Fuel · BUDI95 2026
BUDI95 Explained: What Your RON95 Really Costs Under the Monthly Quota
Malaysia's targeted RON95 subsidy gives eligible citizens a fixed RM1.99/litre up to a monthly quota — cut from 300 L to 200 L in April 2026, then restored to 300 L on 1 September. Here is how the billing formula works, what the quota changes mean for your fuel bill, and how to read your effective cost per litre.
Since late 2025, every eligible Malaysian citizen who fills up RON95 has been operating under a two-tier pricing system. Buy within your monthly quota and you pay the subsidised RM1.99/litre. Buy beyond it and you pay the unsubsidised market price, which floats week by week via the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM). That split — subsidised litres cheap, excess litres at market — is the core mechanic of BUDI95, Malaysia's targeted RON95 subsidy programme. This guide explains how the quota works, what the 2026 quota cut (and its September restoration) means for your bill, and how to calculate your real cost per litre.
What is BUDI95?
BUDI95 is the government's targeted petrol subsidy for RON95, rolled out in late 2025. Rather than subsidising every litre sold at every pump — regardless of who is buying — BUDI95 restricts the RM1.99/litre subsidised price to eligible Malaysian citizens aged 16 and above who hold a valid driving licence. The subsidy is linked to your MyKad and vehicle registration; when you fill up at a participating pump, the system checks whether you have quota remaining for the month.
- Eligible: Malaysian citizens aged 16+, valid driving licence, registered vehicle.
- Not eligible: Foreigners, foreign-registered vehicles, and companies — all pay the unsubsidised market price regardless of volume.
- Subsidised price: Fixed at RM1.99/litre through 2026, regardless of market moves.
- Full-time e-hailing drivers qualify for a higher monthly quota of up to 800 litres, depending on the distance they drive, reflecting their professional mileage.
The quota — cut in April, restored in September 2026
When BUDI95 launched, the monthly quota was set at 300 litres. From 1 April 2026 the government temporarily reduced it to 200 litres as global oil prices rose, noting that around 90% of users consumed under 200 litres a month anyway. On 30 August 2026 the government announced the quota would return to 300 litres from 1 September 2026, a change the Finance Ministry says benefits more than 16 million users of subsidised RON95. The subsidised price itself never moved from RM1.99.
- Original quota
- 300 L/month
- Apr – Aug 2026 (temporary)
- 200 L/month
- From 1 Sep 2026
- 300 L/month
- E-hailing quota
- Up to 800 L/month
Average subsidised consumption is estimated at around 83 litres per month (a mid-2026 figure), so even the temporary 200 L cap covered most everyday drivers comfortably. The cut bit hardest on high-mileage private drivers — those commuting long distances daily — who had relied on the full 300 L at RM1.99, and they are the ones who gain most from the restoration. Quotas are set by government policy and have already changed once this year, so check the current allocation before relying on any figure here.
How the market price is set — the APM
Any litre you purchase above your quota is charged at the unsubsidised market price, which is not fixed. The Malaysian government adjusts RON95 market prices weekly under the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM), a formula-based system that tracks global crude oil prices and refining margins. Prices are announced each Wednesday for the following Thursday-to-Wednesday window.
For the week of 15 – 21 October 2026, the unsubsidised RON95 market price is RM4.62/litre — down 5 sen from RM4.67 the prior week (RON97 is RM5.10 and diesel RM5.17). This is the reference rate used in the worked example below. Current and historical weekly prices are published at data.gov.my/data-catalogue/fuelprice.
The billing formula
Your monthly RON95 bill under BUDI95 follows a straightforward two-part formula. Let L be total litres consumed, Q be your monthly quota (300 L for most citizens), and M be the current market price per litre:
- Subsidised portion: min(L, Q) × RM1.99
- Unsubsidised excess: max(0, L − Q) × M
- Total bill: sum of the two above
- Subsidy savings: subsidised litres × (M − 1.99)
- Effective cost/litre: total bill ÷ L
Everything at or below your quota is billed at RM1.99. Every litre above the quota is billed at the full market rate. There is no blending or pro-rating — the cutover is a hard threshold.
