Malta tax rates 2026: income tax and corporate tax

Malta tax rates in 2026: the short version

Malta charges companies 35% income tax - the highest headline rate in the European Union - and then hands six sevenths of it back to the shareholder. The treasury keeps 5%. That one mechanism is why an island of just over half a million people hosts holding and trading companies from all over the world.

For individuals the key question is status, not the rate. An ordinary resident pays income tax on a 0-35% scale on worldwide income. A foreigner who has moved to Malta but has not made it a permanent home pays only on what is earned on the island or brought to the island.

Malta uses the euro; amounts below are in US dollars with euros in brackets, at the market rate of 20 October 2026, 1.1229 dollars per euro. Taxes are collected by the MTCA - Malta Tax and Customs Administration. The main statute is the Income Tax Act, and it covers both individuals and companies.

What Malta does not have at all: an annual property tax, a wealth tax, an inheritance tax or a gift tax.

What changed in 2025-2026

• Parent tax bands. Since 1 January 2026 families with children have their own, higher tax-free thresholds, and these rise again in 2027 and 2028.
• A 15% rate for companies. Legal Notice 188 of 2025 lets a company pay a final 15% with no shareholder refunds.
• One regime for skilled employees. From 1 January 2026, Legal Notice 20 of 2026 replaced five earlier schemes with one: 15% on a salary of $73,000 (65,000 euros) or more.
• Tax programmes for foreigners get more expensive. From 1 January 2027 their minimum tax rises from $16,900 (15,000 euros) to $39,400 (35,000 euros) a year (Legal Notice 195 of 2026).

To compare Malta with other jurisdictions, see our overview of taxes by country and the comparison of taxes in Europe.

Compare taxes in 146 countries: relocation taxes 2026

Who is a tax resident of Malta and what domicile means

In Malta your tax bill depends on two things at once: where you live and where your permanent home is. The first is residence, the second is domicile. A foreigner can live on the island for years, be resident, and still have no Maltese domicile. The non-dom regime is built on exactly that gap, and it is the cheapest legal way to live in the European Union on foreign income.

Residence. Anyone who spends more than 183 days in Malta in a calendar year is resident for that year. But the day count is not the only test: someone who arrives intending to stay is treated as resident even before 183 days have passed. How the 183-day rule works in different countries is covered in our article on tax residency and the 183-day rule.

Domicile is a concept from English law. It is the country treated as your permanent home: by default you take your father's domicile at birth, and it does not change simply because you move. Someone arriving from another country keeps a foreign domicile until they decide to settle in Malta for good.

This is called the remittance basis: tax is due when income is brought into the country. A salary from a foreign employer, dividends and interest left in an account outside Malta stay outside Maltese tax. Transfer them to a Maltese account or spend them on life on the island and they become taxable on the general scale of up to 35%.

The $5,620 (5,000 euros) minimum tax

The non-dom regime stopped being free in 2018. If the family's foreign income for the year is $39,400 (35,000 euros) or more and it is not remitted to Malta in full, the minimum tax is $5,620 (5,000 euros) a year. Any Maltese tax paid during the year counts towards it, except final tax on the sale of Maltese real estate.

Worked example in euros. You receive $225,000 (200,000 euros) of dividends abroad each year and remit $33,700 (30,000 euros) to Malta for living costs. Tax on $33,700 (30,000 euros) at the single resident rates is $4,610 (4,100 euros). That is below the minimum, so you pay $5,620 (5,000 euros). Malta does not touch the remaining $191,000 (170,000 euros).

Who loses the non-dom treatment

The regime does not apply to spouses of people who are resident and domiciled in Malta, or to holders of European Union long-term resident status and permanent residence under European Union rules - they pay on worldwide income. Long-term status brings full taxation with it.

A second limit that is rarely mentioned: a Maltese residence permit or permanent residence does not by itself make you a tax resident. The card gives the right to live in Malta; tax status comes from actually living there.

Malta tax residency: how to become a resident and count the days

Malta makes you resident if a calendar year holds more than 183 days. Someone who arrives intending to stay is also resident, even before 183 days. Separately from residency, Malta looks at domicile, your permanent home in a broad sense.

A resident without a Maltese domicile pays tax on local income and on foreign income only when it is remitted to Malta. A non-resident pays only on Maltese income. The status is confirmed by the Commissioner for Revenue.

