Small Value Asset Allowance: Claim Cameras and Laptops

1. What Is the Small Value Asset Capital Allowance?

Quick Answer: The small value asset capital allowance is a special 100% capital allowance under paragraph 19A of Schedule 3 of the Income Tax Act 1967. It applies to each business asset costing RM2,000 or less, so you claim the full cost in the year of purchase instead of the normal multi-year capital allowance rates.

The Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) explains the rule in Public Ruling No. 4/2026, Special Allowances for Small Value Assets, published on 30 September 2026. It replaces Public Ruling No. 3/2021 and mostly updates wording, renaming SMEs as “Micro, Small and Medium Companies” (MSMC). The RM2,000 and RM20,000 figures are unchanged.

Three points from the ruling matter most for marketers:

• It is optional. You may claim the special 100% rate or the normal capital allowance. If you put the 100% rate in your tax computation, you are treated as having chosen it.
• The choice sticks. Once you claim normal capital allowance on an asset, you keep using normal rates until its cost is fully claimed.
• Normal capital allowance rules still apply. The gear must be used for your business, and the cost must be capital expenditure.

Spending on software is a different question. Subscriptions are usually running costs, covered in our guide on whether marketing software subscriptions are tax deductible. Bespoke systems follow separate rules, explained in custom software tax deduction and capital allowance.

2. Which Cameras, Laptops and Content Gear Qualify?

Quick Answer: Content gear qualifies when each item costs RM2,000 or less, is used for your business, is not bought on hire purchase and is expected to last more than two years. Cameras, lenses, lights, mics, gimbals, tablets and laptops under RM2,000 usually pass. Items over RM2,000 fall back to normal capital allowance.

The ruling sets four tests. The table below applies them to gear a marketing team typically buys.

The ruling’s own example treats a crockery set as outside the rule because it lasts under two years. Its cost is handled on a replacement basis instead. Short-lived shoot supplies are the content-studio equivalent.

If you are still deciding whether to shoot in-house at all, compare the gear bill with outsourced rates in our product photography price guide.

3. How Has the Small Value Asset Capital Allowance Limit Changed?

Quick Answer: The per-asset limit rose from RM1,000 to RM1,300 in YA 2015 and to RM2,000 from YA 2020. The annual cap for larger businesses went from RM10,000 to RM13,000 and then RM20,000. Smaller companies have had no annual cap since YA 2009. No change has been announced since YA 2020.

RM2,000 has stood since YA 2020 while camera and laptop prices have kept rising, so more mid-range gear now lands just over the line. Budget 2027 is tabled on 9 October 2026; recheck the limits once the official documents are out.

4. Do SMEs Get an Unlimited Small Value Asset Capital Allowance?

Quick Answer: Yes, if the business is a qualifying micro, small or medium company. It must be resident and incorporated in Malaysia, with paid-up capital of RM2.5 million or less and business gross income of RM50 million or less. Everyone else can still claim, but only up to RM20,000 of small assets a year.

The MSMC test lives in Public Ruling No. 8/2025, Tax Treatment for Micro, Small and Medium Companies. In short, a company must:

• Be resident and incorporated in Malaysia (for a Sdn Bhd, the usual case).
• Have paid-up ordinary share capital of RM2.5 million or less at the start of the basis period.
• Have business gross income of RM50 million or less for the basis period.
• Pass the ownership tests. From YA 2024, no more than 20% of its capital may be owned by foreign companies or non-citizen individuals. Conditions on larger related companies also apply.

A company with no business income, such as an unlisted investment holding company, does not qualify.

Sole proprietors and partnerships are not companies, so on our reading of the ruling they fall under the RM20,000 cap. That is still plenty for most one-person content setups; see our guide to claiming marketing expenses on Form B. Public Ruling 4/2026 lists LLPs alongside the cap, while Public Ruling 8/2025 lets an LLP qualify as an MSMC. If you run an LLP, ask your tax agent which treatment applies.

5. Worked Example: A RM32,817 Content Studio Kit

Quick Answer: In this illustrative kit, RM21,838 of the RM32,817 spend counts as small value assets. A qualifying SME claims all RM21,838 at 100% this year. A business under the cap removes one item to stay at or below RM20,000 and claims normal capital allowance on the rest.

Now apply the cap. Group A totals RM21,838, which is over RM20,000. The ruling’s Example 2 shows what a capped business does: it chooses whole assets to remove until the total is at or below RM20,000. Here, removing the RM1,899 tablet brings Group A to RM19,939.

