Monday morning.
New staff starting.

Your HR walks in with the offer letter.

“Boss, sign here. Then I pass to him.”

You sign.
He signs.
HR files it.

Done, right?
Not really.

An employment contract is an instrument.
Instruments need stamp duty.

“Boss, offer letter also need stamp ah?”

Yes.
And in 2025, LHDN put the spotlight on it.

Recently, one Malaysian employer called us.
The boss was worried.

“Then how about all the old letters?”

Fair question.
Because the answer depends on one thing.

When the contract was finalised.

Before 1 January 2025 … Exempt. Late penalty remitted. Can submit for endorsement.
During 2025 … Duty payable. Late penalty remitted only if stamped and paid by 31 December 2026.
From 2026 … Normal rule. Stamp within 30 days.

Same letter.
Same staff.
Three different treatments.

Welcome to Malaysian tax. 😂

“Boss, the 2025 ones we never stamp leh.”

Still got time.
But not much.

LHDN is running PKPS Duti Setem 2026, a special voluntary disclosure programme.
Instruments executed from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025 get the late stamping penalty remitted.
If you stamp and pay by 31 December 2026.

Miss that date, and the penalty may come back to you.

“Boss, so many letters. Where to start?”

This is where many SME bosses get stuck.
Not the law.
The paperwork.

So for this employer, we did four things.

Explain.
Checklist.
Check.
Submit.

We explained which letters needed attention, and why.
We gave a checklist, so HR knew exactly what to prepare.
We checked the documents for completeness and consistency.
We assisted with the stamping submissions, through to completion.

And one thing stayed with the client.

Every completed letter.
Its HASiL stamp certificate.
Its payment record.
Filed together. Kept safe.

Because when someone asks to see it, “I think got stamp” is not an answer.

So please don’t keep:
Signed letter in the HR drawer.
Stamp certificate in someone’s email.
Payment slip in the accounts file.
in three different places.

For SME bosses, the fix is simple.

List.
Date.
Stamp.
File.

List every employment letter, old and new.
Date each one: before 2025, during 2025, or from 2026.
Stamp what is outstanding. New ones within 30 days.
File each letter with its stamp certificate and payment record.

Same offer letter.
Same staff.
But the date you signed it can change everything.

Technical reference: Section 47, Stamp Act 1949 (stamping within 30 days of execution). LHDN 2025 guidance on stamp duty for employment contracts (exemption for contracts finalised before 1 January 2025). Subsection 47A(2), Stamp Act 1949 and LHDN’s Garis Panduan Operasi Layanan Khas Penalti bagi PKPS Duti Setem 2026 (penalty remission for instruments executed 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025, stamped and paid by 31 December 2026; not for cases involving fraud).