Form C Deadline Malaysia: Due Dates, Grace Period and Penalties

When is the Form C deadline in Malaysia?

Form C is due within 7 months after the end of your company's financial year (FYE), and LHDN normally allows a further 1-month grace period for returns filed through e-Filing. For a company with an FYE of 31 December 2025, Form C is due by 31 July 2026, and the e-filing grace runs to 31 August 2026.

Form C is the annual income tax return that a company — a Sdn Bhd or a Berhad — files with LHDN, also known as HASiL. It reports the company's income, the tax adjustments made by your tax agent and the tax payable for the year. Companies file it electronically, as the e-C form on MyTax, LHDN's online tax portal. In practice, your licensed tax agent prepares the tax computation and submits the e-C on the company's behalf once a director has reviewed it.

Three points owners often miss:

• Every company files every year. A loss-making company still files, and a dormant company files Form C each year too, declaring nil income if it had none. Our guide to dormant company obligations covers the rest.
• The grace month is a safety net, not a target. Plan to submit within 7 months, so that a late document, a query from the auditor or a busy tax agent does not push you past the limit.
• Form C is the last link in a chain. It is built on your financial statements, which are built on your bookkeeping. If the books are late, everything after them is late too.

The rules in this guide are as of October 2026. If your situation is unusual, confirm the position with LHDN or a licensed tax agent.

What is the Form C due date for my financial year end?

For a month-end FYE, Form C is due on the last day of the seventh month after your FYE month, and the usual e-filing grace adds one more month. The table applies that rule to every month-end FYE in 2026.

FYE	Form C due (7 months)	End of e-filing grace (+1 month)
31 Jan 2026	31 Aug 2026	30 Sep 2026
28 Feb 2026	30 Sep 2026	31 Oct 2026
31 Mar 2026	31 Oct 2026	30 Nov 2026
30 Apr 2026	30 Nov 2026	31 Dec 2026
31 May 2026	31 Dec 2026	31 Jan 2027
30 Jun 2026	31 Jan 2027	28 Feb 2027
31 Jul 2026	28 Feb 2027	31 Mar 2027
31 Aug 2026	31 Mar 2027	30 Apr 2027
30 Sep 2026	30 Apr 2027	31 May 2027
31 Oct 2026	31 May 2027	30 Jun 2027
30 Nov 2026	30 Jun 2027	31 Jul 2027
31 Dec 2026	31 Jul 2027	31 Aug 2027

Two other deadlines sit close to these dates. A private company must circulate its financial statements to members within 6 months of its FYE, then lodge them with SSM within 30 days after circulation. For a 31 December FYE, that means circulating by 30 June and filing Form C by 31 July, so the accounts and the tax return are really one project with two deadlines. For every yearly obligation in one place, see our Sdn Bhd annual compliance calendar.

What is the penalty for filing Form C late?

Filing Form C late is an offence under section 112 of the Income Tax Act 1967: on conviction, a fine of RM200 to RM20,000, imprisonment of up to 6 months, or both. If LHDN does not prosecute, it can instead impose a penalty of up to three times the tax payable (section 112(3)).

The three-times ceiling is the part that hurts. Example: if a Klang Valley café company's tax for the year is RM20,000, the maximum penalty for not filing would be RM60,000 — three times the tax itself. The actual penalty can be lower, but the ceiling shows why a late return can cost far more than the tax.

Late filing has practical costs as well:

• Reminders and follow-up from LHDN, which take up management time.
• Awkward questions when a bank or grant agency asks for your latest accounts and tax position.
• A rushed tax computation, which makes it easy to miss legitimate deductions or capital allowances.

What happens if the company pays its tax late?

Tax that is not paid on time is increased by 10% of the unpaid amount under section 103 of the Income Tax Act. This is separate from the section 112 filing penalties, so a company that files late and pays late can face both.

