Spouse Relief: Husband/Wife Without Income (RM4,000)

What is the spouse relief?

If you are married and your spouse has no total income, you may be eligible to claim the spouse tax relief — a deduction from taxable income. This relief is in HASiL's Tax Reliefs table under two items:

Source: HASiL — Tax Reliefs (Individuals), item 14 and item 15 (see Official sources section).

Difference between item 14 and item 15

Item	Scope	Amount (YA 2025)
14	Husband / Wife / Alimony payments to a former wife	RM4,000 (limited)
15	Disabled husband / wife	RM6,000

Item 14 is the basic relief for a spouse; item 15 is the special relief when the spouse is disabled. Do not confuse the two — the amounts differ.

Source: HASiL — Tax Reliefs (Individuals), item 14 and item 15 YA 2025 tab (see Official sources section).

How much can be claimed?

• Item 14: limited to RM4,000 a year (YA 2025) for a husband/wife or alimony payments to a former wife.
• Item 15: RM6,000 a year (YA 2025) for a disabled husband/wife.
• Claims are reported in Form BE/B (e-Filing) under the relevant relief item.
• The eligibility conditions (e.g. the spouse lives together and has no total income) are referenced to the form/BE Explanatory Notes — verify at fact-check before stating the conditions (this item still awaits official HASiL confirmation — re-check with HASiL before making decisions).
• Keep relevant supporting documents (e.g. marriage certificate, alimony payment records). The general tax record-keeping practice is 7 years (see General Ruling No. 5/2000).

Source: HASiL — Tax Reliefs (Individuals) (see Official sources section).

Simple calculation example

Mr Farid (a salaried employee) is married; his wife does not work and has no total income in YA 2025:

• Mr Farid's taxable income: RM50,000;
• Item 14 claim (wife without income): RM4,000 (limited).

Amount claimable in item 14: RM4,000 (limited to RM4,000). (The value of the tax saving depends on your marginal tax rate.)

Important note: eligibility depends on the full conditions (e.g. the spouse lives together, the definition of "total income") which need to be verified from the form/BE Explanatory Notes (this item still awaits official HASiL confirmation — re-check with HASiL before making decisions) — do not assume every wife-without-income case is automatically eligible.

Things to verify before publication — these items still await official HASiL confirmation — re-check with HASiL before making decisions.

• YA 2026 amounts: there is no YA 2026 tab on the Reliefs page at the review date; YA 2026 figures are not published by HASiL → re-verify before mentioning YA 2026.
• The full eligibility conditions (spouse lives together, no total income, the definition of "total income") are not detailed on the table page — referenced to the BE form/BE Explanatory Notes; verify at fact-check before stating the conditions.
• The relationship with joint/separate assessment apportionment — refer to the taksiran-bersama-vs-berasingan brief; cross-check at fact-check.

Caveat

• Do not confuse item 14 (RM4,000) with item 15 (RM6,000 OKU) or the old item 13 (SSPN).
• State the figure as "RM4,000 (limited)" — do not generalize without the limit.
• Avoid the claim "a wife without income is eligible" without stating the conditions that need to be verified.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. My wife has no income — am I automatically eligible? A. Not necessarily. Eligibility depends on the full conditions (e.g. the spouse lives together, the definition of "total income") which need to be verified from the form/BE Explanatory Notes (this item still awaits official HASiL confirmation — re-check with HASiL before making decisions).

Q. How much can I claim for my spouse? A. RM4,000 (limited) a year under item 14 (YA 2025). If your spouse is disabled, item 15 gives RM6,000.

Q. I pay alimony to my former wife — can it be claimed? A. Yes — alimony payments to a former wife are included in item 14 with a RM4,000 (limited) cap. See also the draft at pelepasan-pasangan-alimoni.md.

Q. Is this relief related to joint/separate assessment? A. The relationship with joint/separate assessment apportionment needs to be verified through cross-checking at fact-check (this item still awaits official HASiL confirmation — re-check with HASiL before making decisions).

Glossary

• Tax relief — a deduction from taxable income that reduces the tax payable.
• Limited (Terhad) — maximum amount that can be claimed.
• Alimony — support payments to a former wife.
• Total income — gross income; the full definition needs to be verified (this item still awaits official HASiL confirmation — re-check with HASiL before making decisions).
• OKU — Orang Kurang Upaya (person with disabilities).
• YA — Year of Assessment.