---
title: Malaysian tax codes and money rules
description: The tax codes used on bills, orders and sales, how service charge and rounding are recorded, and the statutory facts behind them with their sources.
order: 2
updated: 2026-09-16
keywords: SST, tax code, SST6, SST8, exempt, out of scope, service charge, rounding, sen
---

Tax in ChowChirp is always a line, never a lump. This page lists the codes and the money rules that apply everywhere.

## Tax codes

| Code           | Meaning                                                           | Typical use                                                                                          |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `SST6`         | Service tax at 6%                                                 | Food and beverage sales at a registered restaurant                                                   |
| `SST8`         | Service tax at 8%                                                 | Alcohol, facility or space rental, corkage, entertainment inside the premises; most non-F&B services |
| `EXEMPT`       | Not taxable                                                       | Most food ingredient purchases                                                                       |
| `OUT_OF_SCOPE` | Outside service tax                                               | Supplies from unregistered suppliers, items outside the taxable list                                 |
| `UNRESOLVED`   | Tax shown on a source document that could not be split into lines | Imported records only; treated as a cost, never as a credit                                          |

A bill or order can carry several lines with different codes. Service tax paid to suppliers is a cost; there is no input credit under SST.

## Service charge

Service charge is recorded as its own line on a sale. It is not subject to service tax and is never mixed into tax. It is distributed to staff from **Team › Payroll** with lines that sum to the pool exactly.

## Rounding

Bank Negara 5 sen rounding applies to **cash** totals only. It is recorded as a rounding adjustment on the document and on each cash tender. Card and e-wallet tenders are never rounded. The sum of tenders equals the net amount plus the rounding adjustment.

## Money

All amounts are stored as whole sen and displayed as RM with two decimals. Totals add up to the sen; there is no floating-point arithmetic on money.

## Statutory facts (checked 16 September 2026)

- Restaurants, caterers and food courts charge service tax at 6% once registered. The registration threshold for restaurants is RM1.5 million in 12 months. Source: Royal Malaysian Customs Department, MySST guides.
- 8% applies to alcohol, facility rental, corkage and entertainment inside F&B premises.
- Returns are filed on SST-02 every two months, due by the last day of the following month. Tax is due when payment is received.
- Labuan, Langkawi, Pangkor and Tioman are designated areas where service tax does not apply.

> **Important:** ChowChirp assembles these figures as a computational aid. It does not decide whether you must register, and it does not file. Confirm thresholds and rates with Customs or your tax agent before relying on them.

## Related

- [e-Invoice in ChowChirp](/docs/explanation/e-invoice-in-chowchirp)
- [Why finance is record-only](/docs/explanation/record-only-finance)