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Malaysia · Restaurant bill calculator

Service charge and SST, both on the food.

In Malaysia the 6% service tax and the restaurant’s service charge are both worked out on the food and drinks, and the service charge is not taxed. Type the food total and the calculator adds both and splits the bill.

The subtotal at the top of the bill, or the menu prices added up.

Service charge and SST

This calculator runs on JavaScript, which looks switched off. The sum is short enough to do by hand: take 10% of the food for the service charge and 6% of the food for SST, and add both to the food. In one step: food × 1.16. A worked example is below.

In short

On a Malaysian restaurant bill, service tax on food and drinks is 6%, and the service charge (often 10%) is not subject to service tax. Both are worked out on the food alone, so a 10% service charge plus SST adds 16%: 100 of food is 116 on the bill.

Checked

The formula

Two charges, side by side.

Unlike a Singapore “++” bill, the charges in Malaysia don’t stack. The Royal Malaysian Customs Department’s food and beverage guide answers the question directly: the service charge is not subject to service tax. So the 6% is worked out on the food and drinks, the service charge is worked out on the food and drinks, and the bill is the three added together.

What the food comes to with a 10% service charge and 6% SST
On the menuService charge 10%SST 6%You pay
25.002.501.5029.00
60.006.003.6069.60
100.0010.006.00116.00
240.0024.0014.40278.40

Customs’ own example lays the bill out the same way, with the service tax on the food and the service charge on its own line. A receipt that charges 6% on the service charge as well has the order wrong; tick the box above to see what that adds.

Each line on the bill

What you’re paying for.

  • Service tax (6%). The SST line. Food and drinks stayed at 6% when the rate for many other services went up to 8% on 1 March 2024.
  • Service charge (often 10%). Set by the restaurant, not a tax, and not taxed. Customs’ example uses 10%, and so does the calculator to start.
  • No SST at all. Only registered businesses charge service tax, and for food and drinks registration starts above 1.5 million ringgit of taxable sales in 12 months. Plenty of smaller places add nothing: pick No extras.
  • A tip. Separate from the service charge, and your call. The calculator keeps it apart.

By hand

Four friends, one bill.

Dinner for four comes to 240 in food and drinks, with a 10% service charge and SST.

  1. Service charge10% of 240 is 24.00.
  2. SST6% of 240 (the food only) is 14.40.
  3. Add240 + 24.00 + 14.40 = 278.40.
  4. Divide278.40 ÷ 4 = 69.60 each.

Quick check: 240 × 1.16 = 278.40. If orders were very different, By item lets each person’s service charge and SST follow what they ate.

After the bill

Split it here. Remember it in PlateDiary.

Straight answer first: the PlateDiary app doesn’t split bills. It’s a food memory app for eating out. One photo of the table turns every dish into a save, kept under the place and the people you ate with, and the bill can go with it.

  • The bill, kept. Add an optional price to any dish and a “What was the bill?” total to the night.
  • Receipt scan. Point the camera at the receipt and it fills in the prices. It’s read on your phone, and the photo is deleted right after.
  • Prices as you paid them. Ringgit stay ringgit, with no conversion, so a trip reads the way it happened.

Next time the group asks where that good dinner in town was, and what it came to, it’s next to every dish and everyone who was there. Entering prices and scanning receipts is free.

Get PlateDiary How the bill and receipt scan work

Sources

Where the rules come from

  1. Panduan Makanan & Minuman, Cukai Perkhidmatan (16 April 2024): 6% rate, service charge not taxed, registration threshold — Jabatan Kastam Diraja Malaysia (copy hosted by CCS)
  2. MySST, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department’s sales and service tax portal
  3. Updated food and beverage guidelines (F&B stays at 6%; other services 8% from 1 March 2024) — CCS

Questions

Questions people ask.

Is SST 6% or 8% for restaurants?

6%. Service tax on food and drinks stayed at 6% when the rate for many other services went up to 8% on 1 March 2024.

Is service tax charged on the service charge in Malaysia?

No. Customs’ food and beverage guide says the service charge is not subject to service tax, so the 6% is worked out on the food and drinks only.

How do I calculate service charge and SST on a bill?

Take 10% of the food for the service charge and 6% of the food for SST, then add both to the food. A bill of 100 comes to 116.

Why don’t all restaurants charge SST?

Only businesses registered for service tax charge it. For food and drinks, registration is required above 1.5 million ringgit of taxable sales in 12 months, so many smaller places add none.