Mistakes cost more: money sent to a Maltese account without a plan becomes taxable income. Murblz support removes these risks: we count days, plan the transfers and obtain the certificate. We guarantee professional work and a transparent process, and in most cases a result on the first filing.

Talk to a manager now

Malta income tax rates and how much of a salary is left

The first $13,500 (12,000 euros) a year is not taxed in Malta at all, and the top 35% rate starts at $67,400 (60,001 euros). In neighbouring Cyprus $24,800 (22,000 euros) is tax-free; in Italy the scale starts at 23% and climbs to 43%. Malta sits between them: gentle on small incomes and moderate on mid-range ones.

There are three sets of rates. Single people, and spouses who opt for separate computation, use the single rates. Spouses filing jointly use the married rates. Parents who maintain a child under 18 (or under 23 if in full-time education) use the parent rates.

New bands for families with children

The 2026 Budget introduced separate thresholds for families with children and set out their growth for three years ahead. A couple with two children pays no tax on the first $25,300 (22,500 euros) in 2026 and on the first $41,600 (37,000 euros) by 2028.

The awkward detail: the new bands were not written for everyone. They go to citizens of Malta, the European Union and the European Economic Area, and among everyone else only to holders of long-term resident status whose child was born and lives in Malta. A family from outside the European Union that moves with children stays on the ordinary married and parent rates.

Worked salary example

The employer withholds tax and contributions and pays them to the treasury - the system is called FSS, the Final Settlement System.

Worked example for a single resident with no children, gross salary, 2026:

How the $45,000 (40,000 euros) line is calculated: the first $13,500 (12,000 euros) at 0, the next $4,500 (4,000 euros) at 15% is $674 (600 euros), the remaining $27,000 (24,000 euros) at 25% is $6,740 (6,000 euros). Total tax: $7,420 (6,600 euros). The employee contribution hits the cap: $63 (55.93 euros) a week for 52 weeks is $3,270 (2,908 euros). The combined burden is 23.8% of gross salary.

Because contributions are capped, the burden on high salaries grows more slowly than the scale suggests: on $89,900 (80,000 euros) it is 26.9%, not 35%.

There are a few targeted reliefs too: qualifying part-time work is taxed at 10% on up to $11,300 (10,000 euros) a year, and overtime at 15% on the first $11,300 (10,000 euros) where the basic wage is no more than $422 (375 euros) a week.

Social security contributions in Malta in 2026

Contributions in Malta are capped: an employee never pays more than $63 (55.93 euros) a week, whatever the salary. That is $3,270 (2,908 euros) a year. In Italy or France, social security on a $113,000 (100,000 euros) salary costs several times more.

The basic rate is 10% of the wage from the employee and the same from the employer. The cap kicks in once the annual salary reaches $32,700 (29,084 euros). The amounts are revised every January. Contributions fund the state pension, sickness and unemployment benefits, and access to public healthcare.

The figures in the table apply to people born in 1962 or later; the caps for the older generation are lower.

Worked example for an employer, in euros. An employee on $45,000 (40,000 euros) a year costs the company $48,300 (42,996 euros): the salary plus $3,270 (2,908 euros) of contributions and $98 (87 euros) to the maternity leave fund. A salary of $28,100 (25,000 euros) is below the cap: the employer contribution is $2,810 (2,500 euros) plus $84 (75 euros) to the fund.

The self-employed pay contributions in three instalments together with provisional income tax - in April, August and December.

Malta splits Class 2 payers into two groups. Self-occupied persons work for themselves: sole traders, freelancers, owners of professional practices. Self-employed persons, despite the name, do not work but receive income from rent, investments or capital gains. Both groups pay contributions, so anyone living on Maltese investment income should check their class in advance.

No Maltese contributions are due from employees of foreign companies who remain in their home country's social security system: under an A1 certificate for European Union countries or under a bilateral social security agreement. In every other case, working in Malta means Maltese contributions.

Malta corporate tax rate: 35%, 5% or 15%

On a profit of $113,000 (100,000 euros), a Maltese company pays $39,400 (35,000 euros) in tax. It then distributes a dividend, and the shareholder gets $33,700 (30,000 euros) back from the tax authority. Malta keeps $5,620 (5,000 euros), which is 5%. For comparison: Cyprus has charged 15% since 2026, and Ireland charges 12.5% on trading profits.

The mechanism is called the full imputation system. Tax paid by the company is treated as a prepayment of the shareholder's tax. Once the profit is distributed, the shareholder claims part of it back.

