Malaysia toll charges for Singapore cars: every fee on the drive to JB and beyond (2026)

You clear the Malaysian checkpoint at the Causeway, and RM20 comes off your card before your first meal in JB. That's the road charge, and it's only the first of the Malaysia toll charges a Singapore car pays. The highway tolls come after, and they grow with every kilometre you drive. A one-way run on the North-South Expressway from Skudai, near JB, to Sungai Besi on the edge of Kuala Lumpur is RM33.21 for a private car. Here's every fee on the drive, which ones are fixed and where the small ones add up.

What does a Singapore car pay to drive into Malaysia?

There's no single toll for driving into Malaysia. You pay in layers, and each one is charged its own way.

Some layers are fixed and some grow with distance. A JB food run might cost you RM25, while a KL trip can surprise you with RM60 of highway tolls.

The table shows the full stack for a Class 1 private car as of October 2026. We've added Singapore's checkpoint fees too, since you pay them on the same trip, even though they aren't Malaysian tolls.

For the whole day trip with fuel and parking, our Singapore to Johor cost breakdown runs the numbers, forex included.

Cost layers for a Singapore Class 1 car entering Malaysia (as of October 2026)
Charge	Amount	Fixed or scales	Paid via
Singapore departure fee (Woodlands)	S$0.80	Fixed per exit	ERP / in-vehicle unit
Singapore departure fee (Tuas)	S$2.10	Fixed per exit	ERP / in-vehicle unit
Malaysia road charge on entry	RM20	Fixed per entry	Touch 'n Go / RFID
Causeway / Second Link CIQ toll	Built into electronic payment	Fixed per crossing	Touch 'n Go / SmartTAG / RFID
Highway toll (e.g. NSE to KL)	from ~RM33 one-way	Scales with distance	Touch 'n Go / RFID
Reciprocal charge if a Malaysia car enters SG	S$6.40	Fixed per entry	Collected at SG checkpoint

When does the RM20 road charge come off your card?

Every time you drive into Malaysia. Each foreign-registered car pays RM20 per entry, taken from your Touch 'n Go balance or RFID-linked wallet as you clear the Malaysian side.

It's separate from the highway tolls, and separate from the Vehicle Entry Permit too.

Is a weekend with two crossings still RM20? No. The charge is per entry, so that weekend costs you RM40.

The road charge comes off the same card you use for tolls. That's why a near-empty card can stall you at the gantry, with a queue of cars behind you. Keep at least RM50 on it before you leave home.

A cartoon chicken sweats with wide eyes, then mops its face with its red wattle — When the gantry wants RM20 and your card has less. via GIPHY

You can't claim the road charge back, and it doesn't count toward Singapore's GST relief on goods. It's simply what a foreign car pays to use Malaysian roads.

How do you pay Malaysian tolls from a Singapore car?

You need a Malaysian card or tag, set up before you cross.

Your EZ-Link card won't work at a Malaysian toll booth, and neither will NETS or a foreign bank card. PLUS stopped taking cash on its expressways. The Causeway and Second Link CIQ tolls take only electronic payment too.

The table below compares the three that work.

Which one is the default now? RFID. Malaysia is moving toward barrier-free tolling, so more lanes are RFID-only. Some stretches of the North-South Expressway are among them. SmartTAG units are being phased out.

The physical Touch 'n Go card still works at most plazas, and it's the simplest first card for an occasional visitor. Our Touch 'n Go card guide covers reloading from Singapore and the balance fees that quietly eat your card.

An empty standard Touch 'n Go card costs RM10.
An RFID tag costs RM35 one time with no subscription, and it draws on the Touch 'n Go e-wallet.
Keep at least RM50 on your balance to cover the RM20 road charge plus tolls.
Reloads come in RM10, RM20, RM50 and RM100.

Malaysia toll payment methods for Singapore cars (as of October 2026)
Method	Upfront cost	How it pays	Best for
Touch 'n Go card	RM10 (empty card)	Tap at booth, balance deducted	Occasional day trips
Touch 'n Go RFID tag	RM35 one-time	Auto-scan, drawn from e-wallet	Regular drivers, NSE trips
SmartTAG transponder	Being phased out	In-car device reads card	Existing owners only

How do you pay the Causeway and Second Link tolls?

By card or tag only, because both crossings charge a toll on the Malaysian side and take no cash.

At the Causeway, the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar CIQ toll plaza takes Touch 'n Go, SmartTAG or RFID from every vehicle. The Second Link plaza at Tanjung Kupang works the same way.

Do you get a festive discount on the crossing? No. Both plazas are deliberately left out of Malaysia's festive toll-discount campaigns, so the holiday rebate never reaches them.

Singapore takes its own departure fee each time you leave: S$0.80 at Woodlands and S$2.10 at Tuas. These aren't Malaysian tolls, but they land on the same trip.

A Malaysia-registered car driving into Singapore pays a reciprocal S$6.40 charge instead. (Worth knowing if you ever borrow a cousin's car from JB.)

