i’ve just completed filing my taxes.  i don’t know whhhhhy i’m always procrastinating. today’s  the last day to file individual taxes in Malaysia. i did it through e-filing. LHDN (Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri or the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia) sent me an email in March, but well … something always gets in the way.

actually i’d thought of doing it when i was in Malaysia a few weeks ago, but didn’t hv the time. i did go to the tax office but went to actually sort out the cheque they had sent me last year which i received after the 3-month period is up. it’s not the LHDN’s fault. i didn’t open my mailbox for months because i wasn’t living at my apartment due to the stupid water problem and also because i wasn’t working. therefore, i avoided opening my mailbox coz i knew it was gonna be full of BILLS. i couldn’t handle it. made me depressed. anyway, that was really stupid. i was like an ostrich hiding my head in the sand.  so, i missed cashing a cheque for quite a significant sum … well, for someone who wasn’t working! in fact, LHDN was very efficient coz i remember doing my taxes quite early last year … and i couldn’t believe that they had sent me the cheque in April.

so, i went to LHDN in Kelana Jaya the other day and talked to the officer … and told him what happened. he was very good. he said he’d send it to my mum’s house since i am now residing overseas. BUT the problem is, he said that since i had not filed my taxes from 2000 to 2004 … i have to sort that out, and they may withhold payments until it’s all done. but he said, when you get them  … it’s gonna be a LOT. hmmm … so i said that one of the reasons that i never did my taxes before (before the e-filing system was implemented) because it looked too difficult and scary. although i have an aunt who does taxes, i didn’t want her to know how much i was making (or was not making … hahahahaha … ) plus i was jobhopping … then i was freelancing … then i went back to school. it was all so confusing that i just didn’t want to deal with it. and hey … with taxes … you better deal with it! the taxman will not leave any stones unturned!

so, anyway … he gave me sheets of back taxes forms for every year that i didn’t file my taxes. coz if my employers had paid PCB, that means, i should hv filed taxes, ie they hv records that i was actually employed! no getting out of it, ok! then, he said, on my next tript to Malaysia, i can meet up with them, bring all my documents and they will help me file my taxes. sigh. wading through those documents is what scares me. but actually, before i left for Brunei … i had organised my financial documents and i have one box filled with receipts and stuff that i haven’t sorted out. so, the next trip home will be doing just that. can’t have it hanging over my head anymore. but who knows, i might get a windfall out of this. heheh.

i’ve only started filing my taxes because of the e-filing system. it’s easy. well, the first time they introduced it in 2006, it think … it was a bit complicated. then, in 2007, it got easier. and now it’s easy peasy.

so, anyway … i had also sorted out my late payment for the 2005 tax which i did not get around to paying because it was all so confusing. i remember that year, when i went to pay at some bank … maybe PB or CIMB, i can’t remember, i was given this forms to fill, and i can’t remember why but i left, and due to always being short of money, i never made the payment. so recently i did. went to CIMB to pay it. just get a form and number and go to the counter. that’s it.

but today, i made the payment for last year’s tax returns via Maybank2u. again, it was a bit confusing initially, coz there is a field for kod bayaran or payment code. what the heck is that? and i didn’t want to call LHDN again using IDD card (such a lengthy process!) coz i had called twice already. so, i chose Bayaran Cukai Pendapatan (tiada skim ansuran). the installment number is weird, but just put ‘0′. that’s it. confirm. but before that, i requested for a TAC number.

anyway, i hope it has been processed successfully coz i’m a few hundred poorer!!!

April 01: let me just add that for those that has missed the deadline … don’t worry! just do it! or go to the tax office (i like the one in kelana jaya) and explain and they will help you.

for first timers … the first time is always hard, but if you go to the tax office, the officers will guide you on how to do e-filing online. then they will print out the documents for you and you can go make payment at the CIMB or Public Bank (if i’m not mistaken). normally your username and password is the same, which is your ic number. once you have registered your digital signature, etc … the second time will be easier.

i’m single and don’t have any dependents. so, i didn’t have much tax deductible items to lower my tax returns. the only thing i included in the form was amount for the computer i had bought last year. and i’d actually kept a few book receipts, but heck they are in malaysia, silly me. so, i didn’t have much to fill. oh, if you are a muslim, you might want to fill in your zakat total; it can be any zakat – fitrah, pendapatan, emas, etc…

so to make life easier … my life that is, i’ve decided to do these from now on:

1. keep a file of all receipts of tax deductible items, such as books, medicine for parents, medical checkups, etc …

2. keep all bank statements (coz i job hop a lot and sometimes i forget how much i earned!! well, u know, stimes during the probation period certain companies even deduct on your MC!). plus it’s also good for applying for loans or credit cards. you don’t have to ask the bank who will charge you for the statements.

3. EA forms … don’t lose them.

4. salary slips.

i guess that’s about it for now … off the top of my head.

but since i will be working in brunei for the next two years, i really don’t have to bother. hahahahaha. oh, btw … employees in brunei don’t have to pay taxes. imagine if one day the brunei govt decided to introduce income tax, i bet bruneians are really going to have a headache! even now, paying for car parking in the urban areas is relatively new and not entirely welcomed.

my aunt who visited malaysia got very upset with the tolls that’s like everywhere. in brunei, these things are FREE, bah!