The last line is the participation exemption. It applies when a Maltese company holds at least 5% of a subsidiary's equity and meets the other statutory conditions. That is why Malta is chosen for holding structures.

What the 5% figure does not tell you

The money is locked up. The company first pays the full 35%, and the refund reaches the shareholder later, after the dividend is distributed and a claim is filed.

The refund goes to the shareholder, not the company. If the shareholder is an individual who is tax resident elsewhere, the refund and the dividend are income in that country. Owners resident in countries with controlled foreign company rules should keep them in mind: 5% in Malta does not settle the question of tax at home.

Groups have it easier. The Consolidated Group (Income Tax) Rules have applied since 2019: a parent and its subsidiary are treated as one taxpayer and pay the final rate straight away, with no pay-first, refund-later cycle.

Reporting is serious. Audited annual accounts are mandatory for almost every company.

The 15% rate with no refunds

Since 2 September 2025 companies have had a choice. Legal Notice 188 of 2025 introduced Final Income Tax Without Imputation. The company pays 15% on its profit and that is the end of it: no refunds and no credit for the shareholder. The election lasts at least five years, and the tax under the new regime cannot be lower than it would have been under the standard system after refunds.

Why pay 15% instead of 5%? Because of other countries' tax rules. For large multinational groups with revenue of $843 million (750 million euros) or more, the global minimum tax tops the burden up to 15% anyway. And the tax authorities of a number of countries treat a rate below 15% as a sign of a preferential regime and apply their own restrictions to such companies. Malta itself used the deferral allowed by the European Union directive and postponed the main minimum tax rules for up to six years.

Dividends

There is no separate dividend tax. Dividends paid out of profits on which the company has already paid tax are not taxed again in the shareholder's hands. Malta withholds nothing on payments abroad. The exception is dividends out of untaxed profits paid to resident individuals: 15% is withheld.

Murblz specialists help set up the company and open its account: see company registration in Malta and a business account for a Maltese company; the general process is described on the page about company formation abroad.

A payment company in Malta needs a licence from the regulator, covered on the Malta payment institution licence page. For family wealth there is a family trust in Malta and a Maltese private foundation.

Malta VAT rates and when registration is required

At 18%, Malta has the second-lowest standard value added tax rate in the European Union: only Luxembourg, at 17%, is lower. And a small business with turnover of up to $39,400 (35,000 euros) a year may issue invoices with no value added tax at all.

Value added tax in Malta is governed by the Value Added Tax Act. There are five rates, and most food is zero-rated.

Financial and insurance services, education, healthcare and long-term residential letting are exempt, with no value added tax charged and no right to deduct input tax. From 1 October 2026 some exemptions for gambling were removed: operators now charge value added tax but have gained the right to deduct.

Three types of registration

Malta has no threshold below which you can skip registration altogether: everyone carrying on an activity gets a number. The choice is between types of registration.

Since 1 January 2025 the Article 11 threshold has been a single $39,400 (35,000 euros) for any type of activity. The scheme across the European Union for small businesses started at the same time: a Maltese undertaking may also skip charging value added tax in other European Union countries if its turnover across the European Union does not exceed $113,000 (100,000 euros).

Article 11 suits those who sell to private individuals and spend little on purchases. If the customers are companies that care about deduction, or equipment costs are high, Article 10 works out better.

The quarterly Article 10 return is due within a month and a half after the end of the quarter.

Malta special tax regimes: non-dom, 15% programmes, nomads, skilled employees

Until 31 December 2026 a Maltese special tax status can still be obtained with a minimum tax of $16,900 (15,000 euros) a year. From 1 January 2027 the same status will cost new applicants at least $39,400 (35,000 euros). Legal Notice 195 of 2026 folds four old programmes into one.

The 15% programmes: who benefits

In every programme the 15% rate applies only to foreign income remitted to Malta. Other income of status holders is taxed at 35%.

Worked example in euros. You remit $89,900 (80,000 euros), a year to Malta. 15% is $13,500 (12,000 euros), but you must pay the $16,900 (15,000 euros) minimum, effectively 18.75%. On the general married scale the same amount would cost $19,600 (17,450 euros), so the programme saves $2,760 (2,450 euros), a year. Under the 2027 rules, with a $39,400 (35,000 euros) minimum, the special status beats the general scale only on remittances of roughly $146,000 (130,000 euros), a year or more. Below that the general non-dom regime is cheaper.