Companies generally pay tax during the year through monthly CP204 instalments, due by the 15th of each month (new SMEs are exempt for their first 2 years of assessment). When your tax agent finalises the computation for Form C, the instalments are set against the actual tax and any balance becomes payable. Ask your tax agent to confirm the payment date for that balance and put it in your cash plan. CP204 has its own penalties for late instalments and underestimates, covered in our CP204 tax estimate guide.

Example: a Penang hardware trader with a 31 March FYE

Item	Figure
Financial year end	31 March 2026
Form C due (7 months)	31 October 2026
End of e-filing grace	30 November 2026
Tax per final computation	RM46,000
CP204 instalments paid during the year	RM40,000
Balance of tax payable	RM6,000
Increase if the balance is paid late (10%)	RM600

If the company also missed the filing deadline, the section 112 penalties could apply on top of the late-payment increase.

What does your tax agent need before filing Form C?

Your tax agent needs final, reconciled accounts before work on Form C can start. Aim to have the following ready within 2 to 3 months of your FYE — a practical target, not a legal deadline:

1. Complete bookkeeping for all 12 months — every sale, purchase, expense and bank transaction recorded, and every bank account reconciled to its statement.
2. Year-end adjustments — stock count, accruals, prepayments, depreciation and a review of doubtful debts.
3. Financial statements — audited, or unaudited if the company qualifies for audit exemption.
4. A fixed asset schedule with purchase invoices and dates, so capital allowances can be claimed.
5. Breakdowns of sensitive expenses — entertainment (most business entertainment is only 50% deductible), fines and penalties (not deductible), and anything private or director-related.
6. CP204 records — the estimate, any CP204A revisions and proof of every instalment paid.
7. Last year's tax computation and any letters from LHDN.

Your tax agent then prepares the tax computation, checks whether the company still qualifies for the SME tax rates, and sends the return to a director for approval before it is submitted.

How should you plan backwards from the Form C deadline?

Start from the Form C due date and work backwards, giving each step about a month. Here is an example plan for a company with a 31 December FYE; shift the months to match your own year end.

When	What happens	Who
January–February	Finish December's bookkeeping, reconcile every bank account, count stock and list accruals	You and your bookkeeper
March	Close the books; send the trial balance and schedules to the accountant or auditor	Bookkeeper
April–May	Audit fieldwork (if required) or preparation of unaudited financial statements; tax agent starts the computation	Auditor or accountant, tax agent
By 30 June	Financial statements circulated to members (within 6 months of FYE), then lodged with SSM within 30 days	Directors, company secretary
July	Tax computation finalised, approved by a director, e-C submitted by 31 July	Tax agent, director
August	E-filing grace month: keep it for genuine emergencies	—

The plan only works if the first step is not a scramble. When bookkeeping is done monthly, the January to March work becomes a short review instead of a rebuild. If you are already months behind, our guide to catching up on backlog bookkeeping shows how to triage it.

What should you do if you have already missed the Form C deadline?

File as soon as you can and speak to your tax agent today — the longer a return stays outstanding, the weaker your position.

1. Check the dates. Confirm your FYE, the 7-month due date and whether the e-filing grace month has also passed.
2. Get the books to a fileable state. Focus on what the return needs: bank reconciliations, sales, major expenses and fixed assets.
3. Let your tax agent finalise and submit the return. Ask how section 112 may apply in your case.
4. Pay any tax due promptly. Tax paid late is increased by 10% under section 103.
5. Fix the cause. A late Form C is almost always a symptom of late bookkeeping. Monthly bookkeeping makes the next year end routine.

How WeCount helps

WeCount is not a tax agent, auditor or company secretary. We keep your books complete and reconciled every month, prepare year-end schedules such as fixed asset additions, accruals and entertainment breakdowns, and hand an organised set of records to your licensed tax agent and auditor, so the tax computation and e-C can be prepared well before the deadline. Regulated audit, tax-agent and professional accountancy services are delivered through appropriately authorised partners where required. See our monthly bookkeeping service or contact us to plan your year end.