BUSINESS EXPENSES UNDER THE IRB MICROSCOPE What You Can Claim, What Gets Added Back & How to Build an Audit-Ready Defence

26 Oct, 2026, Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur

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Ms. YONG MEI SIM has over 35 years in Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (“IRB”) and last held the position as Principal Assistant Director of Penang. She had served with the Payroll Taxes Unit, Field Audit and Desk Audit Unit and actively assisted IRBM’s Federal Councils in handling tax litigation cases.

 

Ms. Yong holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation from the Golden Gate University, U.S.A.

 

Ms. Yong speaks extensively nationwide, sharing her valuable experience and expertise on income tax, service tax and stamp duty updates and other relevant taxation matters.

Venue Details

Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur
2 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,

https://kualalumpur.concorde hotelsresorts.com/



Phone : 03 2144 2200

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ADDRESS
A-28-5, 28th Floor, Menara UOA Bangsar,
No.5, Jalan Bangsar Utama 1,
59000 Kuala Lumpur
www.ipa.com.my

FOCUSING ON
  • The Deductibility Test: Think Like an IRB Auditor
  • Staff Costs, Welfare & Employee Benefits
  • Entertainment, Customers, Suppliers & Promotional Spending
  • Bad Debts: When a Write-Off Is Not Enough
  • Payroll, Cash Wages & Foreign-Worker Risk
  • Repairs, Maintenance, Renovation & Capital Expenditure
  • Non-Deductible & High-Risk Payments
OBJECTIVE

Turn Business-Expense Tax Rules into practical, defensible decisions.

 

Participants will learn how to distinguish deductible, restricted, capital and private expenses; apply the “wholly and exclusively” test; identify high-risk claims; strengthen E-Invoice and supporting-document trails; and prepare expense files that can survive IRB scrutiny.

 

The course is built around the core audit mindset: payment alone is not enough - the taxpayer must be able to prove the business purpose, legal eligibility, documents and payment trail.

AFTER ATTENDING THIS COURSE YOU WILL RETURN TO YOUR JOB…
  1. Applying the Section 33(1) business-purpose test and recognising Section 39 restrictions.
  2. Separating revenue expenses from capital expenditure and private/dual-purpose costs.
  3. Assessing staff welfare, entertainment, gifts, angpows, “Pak Kam”, meals and company trips.
  4. Building evidence for bad debts, wages, foreign- worker costs, repairs and maintenance.
  5. Spotting common IRB audit red flags before the tax return is filed.
  6. Improving invoice descriptions, GL coding, approvals, policies and payment trails.
  7. Responding more confident
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
  • Business Owners
  • Directors
  • Finance Managers
  • Accountants
  • Tax and Audit Personnel
  • HR/Payroll teams
  • Accounts Executives and Advisors responsible for expense claims, documentation or tax computations.
METHODOLOGY
  • Practical Examples
  • Audit Scenarios
  • Case Discussions
  • Document Checklists
  • “Deductible / Restricted / Add-Back?” Decision Points
  • Common Mistakes And Defence Strategies.
COURSE CONTENT
9:00

THE DEDUCTIBILITY TEST: THINK LIKE AN IRB AUDITOR

- Section 33(1); Wholly & Exclusively; Business Vs Private/Dual Purpose; Revenue Vs Capital; Burden Of Proof; The Four-Part Defence: Purpose, Eligibility, Documents and Payment Trail

9:45

STAFF COSTS, WELFARE & EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

- Staff Meals, Overtime Refreshments, Annual Dinners, Festive Celebrations, Farewell Events, Family Day, Wedding/Baby Gifts, Condolence Support, Angpows; HR Policy, Reasonableness, Payroll/Form EA Implications And Evidence

10.45

ENTERTAINMENT, CUSTOMERS, SUPPLIERS & PROMOTIONAL SPENDING

- Entertainment Definition; 50% Vs 100% Treatment; Client Meals, Gifts and Hampers; Cash Angpows; Supplier/ Vendor Spending; Separating Staff and Outsider Costs; E-Invoice and Attendance vidence

11.45

BAD DEBTS: WHEN A WRITE-OFF IS NOT ENOUGH

- Trade vs Non-Trade Debts; Irrecoverability; Recovery Efforts; Contemporaneous Evidence; Ageing, Reminders, Negotiations, Legal Steps and Approvals; Lessons From The Nam Leong Department Store Case.

12.35

PAYROLL, CASH WAGES & FOREIGN-WORKER RISK

- Genuine Employment Evidence; Payroll Trail; Cash Wage Red Flags; Permits and Manpower Agencies; PCB/MTD, Form E, EA and Employee Notifications; Reconciling HR, Finance, Tax and Immigration Records.

1:00 Lunch
2:00

cont. PAYROLL, CASH WAGES & FOREIGN- WORKER RISK

3:45

REPAIRS, MAINTENANCE, RENOVATION & CAPITAL EXPENDITURE

- Repair vs Improvement; Initial Repairs; Replacement of Parts vs Entire Asset; Buildings, Vehicles and Equipment; Invoice Wording; Before/After Photos; Splitting Repair and Upgrade Costs

3:45

NON-DEDUCTIBLE & HIGH-RISK PAYMENTS

- Personal/Domestic Costs; Fines and Penalties; Bribes, Kickbacks and Unofficial Payments; Withholding-Tax Restrictions; Capital Outlay; Accounting Treatment vs Tax Treatment

3:45

AUDIT DEFENCE WORKSHOP: MAKE THE FILE SPEAK FOR IT SELF

- IRB Challenge Checklist; GL Coding; Approvals and Board Resolutions; E-Invoice Support; Seven-Year Record Discipline; Handling Arbitrary Add-Backs; Using Facts, Evidence and Professional Judgement When AI Answers are too General

5:00 End of Course