Current beneficiaries and applications filed before the end of 2026 stay on the old terms until 31 December 2031. Conditions and costs are covered on the page about Malta residence permits and permanent residence.

Skilled employees: 15% instead of 35%

From 1 January 2026, Legal Notice 20 of 2026 merged the earlier sector-specific incentives into one set of rules - the Tax Treatment of Highly Skilled Individuals Rules. A foreign specialist in an eligible role pays 15% on salary instead of the scale of up to 35%. On a $89,900 (80,000 euros) salary that is $13,500 (12,000 euros) instead of $20,900 (18,600 euros) a year.

The conditions: a salary of at least $73,000 (65,000 euros) excluding fringe benefits, no Maltese domicile, relevant qualifications or five years of experience, and a role from the approved list.

Remote workers

The holder of a digital nomad permit pays no tax on remote work income for the first 12 months and 10% after that (Legal Notice 277 of 2023). An important caveat: the Residency Malta Agency, which issues the permit, does not accept applications from citizens of some countries. Before filing we check the agency's position on your citizenship; if Malta is closed to you, the nomad visa matcher shows countries that are open.

Sole traders and freelancers: no preferential regime

Malta has no simplified low-rate turnover regime of the kind found in Italy or Georgia. A self-employed person pays income tax at the general rates on profit plus Class 2 contributions of 15% with a cap. The reliefs are narrow: trading without value added tax with turnover of up to $39,400 (35,000 euros), and a 7.5% rate for artists on the first $56,200 (50,000 euros) of income.

Taxes on property, inheritance, capital gains, cars and crypto in Malta

Malta has no annual property tax: a flat worth $1.13 million (1 million euros) costs its owner no tax at all each year. The state takes its share twice - when the property is bought and when it is sold.

Selling: tax on the price, not on the profit

The seller pays 8% on the whole transfer value, and purchase and renovation costs play no part in the calculation. On a sale for $450,000 (400,000 euros) the tax is $36,000 (32,000 euros), whether the profit is $225,000 (200,000 euros) or the property is sold at a loss.

For property received by inheritance or as a gift there is an alternative: 12% on the difference between the sale price and the value at acquisition. For help finding a property, see real estate in Malta.

Inheritance and gifts

There is no inheritance or gift tax, but stamp duty is charged on Maltese real estate and on shares in Maltese companies. Families get some relief. Since 28 October 2025 the reduced 3.5% rate on inheriting a home the heirs lived in applies to the first $450,000 (400,000 euros) instead of the earlier $225,000 (200,000 euros).

Capital gains

There is no separate tax: gains are added to total income and taxed on the scale of up to 35%. But the list of taxable assets is closed: real estate, shares and other securities, a business and goodwill, intellectual property, interests in partnerships and beneficial interests in trusts. Sales of shares listed on a recognised stock exchange are exempt. Anything not on the list - gold, paintings, cars - falls outside capital gains tax.

It is simpler still for residents without domicile: capital gains arising outside Malta are not taxed even if the money is brought to the island.

Cryptocurrency

There is no dedicated statute; the tax authority published guidelines in November 2018. The logic is as follows. Coins such as bitcoin and ether are treated like currency. Regular trading in them is ordinary income, taxed on the scale of up to 35%. A sale of coins after a long holding period falls outside capital gains tax because coins are not on the closed list of assets. Tokens that carry rights like shares or bonds are taxed as securities.

The line between an investor and a trader is not drawn in numbers: the tax authority looks at the frequency of trades and holding periods. Since 1 January 2026 the European Union's DAC8 directive has applied: crypto exchanges and other crypto-asset service providers report data on clients and their transactions to the tax authorities.

Cars

There are two taxes: registration tax on first registration and an annual circulation licence fee. Both depend on CO2 emissions, size and age of the vehicle, and the tariffs are published by Transport Malta. For a new petrol car emitting up to 100 g/km the annual fee starts at $113 (100 euros). Electric cars are exempt from registration tax and pay no annual fee for the first five years.

Taxes for non-residents of Malta and double tax treaties

Malta withholds not a cent on dividends, interest and royalties that leave the country. This is a rule of domestic law and does not depend on tax treaties, so it applies to recipients in any country, with or without a treaty.

What non-residents pay

A non-resident pays only on Maltese income: work on the island, local real estate, business through a permanent establishment. The scale is harsher than for residents: 35% starts at $8,760 (7,801 euros).

