B40, M40 and study aid: who qualifies, and the cash you need first

Families hear "B40" and "M40" everywhere, but each aid scheme sets its own income test, and being eligible is not the same as having the money on registration day. This guide shows what the labels mean, which test each main federal scheme uses, what the aid pays for, when it arrives, and the cash to have ready before it does.

Key facts

• In DOSM's 2024 household income survey, the bottom 40% of households earned less than RM5,860 a month and the top 20% earned RM12,680 or more, in gross household income.^[1]
• PTPTN gives the full loan only if you or your parent or guardian is listed as an STR (Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah) recipient. Otherwise you get 75% or 50% of the maximum, depending on whether family income is above RM8,000 a month.^[2]
• For STR 2026, a household qualified if its total gross monthly income was RM5,000 or less.^[3]
• PTPTN pays the loan within 21 working days of receiving your complete documents, while Universiti Malaya charges fees as you register each semester.^[2][4]
• STR families going to a public university or polytechnic can get a RM1,500 advance (WPP) before registration. It is part of the loan, not extra money.^[5]

B40, M40 and T20: where the words come from

The labels come from the Household Income Survey run by DOSM (the Department of Statistics Malaysia). DOSM ranks households by gross monthly income and splits them into ten equal groups, called deciles. Its 2024 report labels the groups D1 to D4 (the bottom 40%, which schemes call B40), D5 to D8 (the middle 40%, or M40) and D9 to D10 (the top 20%, or T20).^[1]

The latest survey covers 2024 and was published on 8 October 2025.^[6] Its national lines were:

These lines are calculated from DOSM's 2024 quintile boundaries.^[1] The median household earned RM7,017 a month in 2024.^[6]

Three things to know before you use them:

• They are national lines. DOSM also works out separate lines for each state, and for urban and rural areas, so the same income can sit in a different group depending on which line a scheme uses.^[7]
• "Gross" means all income. DOSM counts paid work, self-employment, income from property and investments, and transfers received, for the whole household.^[6]
• A scheme can use its own line. Some schemes still quote older figures, and some use income per person rather than household income. "We are M40" does not answer "do we qualify". Read the scheme's own rule.

Which test each scheme uses

Each row below is what the scheme's own page said when we checked on 23 October 2026.

Two notes on this table:

• DB40's line is lower than DOSM's. RM5,249 is below DOSM's 2024 B40 line of RM5,860, and the page calls it income "per capita" without saying how it is calculated.^[8][1] Ask JPA how they work it out before you decide you do not qualify.
• "Priority" is not a cut-off. JPA and MARA say lower-income families come first, but they do not publish a line, so a family just above B40 can still apply.^[9][10]

STR, eKasih and tax records

• STR is the government's cash aid. Its portal is run by LHDN (the Inland Revenue Board) and its secretariat sits in the Ministry of Finance. For 2026, the household category needed total gross household income of RM5,000 a month or less. Applications for STR 2027 are open all year from 15 October 2026.^[3][15] It matters for study because PTPTN's full loan and the WPP advance both depend on being listed as an STR recipient.^[2][5]
• eKasih is the national record of poor and hardcore poor households, kept by the Prime Minister's Department (ICU JPM). STR 2026 paid extra SARA aid to households on it.^[3] MARA's 2024 application guide asks families in the poorest group for a printout of their eKasih status as proof of income.^[16] The PTPTN and JPA pages we read do not mention eKasih.
• Tax records: MARA's 2024 guide asks working parents for their latest payslip and BE form (the income tax return for employees), or a letter from their employer.^[16]

If a parent is self-employed or has irregular income

There is no single national rule. Here is what the pages say.

