Budget 2027 for Senior Citizens, OKU and Family Carers: What Changes and When

Summary: before and after Budget 2027

Sources: the Budget 2027 speech (paragraphs 29, 74 to 77, 80 and 88) and the Budget 2027 tax measures (Appendices 2, 3 and 34), both published by the Ministry of Finance on 9 October 2026. The Malay originals are the Ucapan Belanjawan 2027 and Langkah-langkah Cukai.

BPT to rise to RM600 (announced): the allowance for carers of bedridden patients

Paragraph 77 of the speech reads: “The monthly assistance for bedridden PWDs and chronically ill patients will be increased from 500 to 600 ringgit.” This is JKM’s Assistance for Bedridden OKU / Chronically Ill Patients (BPT): a monthly cash allowance that MyGOV says is paid to the verified caregiver confirmed by JKM. It is not an equipment voucher.

The speech did not mention any change to who qualifies. The current conditions on MyGOV (updated 13 March 2026) are Malaysian citizenship and residence, a household income of no more than RM5,000 a month, and one of these situations:

• the applicant cares for an OKU or chronically ill person who is bedridden;
• the patient has a chronic illness, is not bedridden, and needs continuous treatment for at least 3 months;
• the bedridden OKU or patient has no carer, or the carer is not a Malaysian citizen, in which case the allowance is paid in the patient’s own name.

If you have not applied yet, the increase is no reason to wait. Applications go through the eBantuan JKM portal or the PKMD. Conditions and steps are in our guide to the BPT carer allowance.

Tax relief for caring for parents: what is proposed

Appendix 3 of the tax measures sets out the current position from year of assessment 2025: relief of up to RM8,000 for expenses on parents and grandparents, covering medical treatment at clinics and hospitals; treatment and care at home, at day care centres and at residential care centres; dental treatment other than cosmetic treatment; and a full medical examination and vaccinations up to RM1,000. A medical practitioner registered with the Malaysian Medical Council must verify that the parent’s or grandparent’s health condition needs care.

The Budget 2027 proposal would widen care at home, at day care centres and at residential care centres to all types of care expenses, not only medical care. The claim would be supported by a written declaration from the carer (not yourself, your spouse or your children) or a copy of the carer’s work permit, together with receipts, without verification from a registered medical practitioner. It would take effect from year of assessment 2027: expenses paid during 2027 and claimed in the tax return filed in 2028.

Appendix 3 does not say the RM8,000 limit changes, and it does not mention equipment or rental. Separately, the appendix to LHDN Public Ruling No. 7/2025 (published 5 December 2025) lists an “automatic adjustable bed” and a “ripple mattress” among equipment for medical and special needs under the same parents’ relief, with receipts as proof of purchase and certification by a doctor registered with the Malaysian Medical Council. The ruling says the list is not exhaustive and may include other equipment determined by a doctor registered with the Malaysian Medical Council. It does not name manual beds, and it does not mention rental. Wait for LHDN’s guidance for year of assessment 2027 before assuming the equipment rules have changed.

For every resident individual, Appendix 2 proposes raising the relief for individual and dependent relatives from RM9,000 to RM12,000 from year of assessment 2027. The speech notes that this relief was last reviewed in 2010.

Elderly care centres: service tax to fall to 6%

Appendix 34 of the tax measures proposes moving elderly care services out of the Wellness Centres category in Group C and making them a new item under Group I of the First Schedule to the Service Tax Regulations 2018, from 1 January 2027:

• The service tax rate would fall from 8% to 6%.
• For annual care fees of up to RM96,000 per person, providers registered under the Care Centres Act 1993 or the Private Aged Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 2018 would be exempt from service tax.
• Above RM96,000 per person a year, service tax would be charged at 6%. The document does not say whether the 6% applies to the whole fee or only to the amount above RM96,000.
• The service tax registration threshold for elderly care centres would stay at RM500,000.

A centre that is not registered for service tax does not charge it, so its fees will not necessarily change. Ask the centre in writing whether it is registered under one of the two Acts and whether its 2027 fees will change. Home care and care centres are compared in our guide to elderly care at home or in a centre (in Malay).

