How to Record Shopee and Lazada Fees, Shipping and Ads in Your Books

The Income Tax Act allows a deduction for expenses wholly and exclusively incurred in producing business income. Typical online-store costs that meet this test are:

• Platform commission, transaction and payment fees.
• Advertising on the platform or on social media.
• Shipping and courier charges paid by the seller.
• Packaging materials.
• Domain, hosting and e-commerce software fees. LHDN's digital business page lists domain and server fees among allowable items.
• Staff wages and freelancer fees.

How to book them

• Use separate ledger accounts for each category so margins by channel are visible.
• Record platform fees at the amount actually charged. Where a statement shows a service tax line, record the full amount, since service tax (administered by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department) is a single-stage tax with no input credit.
• Keep the invoices or statements the platform issues. Under the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) e-invoicing guidance, a platform issues an e-invoice for the charges it imposes on merchants.
• Separate seller-funded vouchers and discounts from platform-funded ones. Seller-funded vouchers (you pay) reduce your receipts; platform-funded vouchers do not.

Private or mixed-use spending, such as a home phone used partly for the shop, is only deductible for the business share.