• MARA: a parent who is self-employed, not working, without income or a housewife fills in an income verification form (Borang Pengesahan Pendapatan) stating their monthly income. A listed officer must certify it, for example a government officer at grade 41 or above, a lecturer at a public university, polytechnic or community college, a government doctor, a commissioner for oaths, or a penghulu, ketua kampung or JKKK chair. A parent with no income must declare that too.^[16] This comes from MARA's July 2024 guide for its World's Top Universities programme, so check the current guide for the scheme you apply to.
• PTPTN: if a loan is refused because parents' gross income is above RM50,000, you can appeal with supporting documents such as payslips. The outcome depends on the documents and on available funds.^[2] An unmarried student must give their biological parents' details, even when living with a guardian such as a grandparent.^[2]
• If income has dropped, for example after a job loss, check whether the household now qualifies for STR. PTPTN's full loan and the WPP advance follow STR status, not a fresh income check.^[2][5]
• JPA: the DB40 page does not say what proof of income it accepts. Ask JPA before the window opens.^[8]

If you are 17 or 18

• STR counts you as your parents' child. STR lists children aged 18 and under, and children aged 19 and over who are studying full time at a public or private higher education institution, if they have no income. A full-time student at those institutions cannot apply as a single person (bujang) in their own name.^[3] So your parents' STR record is the one that matters for PTPTN.
• JPA student programmes need you to be under 19 on 31 December of your SPM year (under 20 for "peralihan" students) and sitting SPM for the first time.^[8]
• Matrikulasi needs you to be 20 or under when you apply and a current SPM candidate.^[12]

Does the aid cover living costs?

• PTPTN pays into your own account each semester. Your institution, not PTPTN, deals with fee deductions, and PTPTN takes off takaful (insurance) and any WPP you received.^[2] Whatever is left after fees is what you live on.
• Matrikulasi gives free tuition and accommodation, plus BSHP for eligible students. The amount is not stated on the official page.^[12]
• Public skills institutes can cover far more than fees. A 15-month certificate at ADTEC JTM Kampus Selandar listed free tuition, a free hostel, four free meals a day and an allowance of RM100 (RM300 for OKU students).^[13] A 24-month course at IKBN Wakaf Tapai was fully sponsored by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, with RM100 to RM300 a month, a free hostel and three meals a day.^[14] Every course is different, so read its own page.
• Public university fees exclude the hostel. Universiti Malaya's fees for the 2025/2026 UPU intake do not include accommodation.^[4]
• DB40 is a grant (dermasiswa). The page does not say how much it pays or what for.^[8]
• One sponsor at a time. JPA does not allow other financial help at the same level of study, and MARA does not allow double sponsorship.^[8][10] State schemes have their own rules: see Scholarships and loans from your state.

When the money arrives

• PTPTN: the loan offer is valid for 14 days from approval. Money is credited within 21 working days of PTPTN receiving complete documents. Each later semester needs a GPA of 2.0 or more.^[2]
• WPP advance: you agree to it when you apply through UPU or the institution. You print the WPP offer letter from the PTPTN portal and cash it at any Bank Islam counter with your own MyKad (nobody can collect it for you), within 2 months of the letter's date.^[5]
• Fees: Universiti Malaya charges fees as you register each semester.^[4]
• JPA, MARA and matrikulasi: the pages we read do not say when money is paid. Ask in writing when you get the offer.

Cash you need before aid arrives

Use this as a checklist. Where an official page gives a figure we show it, with its year. Where it does not, write "unknown" in your own plan, never zero.

What this means for you

• Know your family's real status before the offers come. Check three things: is anyone in the household listed for STR, what is gross household income, and what is income per person. Different schemes use different ones.
• Plan to pay the first bills yourself. Fees and deposits are due when you register, and PTPTN can take up to 21 working days after your documents are complete. Even a family that qualifies for full aid needs cash for the first weeks.
• The WPP advance helps, but it is a loan. RM1,500 before registration is useful for an STR family, and RM500 comes off each semester's loan afterwards.^[5]
• Self-employed parents need paperwork early. Find an officer or ketua kampung who can certify income before applications open, not during the window.
• "Priority for B40" does not mean "only B40". If the page publishes no line, you can apply and let the sponsor decide.

Your next step

1. Parents: log in to the STR portal(opens in a new tab) and check that your application is current and lists your child. STR 2027 applications are open all year from 15 October 2026.^[15]
2. For each place on your shortlist, email the bursary office: "What must a new student pay on registration day, including hostel, deposits and fees, and when is each due?" Put the answers in the checklist above.

Related guides: PTPTN basics, Scholarships and study loans after SPM, Studying from Sabah, Sarawak or a rural area and How to check a course is accredited.