The treaty network

Malta has around 80 double tax treaties in force. They cover every European Union country, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan and Belarus are not on the list.

Where there is no treaty, unilateral relief applies: under its own law Malta reduces its tax by the amount of tax paid abroad on the same income.

When the other country suspends a treaty

A treaty can lose its effect from the other side. Russia, for example, suspended the key provisions of its treaties with 38 countries, Malta included, by a decree of 8 August 2023. In such cases payments from that country to Malta are taxed at its full domestic rates, while payments from Malta still leave without Maltese withholding tax, because domestic law imposes none. The article on elimination of double taxation was not suspended, and Malta's unilateral relief applies on top, so tax paid abroad can still be credited against Maltese tax.

Malta tax return deadlines and late filing penalties

Malta charges 0.6% a month on late tax - 7.2% a year, almost double the earlier 0.33% a month. The penalty for a late return is small, from $56 (50 euros), but interest runs for every month or part of a month.

The tax year for individuals is the calendar year. Malta calls the year in which income is earned the basis year, and the following one the year of assessment. Income for 2026 is declared in 2027.

Employees with a single salary often do not need to file: the tax authority sends a statement, and checking it is enough. A return is mandatory for the self-employed, landlords taxed on the general scale, residents without domicile who have foreign income, and holders of special tax status.

Penalties and interest

The ordinary limitation period is five years from the end of the year in which the return was filed. The tax authority has eight years to collect assessed tax, interest and penalties.

In 2025 the Various Revenue Laws (Amendment) Act introduced out-of-court settlement: the taxpayer discloses the shortfall, pays the tax and an additional penalty of $11,300 (10,000 euros) to $1.13 million (1 million euros), and in return criminal liability is extinguished.

What Malta's taxes mean if you relocate: who they suit and who they do not

The same Malta takes 5% of a trading company's profit and 35% of a salary above $67,400 (60,000 euros). The winners are those whose money arises outside the island; the losers are those who earn and spend on the spot.

Who Malta suits

• Owners of international businesses. An effective 5% on trading profit inside the European Union, with no withholding tax on dividends. The condition is real management in Malta and readiness for an audit.
• Investors with capital abroad. The non-dom regime leaves foreign capital gains and income kept abroad untouched.
• Specialists on a salary of $73,000 (65,000 euros) or more in financial services, gaming, aviation, shipping and technology: 15% instead of the scale of up to 35%.
• Families with European Union citizenship and children. By 2028 the new bands leave up to $41,600 (37,000 euros) of a couple's joint income tax-free where there are two children.
• Those who can act before the end of 2026. The tax programmes with a $16,900 (15,000 euros) minimum close to new applications on 31 December 2026.

Who Malta does not suit

• Employees without a preferential status. The 25% rate starts at $18,000 (16,001 euros) a year, and housing on the island is expensive.
• Those living on a foreign salary or dividends and remitting all of it to Malta. Remitted income is taxed on the general scale, and the non-dom regime saves nothing.
• Citizens of countries whose applications the Residency Malta Agency does not accept. Permanent residence by investment and the nomad permit are closed to them, so another country is the better choice.
• Those who counted on a passport by investment. The programme was abolished in July 2025 after the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling - what remains is covered on the Maltese citizenship page.
• Small businesses with local customers. The company pays 35%, and the refund goes only to the shareholder and only after profits are distributed.

Where to start the calculation

The order of the questions matters more than the rates. First: will you become a tax resident of Malta and stop being resident in your previous country - without the second part you will pay in two places. Second: which income arises in Malta and which abroad, and how much of the foreign income really needs to be brought to the island. Third: do you need a special status or is the general non-dom regime enough.

Worked example in euros. A family moves from a country outside the European Union and lives in Malta on $56,200 (50,000 euros), a year. If that money is savings and proceeds from selling foreign shares, while foreign income of $39,400 (35,000 euros) or more stays in accounts abroad, the tax is $5,620 (5,000 euros), a year. If the same $56,200 (50,000 euros) is remitted dividends, tax at the married rates is $8,930 (7,950 euros). Under the Global Residence Programme the minimum is $16,900 (15,000 euros), and it beats the general scale only on remittances of roughly $82,000 (73,000 euros) a year or more.

Murblz specialists run these scenarios before the move: they compare the general regime with the programmes, check the rules of the country you are leaving and prepare the documents for the status. You can reach us through the Murblz team page; all the island's programmes are collected in the section Malta: all programs.

FAQ