Worked example: 350 L at market RM4.62
A driver using 350 litres in a month when the market price is RM4.62/litre, with a 300 L quota:
- Subsidised (300 L × RM1.99)
- RM 597.00
- Excess (50 L × RM4.62)
- RM 231.00
- Total bill
- RM 828.00
- Vs full market (350 × RM4.62)
- RM 1,617.00
- Subsidy saving
- RM 789.00
- Effective cost/litre
- RM 2.366
The saving of RM789.00 is equal to 300 litres × (RM4.62 − RM1.99) = 300 × RM2.63. The effective rate of RM2.366/litre sits between the subsidised RM1.99 and the market RM4.62 — a blended rate that reflects what share of consumption falls within quota.
What the temporary cut cost — and what the restoration gives back
For a driver using 350 L per month, the April–August cap of 200 L meant 150 litres were billed at the market rate; with the quota back at 300 L, only 50 litres are. At today's RM4.62 market price, those 100 litres of restored quota are worth 100 × (4.62 − 1.99) = RM263/month in the driver's pocket. Drivers who stayed under 200 L were never affected — their entire consumption remained subsidised throughout.
The closer your monthly consumption sits to the quota threshold, the more any change matters. A driver at 180 L/month felt nothing from the April cut and gains nothing from the September restoration. A driver at 350 L/month saw a material step up in cost during the cap and a matching step back down now. The impact is asymmetric by mileage.
Who pays market price from the first litre?
Foreigners and foreign-registered vehicles are excluded from BUDI95 entirely. They pay the market price on every litre of RON95 purchased at Malaysian pumps. At RM4.62/litre, a foreigner filling a 50-litre tank pays RM231 where an eligible Malaysian would pay RM99.50 (50 × RM1.99) — a gap of RM131.50 per fill-up for the same volume. Companies and fleet vehicles registered under business entities similarly cannot access BUDI95; they fill at the market rate.
BUDI95 and your income tier
The targeted design of BUDI95 reflects a fiscal reality: blanket subsidies flow disproportionately to high-income households, which own more vehicles and drive further. By capping the subsidy at a monthly quota, the government concentrates savings where consumption is typical — the Finance Ministry's own figures show roughly 90% of drivers use under 200 L/month — while reducing the windfall to high-mileage private users. If you want to understand where your household sits in Malaysia's income distribution and how that might relate to subsidy policy, the B40/M40/T20 explainer walks through how DOSM's income tiers are defined and what they mean in practice.
Common questions
- Does unused quota roll over to the next month? No. Each monthly quota allocation is use-it-or-lose-it. Any unused portion from the current month does not carry forward.
- What if I drive multiple vehicles? The quota is linked to the registered vehicle and driver. Households with multiple registered vehicles each have their own quota allocation per vehicle under the registered owner — check your vehicle registration for specifics.
- What about RON97? RON97 is not covered by BUDI95 and has always been sold at market price. BUDI95 applies only to RON95.
- What about diesel? Diesel has its own targeted scheme, BUDI Diesel, which sells at a subsidised RM2.10/litre to eligible owners from 1 July 2026. It is separate from this calculator, which covers RON95 only.
- Is the subsidised price the same at all pumps? Yes — the RM1.99 subsidised price applies at all participating BUDI95 pumps nationwide; it is not station-specific.
Calculate your own bill
Every driver's consumption is different. Use the Petrol Subsidy Calculator to enter your monthly litres and current market price — it applies the BUDI95 formula, shows your subsidised and above-quota costs, and calculates your effective cost per litre and total monthly saving. For broader financial context, the B40/M40/T20 income-tier guide explains how household income is classified in Malaysia and how targeted subsidy design relates to those tiers.