, not the financing, so this calculator leaves out loan interest. To see your own cash flow, compare the monthly net income above with the instalment from the home loan calculator. If the instalment is larger, the property costs you money each month even though its yield is positive.
Is rental income taxed in Malaysia?
Yes. Rental income is taxable for the owner and is declared in the annual income tax return, after deducting allowable expenses such as quit rent, assessment, fire insurance, repairs and the interest on a loan taken to buy the property. The tax depends on your total income, so it is not deducted here.
How do I estimate the rent?
Look at what similar units in the same building or street actually rented for, not asking prices, and assume a little less for the first tenancy. Allow at least half a month to a month a year for the gaps between tenants and for agent fees, which are commonly a month’s rent for a one-year tenancy. A tenancy agreement must also be stamped; the tenancy stamp duty calculator shows the cost.
Sources
- Stamp Act 1949 (Act 378), First Schedule, items 22, 27, 32(a), 32(aa) and 32(ab), updated text as at 1 January 2024
- Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 (Act 851), section 68: 4% rate for non-citizens and foreign companies from 1 January 2024
- Finance Act 2025 (Act 874), section 29: 8% rate on residential property for non-citizens and foreign companies from 1 January 2026
- LHDN, Garis Panduan Pengenaan Duti Setem bagi Surat Cara yang Tertakluk kepada Jadual Pertama Akta Setem 1949 (30 June 2026)
- LHDN, Pengenalan Duti Setem di bawah Akta Setem 1949 (worked examples, 29 December 2025)
- LHDN STAMPS, statutory declaration for P.U.(A) 54/2021 read with P.U.(A) 449/2025 (first home up to RM500,000, SPA by 31 December 2027)
- Ministry of Finance, Budget 2026 tax measures, Appendix 15 (extension of the first-home exemption to 31 December 2027)
- Ministry of Finance, Budget 2027 tax measures, Appendix 16 (proposed first-home scheme for SPAs 2027 to 2030, not yet gazetted)
- Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023, P.U.(A) 207/2023, gazetted 12 July 2023, in force 15 July 2023 (Malaysian Bar Circular 185/2023)
- Malaysian Bar Circular 258/2023, English rendering of the SRO 2023 scales
- Legal Profession Act 1976 (Act 166), section 2 (application to Sabah and Sarawak only by order)