Sdn Bhd Annual Cost Malaysia 2026: A Realistic SME Budget
How much does it really cost to maintain a Sdn Bhd in Malaysia? The useful answer is not one number. It is the total of official SSM filing fees, company-secretarial work, accounts, tax, software and audit where required.
How much does a Sdn Bhd cost per year?
There is no single official “annual Sdn Bhd fee”. A small company normally pays statutory SSM filing fees plus commercial fees for a company secretary, accounting and corporate tax work. Audit is an additional cost only where it is required or chosen.
For planning, BizSetupMY would model a very small audit-exempt company at roughly RM1,500–RM3,000 a year, a small active service company at roughly RM3,000–RM7,000, and a more active SME needing heavier bookkeeping and audit at roughly RM6,000–RM15,000+. These are illustrative planning ranges, not official tariffs or a market-price survey.
Official SSM fees vs professional fees
This is the most important distinction. SSM publishes government lodgement fees. Your secretary, accountant, tax agent and auditor charge separately for professional work.
| Cost item | 2026 amount / treatment | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Private-company annual return | RM150 | Official SSM lodgement fee |
| Audited financial statements & reports | RM50 | Official SSM lodgement fee; audit fee is separate |
| Non-audited financial statements & reports | RM20 | Official SSM lodgement fee for applicable filing |
| Company limited by shares incorporation | RM1,010 | One-off Sdn Bhd incorporation amount, not an annual fee |
| Company secretary | Varies by provider/package | Professional service |
| Accounting / bookkeeping | Varies with transaction volume and complexity | Professional service |
| Corporate tax work | Varies with complexity | Professional service |
| Audit | Only where required/chosen; fee varies | Professional service |
Official fee source: Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) Table of Fees and Annual Submission guidance, checked September 2026.
A realistic annual budget by company type
Instead of pretending every Sdn Bhd costs the same, use a scenario that resembles your company.
| Example company | Likely annual work | BizSetupMY planning range |
|---|---|---|
| Dormant / very low activity, audit-exempt | Secretary, statutory filings, simple accounts and tax work | RM1,500–RM3,000 |
| Small active service Sdn Bhd, audit-exempt | Secretary, bookkeeping/accounts, tax, filings and basic software | RM3,000–RM7,000 |
| Active SME with heavier bookkeeping and audit | Secretary, accounts, tax, audit, filings and software | RM6,000–RM15,000+ |
These ranges are planning illustrations created by BizSetupMY. They are deliberately broad and should not be treated as quoted market prices. Obtain quotations based on your actual transaction volume and compliance needs.
What costs are unavoidable?
A functioning Sdn Bhd cannot be budgeted around the RM150 annual-return fee alone. The company needs proper statutory administration and accounting records, and it has separate corporate tax obligations. In practice, owners normally need to budget for company secretarial work, SSM annual submissions, accounting and corporate tax. Audit is added where the company is not eligible for exemption, does not elect exemption, or an audit is otherwise required.
Company secretary cost: compare the annual total, not the monthly headline
There is no government-set monthly company-secretary price. Providers package their services differently. One package may include annual-return preparation and a registered office, while another may charge those separately.
Before choosing a provider, ask for the 12-month total and whether it includes the named secretary, registered office, statutory registers, annual-return preparation, SSM fees, standard resolutions, beneficial-ownership work and routine company changes.
See our Company Secretary Fee Malaysia guide
Accounting cost depends more on activity than company size
A one-director consulting company with a few invoices and one bank account can be much easier to maintain than a small e-commerce company processing thousands of orders, refunds, payment-gateway settlements and inventory movements.
| Cost driver | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Monthly transactions | More entries and reconciliations increase bookkeeping work. |
| Inventory | Stock movements, costing and adjustments add complexity. |
| Multiple currencies | Foreign-exchange transactions require additional reconciliation. |
| Payroll headcount | Payroll and statutory submissions add another recurring workflow. |
| Quality of records | Clean monthly records are normally easier to service than year-end clean-up. |
Does every Sdn Bhd need an audit in 2026?