What Budget 2027 announces for OKU

• Total allocation: assistance for persons with disabilities is to rise to RM1.5 billion, for more than 300,000 people (paragraph 77).
• Carers of bedridden OKU: BPT is to rise from RM500 to RM600 a month, as above.
• Working OKU: the income limit for EPOKU, the RM450 monthly allowance for working OKU, is to rise from RM1,700 to RM2,000. RM1,700 is the current limit on JKM’s own page (updated 23 June 2025); MyGOV’s EPOKU page (updated 13 March 2026) still lists RM1,500 a month.
• Students: the Special Needs Students Allowance (EMBPK) is to rise from RM150 to RM200 a month, for 150,000 students with special education needs, including autistic children.
• Therapy: 15 Community-Based Rehabilitation (PDK) premises will be upgraded into Specialised Therapy Centres, for 20,000 registered OKU with Down syndrome.
• Carers: 3,000 new carers of OKU will receive specialised skills training.

How OKU registration works, and what the card is used for, is in our guide to the OKU card in Malaysia. The monthly JKM allowances for OKU are compared in JKM financial aid for OKU.

Other measures for senior citizens and carers

• A Senior Citizens Bill will be drafted to address abandonment and strengthen the care ecosystem (paragraph 74). It was not on the Dewan Rakyat bills list when we checked on 17 October 2026.
• Care workforce: more than RM40 million will be provided through HRD Corp to train 8,000 people for jobs in elderly care.
• NICE centres: two National Integrated Care Centres of Excellence will be developed in Penang and Sarawak for training, research and elderly care.
• Bankruptcy: the speech says the Second Chance Fast Track Policy “will be expanded to include primary caregivers of PWDs family members, chronic patients, senior citizens, gig workers and individuals with irregular income”. The bankruptcy threshold is to rise from RM100,000 to RM150,000 from 2027 (paragraph 80).
• Health: STR recipients and their spouses aged 40 and above are offered free health screening, medical equipment assistance and cancer treatment incentives under PeKa B40 (RM80 million), and mySalam continues in 2027 (paragraph 88). Our PeKa B40 guide (in Malay) lists what its equipment aid covers.
• EPF: members who reach 55 and 60 can opt for the i-Emas scheme to receive monthly withdrawals (paragraph 76).

What was not announced as changing

• The BWE rate of RM600 a month (MyGOV). Eligibility and how to apply are in JKM elderly aid (BWE).
• Supportive Devices / Prosthetics Aid (BAT). MyGOV’s examples are manual or electric wheelchairs, white canes and braille machines, prosthetic limbs and hearing aids. Hospital beds are not on the list. MyGOV adds that any case of need may be considered with the approval of the Director General of Social Welfare (KPKM), so ask the PKMD before assuming a bed is excluded.
• OKU-specific tax reliefs (for the individual, spouse, child and basic supporting equipment) are not mentioned in the tax measures document.
• Hospital beds: we found no scheme specifically for hospital beds in the speech or the tax measures.

What families can do now

1. Apply for BPT if you qualify. If your household earns no more than RM5,000 a month and you care for a bedridden family member (or the patient is a chronic patient needing at least 3 months of continuous treatment), and you are Malaysian citizens living in Malaysia, apply through eBantuan JKM or the PKMD without waiting for the new rate.
2. Keep your care receipts. Carer salaries, day care and care centre fees can already be claimed under the parents’ relief with a doctor’s certification. Under the YA2027 proposal, non-medical care costs would also count and no doctor’s verification would be needed, if it becomes law. Keep the carer’s written declaration or a copy of the work permit as well.
3. Check a care centre’s registration. The proposed service tax exemption applies only to centres registered under the two Acts named in Appendix 34.
4. Prepare the home early. Aid applications take time, but a patient may be discharged this week. First check free bed loans or aid from hospices, NGOs, the hospital’s medical social work department or zakat; see hospice and palliative care in Malaysia. If nothing suitable is available, our Standard 2 Function manual bed rents for RM150 a month with no deposit, even for a one-month rental, and payment is collected after the bed has been delivered and installed. One-way delivery within Malaysia costs up to RM280, confirmed for your address, and a mattress is included only if the written quotation lists it. See hospital bed rental and choosing a hospital bed for home use.

Questions about Budget 2027

Sources

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