Hi SushiVidFam,

2026 is the year influencing officially grew up in the eyes of the law. On 14 January 2026, Malaysia's Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) issued formal guidelines on how creator income is taxed. If you're a creator, this affects you. If you're a brand, it affects your contracts. Here's the plain-English version for both sides.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — for your specific situation, speak to a licensed tax agent.

For creators: what the new LHDN rules mean

  • All your income is taxable — cash and non-cash. That includes platform payouts (YouTube, TikTok, Google AdSense), brand and ambassador fees, merchandise, royalties and paid appearances — plus gifted products, sponsored stays, discount vouchers and digital tokens that have a monetary value. Yes, that PR box counts.
  • It's business income. Declare it using Form B. You may also need to file an income estimate (CP500) and pay tax in instalments.
  • Foreign platforms count too. Income from overseas platforms or foreign brands is taxable if your work is carried out in, or closely tied to, Malaysia. Being paid from abroad doesn't automatically exempt you.
  • Keep records for 7 years, and know the stakes: penalties for not filing run from RM200 to RM20,000, up to six months' jail, or both.
  • Deadlines for YA 2025: manual Form B by 30 June 2026; e-Filing typically extended to 15 July 2026.
  • Claim your deductions. Equipment, editing software, internet, and other costs incurred wholly to earn your income are deductible — don't leave money on the table.

For the fuller primer, see Influencers, Have You Paid Your Taxes?

For brands: what to put in your contracts and briefs

The tax change quietly raises the bar for brands too. Protect both sides by making sure every collaboration spells out:

  • Deliverables and timelines — exactly what's being posted, where, and when.
  • Payment terms — fee, schedule, and whether it's cash, product, or commission.
  • The value of gifted product — because it may create a tax obligation for the creator, state its value clearly. It's fair, and it avoids nasty surprises.
  • Usage rights — can you boost the content as an ad, reuse it on your channels, or run it for six months? Spell it out; it materially changes value.
  • Disclosure — require creators to label paid partnerships properly. It protects your brand's credibility as much as theirs.
  • Invoicing — ask for proper invoices; it keeps everyone's records clean.

A clear agreement is the cheapest insurance in influencer marketing — we wrote about exactly why in The Crucial Role of an Agreement.

The shared rule: keep clean records

Whether you're the creator or the brand, 2026 rewards good bookkeeping. Track income, expenses, gifted value and deliverables as you go — not in a panic every June.

Sources: LHDN guidelines — Tax Treatment on Income of Social Media Influencer (14 Jan 2026, PDF); Malaysia rolls out new taxing guidelines for influencers — MARKETECH APAC; New tax guidelines for content creators — KPMG Malaysia.