Under Budget 2027, non-MSME businesses will be required to pay salaries through financial institutions or cashless payment instruments to claim a tax deduction for those salary expenses, starting from Year of Assessment (YA) 2028.

Cash payments may still reach employees, but they may not qualify for a tax deduction under the proposed requirement.

The measure applies to salary expenses. Other non-salary business expenses are unaffected, and MSMEs are excluded from the new requirement.

Budget 2027：非MSME企业拟须无现金发薪，方可申报薪资税务扣除

根据《2027年财政预算案》，从2028课税年度（YA 2028）起，非微型、中小型企业（非MSME）须通过金融机构或无现金支付工具发放薪资，才能就相关薪资开支申报税务扣除。

现金发薪，员工可能照常收到工资，但相关薪资开支未必符合税务扣除条件。

这项措施仅适用于薪资开支，其他非薪资业务开支不受影响；MSME也不受这项新要求限制。