What is the Malaysia film tax incentive rate?

Malaysia offers 30% to 35% on qualified in-state spend through the Film In Malaysia Incentive (FIMI). It is a cash grant. The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.

What is the minimum spend for the Malaysia film incentive?

MYR 5M QMPE (production incl. post); MYR 1M QMPE (post-production only). Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.

Is the Malaysia film incentive transferable or refundable?

Refundable — the excess over your state tax liability is paid out in cash.

Cash grantHuman verified· 2026-09-30Active

Malaysia film tax incentive

Film In Malaysia Incentive (FIMI)

Headline rate

30%up to 35%

Minimum spend

MYR 5M QMPE (production incl. post); MYR 1M QMPE (post-production only)

What Malaysia actually pays

The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.

New to the mechanics? Tax credit vs rebate vs grant and What counts as qualified spend.

What qualifies

30% cash rebate on Qualifying Malaysian Production Expenditure (QMPE); +5% if production passes FINAS cultural test (35% total). Min QMPE RM5M for production activities, RM1.5M for post-only, RM385K/hr for TV series. No residency requirement; no mandatory local-crew %. Eligible: feature, TV series, feature/series animation, documentary, web/digital content.

Animation
Documentary
Scripted TV
Feature Film
Post-Production
Streaming / SVOD

How to apply

Apply to FINAS's Film in Malaysia Office (FIMO) via filminmalaysia.com at least 3 months before the production date. Provisional certificate first, then a final claim with audited QMPE for rebate disbursement.

The rule to remember

30% cash rebate on Malaysian spend, 35% if the project passes the Malaysian cultural test. Apply to FIMO at least 3 months before production; foreign productions need MYR 5M of Malaysian spend (MYR 1M for post only).

Common questions

What is the Malaysia film tax incentive rate?: Malaysia offers 30% to 35% on qualified in-state spend through the Film In Malaysia Incentive (FIMI). It is a cash grant. The state pays cash against qualified spend. No tax liability needed, no broker, no discount — the cleanest structure for an independent production.
What is the minimum spend for the Malaysia film incentive?: MYR 5M QMPE (production incl. post); MYR 1M QMPE (post-production only). Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.
Is the Malaysia film incentive transferable or refundable?: Refundable — the excess over your state tax liability is paid out in cash.

Verify before you budget. These figures come from our own incentives database and each shows when it was last reviewed — but programs change between funding cycles and legislative sessions. Confirm with the film office, or ask us, before a number goes into a budget.

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What could Malaysia be worth?

A first-pass estimate with the arithmetic shown, so you can check it rather than trust it. Switch states right here to test the same budget elsewhere, or line up to five states up side by side on the compare page.

Compare with

Programs in a similar rate band. The mechanism matters as much as the percentage — a transferable credit at 30% is not the same money as a cash grant at 30%.

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Tracking changes to this program?

We re-verify Malaysia against the film office and the statute, and write when something moves that would change a budget. One email, no cadence you didn't ask for.