Budget 2027 for B40 Households: Aid, Subsidies and Tax

Money · By SpikeToday · Oct 9, 2026, 19:05 UTC

For B40 households, the bottom 40% by income, the Budget 2027 measures most likely to matter are SARA of up to RM150 a month for STR recipients, RM100 twice for adults who do not get STR, early schooling aid of RM200 a pupil, free health screening for STR families and a RM2,000 minimum wage from June 2027. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced them in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct. 9, 2026, and they are proposals until Parliament passes the Supply Bill. MPs debate it from Oct. 12 to 22, ministers reply from Oct. 26 to 29 and the committee stage runs from Nov. 2 to 26, Bernama reports.

The figures come from the English text of the speech (PDF), whose paragraph numbers are cited below, and from the Finance Ministry's summary of Budget 2027 measures (PDF, in Malay). The speech sets no B40 income line. For STR, LHDN's 2026 rules use a household income limit of RM5,000 a month, its leaflet shows. Our Budget 2027 page covers every measure, and this page picks out what matters most to lower-income households and what to do next.

What Budget 2027 offers, by situation

STR and SARA amounts for 2027

The speech gives only the RM150 a month SARA ceiling, but the Finance Ministry's summary table sets out the yearly STR and SARA amounts proposed for 2027. Amounts are per year.

Household income under RM2,500 a month

Household income RM2,501 to RM5,000 a month

• Elderly without a spouse, aged 60 and above with income under RM5,000: RM600 STR and RM600 SARA, RM1,200 in all.
• Singles aged 21 to 59 with income under RM2,500: RM600 SARA and no STR cash.
• Poor and hardcore-poor households on the eKasih lists get extra SARA of RM1,200 or RM600 a year, which is RM100 or RM50 a month. Such households can receive monthly SARA of up to RM250, or RM3,000 a year. The highest combined STR and SARA is RM4,600 a year and the lowest RM600.
• Against 2026: households under RM2,500 would get RM500 less STR cash in every row and RM600 more SARA credit than in LHDN's 2026 table, so their totals stay the same except for RM100 more for households with no children. The other groups keep their 2026 amounts.

If you receive STR

• Up to 9 million STR recipients are due SARA credit, with a ceiling of RM150 a month, or RM1,800 a year (para. 26). The table above shows who reaches it: households under RM2,500 get RM150 a month, households at RM2,501 to RM5,000 get RM100, and singles and the elderly without a spouse get RM50.
• STR and SARA together get RM16 billion in 2027, against RM15 billion this year (para. 26).
• SARA is spent with your MyKad at registered shops. LHDN's 2026 list of eligible goods includes rice, eggs, bread, flour, cooking oil, milk, tea and coffee, canned fish, instant noodles, school uniforms and stationery, cleaning goods and medicines approved by the Health Ministry. The speech adds fresh produce at 216 FAMA farmers' markets and tamu (para. 26).
• The network is growing: 15,000 shops and other partners take SARA now, and the small grocery shops among them are due to rise from 6,800 to 10,000 by the end of this year (para. 26).
• Under PeKa B40, STR recipients and their spouses aged 40 and above would get free health screening, help with medical equipment and incentives for cancer treatment, backed by RM80 million (para. 88).
• The People's Welfare Insurance Scheme (SIKR 5.0) continues with RM20 million, covering 150,000 poor and hardcore-poor household heads registered in eKasih against death and permanent disability (Finance Ministry summary).

If you do not receive STR

• Malaysians aged 18 and above who are not STR recipients are due SARA MADANI of RM100 on two occasions, before Aidilfitri and for the 70th National Day. Up to 13 million people, M40 households among them, are expected to benefit (para. 26).
• The Finance Ministry's summary says the RM100 is estimated to be paid before Aidilfitri and Merdeka, and that it goes to adults who are not STR recipients as heads of household. Neither the speech nor the summary says how it will be paid, and none of the sources checked on Oct. 12 had published application steps.

Children and students

• Early schooling aid (BAP) would go from RM150 to RM200 for each of 5.3 million pupils, costing RM1 billion, so a family with four children receives RM800. The aid is paid out at school, so parents will meet the teachers when they collect it (para. 98).
• RM870 million pays for the supplementary food plan, which gives a nutritious breakfast to 800,000 pupils, and Form Six students would get a RM2,500 living allowance, the same as in matriculation (para. 98, Finance Ministry summary).
• For secondary and youth: BUDI MARA aid for 2,500 MRSM students from B40 and hardcore-poor families covers fees, school supplies and basic hostel needs, and RM32 million expands MyLesen B2 motorcycle licence training to school pupils, university students and B40 youth (Finance Ministry summary).
• PTPTN borrowers earning up to RM2,500 a month could defer repayments in 2027. Those earning RM2,500 to RM3,000 would pay at least RM50, and borrowers with no arrears who pay regularly get a 10% discount. The speech counts more than 400,000 borrowers who benefit, and the summary says incomes will be checked with LHDN (para. 102).
• On campus, the Dapur Siswa MADANI meal programme with RM5 meals reaches polytechnics and teacher training institutes, with RM20 million, and flight aid for public university students rises from RM400 to RM500 (para. 104 and 106).

