Malaysia Tourism Tax: What Singaporeans Pay at Hotels

Yes, if you are a Singaporean (or any other non-Malaysian) staying in a Malaysian hotel, you pay a tourism tax of RM10 per room, per night, at time of writing. It is charged per room, not per person, so a family of four in one room pays the same RM10 a night as a solo traveller. Malaysian citizens and Malaysian permanent residents are exempt. The tax is usually collected by the hotel, separately from the room rate, or by the booking platform if you book online.

The amount is small, but it surprises a lot of first-time visitors at check-out, and it adds up for families and groups who book several rooms for several nights. This guide explains who pays, which places do not charge it, how it differs from the service tax on your bill, and how to budget for it on your next Johor or Malaysia trip.

Malaysia tourism tax at a glance

Question	Short answer (at time of writing)
How much?	RM10 per room per night
Who pays?	Non-Malaysian guests, including Singapore citizens and Singapore PRs
Who is exempt?	Malaysian citizens and Malaysian permanent residents
Who collects it?	The hotel, or the online booking platform if it has already charged you
Who sets the rules?	The Tourism Tax Act 2017, administered by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department

What is the tourism tax?

Malaysia introduced its tourism tax under the Tourism Tax Act 2017. It is a flat charge on tourists who stay in accommodation premises, and the money is collected by hotel operators and passed on to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department, which runs the tax through its MyTTx system.

The current rate is set by the Tourism Tax (Rate of Tax) Order 2025, which came into force on 15 December 2025. It fixes the tax at ten ringgit per night for each room, both for rooms you book directly with the hotel and for rooms booked through an online platform. In other words, the rate Singaporeans have known for years has stayed the same; the 2025 order simply put both booking routes on the same footing.

Who pays and who is exempt

The exemption order is short and clear: a tourist who is a Malaysian national, or a permanent resident of Malaysia, does not pay the tax. Everyone else does. For Singapore readers, that means:

• Singapore citizens: pay RM10 per room per night.
• Singapore PRs and foreigners living in Singapore: also pay, unless they hold Malaysian citizenship or Malaysian PR.
• Malaysians who live or work in Singapore: exempt, as long as they show their Malaysian identity card when checking in.

Hotels keep records of guests’ passport details for the tax, so have your passport or identity card ready at the front desk. If your group mixes Malaysian and non-Malaysian travellers across several rooms, ask the hotel at check-in how they will charge each room, since it depends on who is registered to it.

Places that do not charge the tax

Not every place you sleep in is required to collect the tax. Under the Tourism Tax (Exemption) Order 2017, the following operators are exempt from collecting it:

• accommodation premises with four rooms or fewer;
• homestays registered under the Ministry of Tourism’s Malaysia Homestay Experience Programme, and kampungstays under its Visit My Kampung programme;
• government, statutory body and education premises used for education, training or welfare, and accommodation an employer provides for its own staff;
• approved religious or welfare bodies running non-commercial accommodation.

For most Singaporean holidaymakers, this means the city hotels, beach resorts, theme park hotels and serviced apartments you book will charge the tax, while a small guesthouse or an official village homestay may not. If in doubt, ask the property before you pay.

How much it adds up to

Because the tax is per room per night, the number of people in the room does not matter. Here is what it looks like for a few common Singapore trips:

Trip	Rooms × nights	Tourism tax
Couple, weekend in Johor Bahru	1 × 2	RM20
Family of four, Desaru resort	1 × 3	RM30
Three generations, Melaka long weekend	2 × 3	RM60
Company group of 10, Penang	5 × 3	RM150

A family that squeezes into one larger room pays less tourism tax than the same family split across two rooms, though comfort should come first, especially with elderly parents or young children.

When and how you pay

Booking directly with the hotel

If you book through the hotel’s own website, by phone or at the counter, the hotel collects the tax from you, usually at check-in or check-out, as a separate line on top of the room rate. Some hotels ask for it with the deposit when you arrive. Card and cash are both widely accepted at larger hotels, but it is sensible to carry some ringgit for smaller properties; our money changer guide covers where to get a good rate.

Booking through an online platform

Registered digital platform service providers, the large online travel booking sites, are also required to charge the tax at the same rate when you book through them. Customs’ Public Ruling No. 01/2025, effective 1 December 2025, says a hotel must not collect the tax again if the guest can show proof that the platform has already charged it. So:

• check the price breakdown when you book: look for a tourism tax or “Malaysia tourism tax” line, rather than assuming it is included;
• save the booking receipt on your phone, and show it at the front desk if the hotel asks for the tax again;
• if the platform did not charge it, expect to pay at the hotel.

Cancellations

The same ruling allows hotels and platforms to claim back tax they have refunded to a tourist when a booking is cancelled, so the tax should come back to you with your refund. If it does not, raise it with whoever took your payment.

Tourism tax vs service tax vs service charge

Malaysian hotel bills can show three different extras, and they are easy to mix up:

• Tourism tax: a fixed RM10 per room per night, for non-Malaysian guests only.
• Service tax (SST): a percentage of the bill that applies to every guest, Malaysian or not. Since 1 March 2024, room charges have been taxed at 8%, while food and drink stayed at 6%, at time of writing.
• Service charge: set by the hotel itself, not by the government, and often shown as a percentage on the bill.

When you compare a Johor Bahru hotel with one in Singapore, or two hotels on a booking site, compare the final price including all three, not the headline room rate.

Practical tips for Singaporean travellers

• Budget per room, not per person. Multiply rooms by nights by RM10 and add it to your trip budget.
• Keep your passport handy at check-in. You will need it anyway for the border, and the hotel needs the details for the tax.
• Read the “taxes and fees” line. On booking sites, open the full price breakdown before you pay.
• Screenshot your receipt. It is your proof if the tax was already paid online.
• Do not be surprised by a separate charge. The tax is legal and normal; it is not a hotel trick.

Planning where to stay? Our guides to where to stay in Johor Bahru and the best Desaru resorts for families compare areas and hotels, and our first-time in Malaysia guide covers the other small things worth knowing before you cross.

Getting to your hotel without the hassle

Hotel taxes are one part of the trip budget; getting there is the other. With a private car, the fare is per car, not per person, and it already includes tolls, checkpoint fees, fuel and parking, so there are no surprise extras on the road. Your driver picks you up from your door anywhere in Singapore, you stay in the car through immigration at both checkpoints, and you are dropped right at the hotel lobby, whether that is in Johor Bahru, a resort in Desaru, or a heritage hotel in Melaka or Penang. If your group is split between two hotels, an extra drop-off point is SGD 10.

Fares are the same in both directions, there is zero deposit and you pay the driver on arrival. Child seats are available on request at SGD 10 each.

Plan your Malaysia stay

Know your hotel and dates? Tell us your pick-up address, hotel and group size, and we will match you with the right car. Whatsapp us for a quick quote, or book directly through our online booking form.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 21 October 2026