Quick maths: what does the NSE cost from JB to KL?

From Skudai near JB to Sungai Besi, it's RM33.21 one way for a Class 1 car as of October 2026.

The North-South Expressway (NSE), run by PLUS, is a closed system. You tag in at one plaza and pay at another, and the toll depends on the distance between them.

Sungai Besi is the NSE's southern gate into Kuala Lumpur. If you stay on to Jalan Duta, it's RM38.54.

Make it a return trip and you're at about RM66 in highway tolls alone. The road charge and the crossing come on top of that.

A JB-only trip costs far less, since you barely touch the tolled network. A meal in town and a mall visit might cost you only the RM20 road charge and the Causeway toll, with little or no NSE toll.

On a JB day, more of your money usually goes on fuel and forex than on tolls. Before you go, check the running cost of the car itself with our car cost calculator, so the toll line stays in proportion.

The NSE charges by distance: Skudai to Sungai Besi is RM33.21 one way for a private car (October 2026).
Malaysia kept 2026 toll rates unchanged on 10 highways. PLUS car rates haven't moved since an 18% cut in February 2020.
Festive discount campaigns can cut some highway tolls by 50% on set dates, but never the Causeway or Second Link.
RFID-only lanes are spreading, so a tag saves you hunting for a card lane.

The catch: which costs aren't tolls but land on the same trip?

Three rules that have nothing to do with tolls can still cost you real money. Skip one and a cheap trip turns into a fined one, so they belong in any honest toll budget.

Sort out the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) before anything else. Every foreign car needs one, and the Causeway is where it's checked. Driving in without a valid tag can mean a RM300 compound fine. Our VEP cost guide for Singapore cars walks through the whole process.

Do you need a VEP as well as the road charge?

Yes. Every foreign car needs one, and it's checked at the Causeway.
Driving in without a valid VEP risks a RM300 compound fine (around S$90).
It's separate from the RM20 road charge and from highway tolls.

How full does your tank need to be when you leave Singapore?

A Singapore car has to leave with its tank at least three-quarters full.
Singapore's penalty is S$100, and repeat offences cost S$300, then S$500.
In Malaysia, foreign cars have to use RON 97, not the subsidised RON 95.

How much can you bring back without paying GST?

GST relief covers S$100 of goods if you were away under 48 hours.
It rises to S$500 if you were away 48 hours or more.
Tolls and the road charge don't count toward this relief.

What does a JB day trip cost in tolls next to a KL weekend?

Say you cross the Causeway to JB and back for a day of food and shopping. You pay the RM20 road charge and the Causeway toll, and almost no NSE toll.

That puts your Malaysian road bill near RM25, plus a small Singapore departure fee. The card and RFID tag are one-time costs, so you only pay them on your first trip.

Spread the RM10 card and RM35 tag over many trips and they fade to almost nothing. The NSE distance toll is what moves your budget, as a KL weekend shows.

You still pay the RM20 road charge and the Causeway crossing.
The NSE adds roughly RM33 each way, so about RM66 in highway tolls.
Toll-wise, the KL return comes to near RM90 before fuel.

The MoneyBees take: what we'd check first

We'd look at where you're driving before choosing a card or a tag. For a JB day trip, an RM10 card covers the RM20 road charge and the crossing, as long as it holds at least RM50.

An RFID tag costs RM35 once and saves you hunting for a card lane on the North-South Expressway, where a KL return adds about RM66 in tolls. What settles it is how often you'll drive past JB.

Frequently asked questions

How much are Malaysia toll charges for a Singapore car in 2026?

You pay a fixed RM20 road charge each time you enter, plus the Causeway or Second Link crossing toll, plus highway tolls that grow with distance. A JB-only day stays near RM25 in Malaysian charges. A Kuala Lumpur return adds roughly RM66 in North-South Expressway tolls on top.

Do I need a Touch 'n Go card or RFID tag to pay Malaysia tolls?

Yes. Malaysian toll booths don't take Singapore EZ-Link, NETS or foreign cards, and the Causeway and Second Link CIQ tolls are electronic only. A standard Touch 'n Go card costs RM10 and an RFID tag costs RM35 one time. Both draw on a balance you top up. Keep it above RM50.

Is the RM20 road charge the same as the VEP or the toll?

No, they're three separate things, and you can owe all three on one trip. The RM20 road charge is taken each time you enter, for using Malaysian roads. Highway tolls are distance-based fees on expressways like the NSE. The VEP is an entry permit every foreign car needs, and driving in without one risks a RM300 fine.

Are Malaysia tolls going up in 2026?

No rise has been announced. Malaysia's Works Ministry kept toll rates on 10 highways unchanged for 2026, at an estimated cost to the government of RM591.56 million. PLUS car rates on the North-South Expressway haven't changed since an 18% cut in February 2020. Festive campaigns can halve some highway tolls on set dates, but never the Causeway or Second Link crossings.

Sources

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This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.

Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).