6. How Much Can an SME Claim in Year One vs a Capped Business?

Quick Answer: On the same RM32,817 kit, a qualifying SME claims RM21,838 at 100% in year one and RM10,499 under normal rates. A capped business claims RM19,939 at 100% and moves RM12,398 to normal rates. The total claim is the same; only the timing differs.

The difference is cash-flow timing, not the total, because normal capital allowance still writes off the full cost across several years. That is also why spending on gear in December purely to “save tax” rarely works out; our piece on year-end marketing spend to cut tax explains the maths.

7. How Do You Claim the Small Value Asset Capital Allowance?

Quick Answer: You claim the small value asset capital allowance in your tax computation, the working papers behind your income tax return. LHDN’s ruling sets out five steps. In short, you list qualifying items, apply any cap, and move everything else to normal capital allowance.

Here are the five steps, applied to a gear list:

1. List items worth RM2,000 or less. Use the invoice value of each asset and leave out anything bought on hire purchase.
2. Remove short-life items. Drop anything with an expected life of two years or less, such as backdrops and props.
3. Apply the cap if it affects you. An MSMC has no limit. Other businesses keep the total at or below RM20,000.
4. Move the rest to normal capital allowance. That covers assets over RM2,000 and any items removed to meet the cap.
5. Claim the 100% special allowance on what remains, in the tax computation your tax agent prepares.

Ask suppliers for invoices in the business’s name with one line per item. A bundle invoice for a “studio kit RM6,500” makes the per-asset test hard to prove. The ruling also requires records that separate the two kinds of assets, kept for seven years under section 82A.

8. What Happens When You Sell or Upgrade the Gear?

Quick Answer: Because you already claimed 100%, the asset’s residual expenditure is zero. If you later sell or trade it in, the sale price is usually taxed back as a balancing charge, up to the allowance you claimed. Gear that is damaged, obsolete and cannot be sold is treated as having zero value.

Content gear gets upgraded often, so this matters more for marketers than for most asset owners. The ruling counts an asset as “disposed” when it is sold, discarded, destroyed or no longer used for the business.

The ruling’s Example 4 mirrors the first row: a RM1,300 asset, fully claimed, sold for RM800, creates an RM800 balancing charge. The charge can never exceed the allowance you originally claimed.

9. How Does It Fit With Other Marketing Tax Claims?

Quick Answer: The small value asset rule only covers physical equipment. Most other marketing costs, such as ads, SEO, sponsorships and subscriptions, are claimed as ordinary or special deductions under separate rules. Sort each cost into the right bucket first, then apply the matching rule.

Two more points before you buy. If a grant covers part of the gear, check how the subsidy affects your claim; our guide to government grants for small business marketing lists current schemes. And if the new laptop or tablet will also take card payments for your online store, read our checklist on PCI DSS for small online stores.

10. Conclusion: Buy Gear for the Content, Claim It Properly

The small value asset capital allowance is an easy win for any business that shoots its own content. Pay outright for small gear, keep itemised invoices, record every sale or trade-in, and check your MSMC status each year. Above all, buy gear because your content plan needs it, not because of the allowance.

11. Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the small value asset capital allowance limit in Malaysia?

As at October 2026, each asset must cost RM2,000 or less. Qualifying micro, small and medium companies can claim an unlimited total each year. Other businesses can claim up to RM20,000 of small value assets a year, with any excess claimed under normal capital allowance.

2. Can I claim a laptop as a small value asset?

Yes, if the laptop costs RM2,000 or less, is used for your business, is paid for outright rather than on hire purchase, and is expected to last more than two years. A laptop above RM2,000 is claimed under normal capital allowance instead.

3. Is a camera for marketing content a capital asset?

Generally yes. A camera lasts several years, so it is capital expenditure rather than a running cost. If it costs RM2,000 or less, you can claim it at 100% as a small value asset. Lenses, lights and mics are tested separately.

4. Can sole proprietors claim the small value asset capital allowance?

Yes. The rule applies to any person carrying on a business, including sole proprietors. Because the unlimited claim is for qualifying companies, a sole proprietor’s total is generally capped at RM20,000 of small value assets a year.

5. Do I have to claim the 100% special allowance?

No. It is optional, and you can claim normal capital allowance instead. But once you claim normal rates on an asset, you must keep using them until its cost is fully claimed. Using the 100% rate in your tax computation counts as choosing it.