Health and welfare

• The Dana Tabung Bantuan Perubatan medical aid fund goes from RM40 million to RM60 million, and the mySalam scheme continues in 2027 (para. 88).
• Monthly aid for bedridden people with disabilities and chronically ill patients is proposed to go from RM500 to RM600. The income limit for the Disabled Workers Allowance moves from RM1,700 to RM2,000, and the monthly allowance for pupils with special education needs from RM150 to RM200 (para. 77).
• Help for senior citizens is raised to RM1.3 billion, covering nearly 200,000 elderly people (para. 75).
• Assistance for repairing the homes of disaster victims doubles from RM5,000 to RM10,000 (para. 124).
• Government-linked investment companies and government-linked companies are to give RM606 million in 2027 to community programmes, plus RM80 million of zakat wakalah to fight hardcore poverty, widen access to education and health and strengthen local economies (Finance Ministry summary).

Prices and bills

• Electricity: the bill protection threshold, raised last month from 600 to 800 kWh a month, now covers more than 8 million domestic consumers (para. 24).
• Petrol: the BUDI95 quota is 300 litres a month per user, and eligible jeep and pick-up owners get 400 litres of BUDI Diesel. Fuel subsidies stay at about RM40 billion (para. 24 and 25).
• Cheaper groceries: Jualan Rahmah sales get RM750 million, up from RM630 million. Of the 35,000 sales planned, 30,000 are Jualan Rahmah events in every state constituency, with more in villages and low-cost PPR flats, and 5,000 are Agro MADANI events selling fresh fish, chicken, vegetables and fruit up to 30% cheaper (para. 27).
• RM250 million is set aside to widen the supply of essential goods to rural and remote areas (para. 28).

Work and small business

• The government has agreed to raise the minimum wage from RM1,700 to RM2,000 from June 2027, for more than 4 million workers. The speech says MSMEs with annual sales below RM50 million will be exempted, and no rules have been published, so ask your employer how it applies (para. 32).
• Sejahtera MADANI grants of RM200 million would help 40,000 people, particularly women, buy equipment such as sewing machines or ovens and get training (para. 129). In PPR areas, the Dapur iTEKAD KITA scheme would let small food entrepreneurs share commercial-grade premises and equipment at low cost, with access to training, halal certification, packaging and markets (Finance Ministry summary).
• Drivers and riders on e-hailing and p-hailing platforms would get 35% of their SOCSO contributions matched, or 50% if the platform adds its share, plus up to RM600 a year of matched EPF savings, capped at RM6,000 over a lifetime (para. 34).

Farmers, fishermen and smallholders

• Paddy: the harvesting incentive goes from RM50 to RM100 per hectare per season, and the RM300 ploughing incentive is kept and extended to Sabah and Sarawak (para. 116).
• Rubber: the production incentive rises from RM3.00 to RM3.30 a kilogram for more than 300,000 smallholders. As of September, 290,000 smallholders were already receiving a monthly subsidy of RM400 (para. 119).
• Fishermen: eligible fishermen keep subsidised diesel at RM1.65 a litre, and RM178 million pays for catch incentives and living allowances of up to RM300 a month (para. 117).

Housing and transport

• Nearly RM1 billion goes to Rumah Mesra Rakyat and Program Residensi Rakyat, with new projects in Kulai, Nilai, Paya Rumput and Pertang Valley (para. 54).
• RM50 million funds Komuniti Angkat MADANI for urban PPR communities, to provide shared kitchens, business equipment and training so residents can earn more (para. 59).
• Commuters: My50 continues for 300,000 Prasarana users in the Klang Valley, and MyKomuter50 is new for 40,000 KTM Komuter users, who could save an average of up to RM160 a month. Free passes continue for 360,000 pupils, people with disabilities and children under six (para. 107).

Tax: only if you file

The individual tax relief is proposed to rise from RM9,000 to RM12,000 from the 2027 year of assessment (para. 29), which only helps people who file and pay income tax. Another proposal would make opening a savings or current account free of stamp duty from Jan. 1, 2027 (para. 128). The other tax proposals are in the tax measures annex and on our Budget 2027 page.

What to do now

1. Apply for or update STR 2027. Paper forms have been accepted at HASiL offices since Oct. 1, and online applications open on Oct. 15 at bantuantunai.hasil.gov.my, the STR portal says. Our STR 2027 application guide lists the documents and steps.
2. Use only official sources. Fake budget graphics were expected to circulate, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said, and he advised checking Bernama or RTM before believing or sharing any aid claim (RTM, in Malay). Our STR Phase 4 guide lists the scam warnings from the Finance Ministry and LHDN.
3. Know how SARA is spent. LHDN's leaflet lists five steps: choose your goods, show your MyKad to confirm who you are, let the cashier scan the items, pay with your MyKad and keep the receipt for checking.

What the speech does not say

• It lists no STR amounts. The Finance Ministry's summary table does, and it is still a proposal until Parliament passes the budget.
• It gives no payment date for STR Phase 4 of 2026, and no payment method or exact date for SARA MADANI.
• It gives no rules for the minimum wage exemption. Several measures still need legislation or detailed guidelines, so check with the agency concerned before relying on a date.

Sources: the Budget 2027 speech, tax annex and summary of measures (Finance Ministry, Oct. 9, 2026) and LHDN's STR 2026 leaflet. This page will be updated when more details are announced.