Resident or non resident status

The basic rule is: as long as you are in Malaysia for a total of 182 days in a Year of Assessment (tax year - Jan-Dec) you are tax resident.

The rule about 14 day absences for personal reasons is only relevant in the case of obtaining the benefit of linking tax years when first arriving to work in Malaysia i.e. a person arrives in Malaysia at a point in the year when being here for a total of 182 days is not possible. By mimimising personal absences, the partial tax year (arrival year) and the 182 days of the following tax year become linked and are both viewed as being tax resident.

Once tax residency has been achieved, then the basic 182 day rule of being in Malaysia is sufficient to maintain that status.

However, when leaving, tax years where a person is present for less than 182 days can still qualify as being tax resident: https://www.pwc.com/my/en/assets/public … ooklet.pdf - Look at Page 6 for details (last 2 bullet points).

You potentially should have been paying tax annually on income since 2015. It depends on your salary level: http://lampiran1.hasil.gov.my/pdf/pdfam/01_2017_2.pdf