No. Malaysia has a phased audit-exemption framework for qualifying private companies. For the 2026 phase, SSM's FAQ applies maximum thresholds of RM2 million revenue, RM2 million assets and 20 employees. Eligibility is not determined by one current-year number alone: the detailed rules require the relevant multi-year assessment and satisfaction of the applicable criteria.
Audit exemption also does not mean the company can ignore its accounts. Financial statements and required lodgements still matter.
If your company may qualify, confirm the current position with your company secretary/accountant before budgeting for an audit. SSM's Practice Directive 10/2024 and its updated FAQ are the authoritative references.
First-year cost is different from annual maintenance cost
The Sdn Bhd incorporation amount is RM1,010. This is a one-off incorporation cost and is separate from the company's later secretarial, accounting, tax or audit work.
This is why a cheap incorporation package can be a poor basis for comparing providers. Ask what the company will cost in year two, not only what it costs to register today.
See the Sdn Bhd registration cost guide
Costs founders commonly forget
- Registered office: may be included with the secretary or charged separately.
- Corporate changes: director/shareholder changes, share allotments, transfers and special resolutions may attract extra professional fees.
- Payroll: payroll processing is separate from company-secretarial work.
- Accounting software: can add subscription cost but may reduce manual bookkeeping work.
- Late clean-up: reconstructing poor records at year-end can cost more than maintaining them monthly.
- Closing the company: compliance costs can continue until the company is properly struck off or wound up.
How to compare Sdn Bhd maintenance quotations
- Give every provider the same facts: revenue, monthly transactions, staff, inventory, bank accounts and currencies.
- Ask for the expected 12-month total, not just a monthly headline price.
- Separate official SSM charges from professional fees.
- Ask whether annual-return preparation and financial-statement lodgement are included.
- Confirm whether bookkeeping, year-end accounts and tax work are included or separate.
- Ask whether audit is required for your circumstances before adding it to the budget.
- Request prices for common extras such as registered office, resolutions and director/shareholder changes.
BizSetupMY methodology
We separate three things that are often mixed together:
- Official fees: figures published by Malaysian authorities such as SSM.
- Professional fees: commercial charges from secretaries, accountants, tax agents and auditors. These vary by provider and scope.
- Planning scenarios: BizSetupMY's illustrative ranges showing how the components can combine for different SME profiles. These are not presented as official fees or as a statistically representative market survey.
This makes the page easier to update when government fees or commercial pricing changes and avoids presenting one provider's package as the Malaysian market price.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Sdn Bhd cost per year in Malaysia?
There is no single official annual price. Budget for SSM filings plus company-secretarial, accounting and tax work, with audit added where required. A very small audit-exempt company can cost materially less to maintain than a transaction-heavy company requiring an audit.
What is the SSM annual return fee?
SSM lists RM150 for lodging the annual return of a private company.
Is RM150 the total annual cost of a Sdn Bhd?
No. RM150 is the official annual-return lodgement fee. It does not include the professional work of your secretary, accountant, tax agent or auditor.
Can a dormant Sdn Bhd cost less?
Usually the accounting workload is lower, but the company still has statutory and tax/compliance matters to manage while it remains registered.
Does an audit-exempt Sdn Bhd still need accounts?
Yes. Audit exemption removes the audit requirement for an eligible company; it does not remove the need for proper accounting records, financial statements and applicable filings.
Official references
Last reviewed: 6 September 2026. Official SSM fees and 2026 audit-exemption guidance were rechecked for this update.
Plan the obligations behind the cost
Use our annual compliance checklist to see what your Sdn Bhd needs to keep on top of during the year.
Important
This guide is general educational information and is not legal, tax or accounting advice. Requirements and fees can change. Confirm your company's current obligations with SSM, HASiL and appropriately qualified professionals.