Company formation in Malta

Updated 7 October 2026

Malta's registration fee depends on the authorised capital and starts at about $120, and the 35% tax rate is reduced by refunds to shareholders. We cover the fees, tax, steps and documents.

Companies in Malta are registered by the Malta Business Registry under the Companies Act. The main form for trading and holding companies is the private limited liability company. Registration is electronic, and the government fee depends on the authorised share capital.

Costs: registry fees

The Malta Business Registry registration fee depends on the authorised capital. Amounts are converted to US dollars at the European Central Bank rate and rounded up.

Every year $120-1,600 is paid with the annual return depending on the authorised capital. Our services are in the fee table below.

Tax

Maltese companies pay 35% corporate tax on worldwide income and capital gains. When the company pays dividends, shareholders are entitled to a refund of part or all of the tax it paid, which removes double taxation, according to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration. The final burden depends on the type of income and where the shareholder lives, so we calculate it before incorporation.

How registration works

1. Defining the task: trading, services or a holding, where clients and accounts are, whether an office in Malta is needed.
2. Name, articles and share capital.
3. Owner and director checks and beneficial ownership details.
4. Electronic registration with the Business Registry and payment of the fee.
5. Tax registration, bank account and annual filings.

What documents you need

The registry and the corporate service provider check every owner and director. You usually need:

• a passport and proof of address no older than three months for each owner, director and secretary;
• details of beneficial owners holding more than 25% and an ownership chart if a shareholder is a company;
• for a corporate shareholder, a certificate of incorporation, articles and a certificate of good standing;
• a business description: what the company sells, to whom, in which countries and with what turnover;
• source of funds documents: contracts, accounts, bank statements, tax returns;
• proof that the share capital has been paid in.

Foreign documents are translated into English and apostilled. The more detailed the business description, the fewer questions the registry and the bank ask.

Capital, management and beneficial owners

• The minimum share capital of a private company is about $1,400, with at least 20% paid up on registration.
• At least one director and a company secretary are needed; in a private company a sole director can also be the secretary.
• Details of beneficial owners holding more than 25% or controlling the company otherwise are filed with the business registry on incorporation and updated on every change.
• The 35% corporate tax followed by a partial refund to shareholders in practice gives an overall burden of about 5% on trading income, but the refund comes only after dividends are paid.
• Value added tax in Malta is 18%.
• Maltese banks check companies without business on the island strictly, so the account is often opened with a payment institution or a bank in another EU country.

Dividends and tax residence

Malta does not withhold tax on dividends a company pays to foreign shareholders. A company registered in Malta is its tax resident, but if it is actually managed from another country, that country may also treat it as resident. So we plan the board and where meetings are held before registration.

How the shareholder tax refund works

The Maltese system works in two steps. First the company pays corporate tax at 35%. Then, once profit is distributed as dividends, the shareholder claims a refund of part of the tax paid by the company.

Dividends and gains from substantial holdings in other companies may not be taxed at all if the participation exemption conditions are met. The refund goes to the shareholder, not the company, so a holding company is often placed above the trading company: the refund then stays within the group. Which structure is lawful and efficient in your case depends on the country where the owners live and its controlled foreign company rules.

Who a Malta company suits

A Malta company is chosen for trading and services in the EU, for a holding with subsidiaries in other countries and for licensed activities that have their own regulator in Malta: financial services, gaming, payment services. The country is in the EU and the eurozone, its law follows the English model, and the registry accepts documents in English.

It does not suit those who want a structure without reporting: in Malta an annual return, financial statements and a tax return are filed every year, and owners are disclosed to the registry. Nor does it suit hidden ownership: beneficial owners holding more than 25% are recorded in the register on incorporation.

Timeline step by step

The owner checks and the account take longest. The registry registers a company quickly when the articles and beneficial owner details are filed without errors.

What the company must do every year

• file an annual return with the Business Registry within 42 days of the anniversary of registration and pay the annual fee;
• confirm beneficial owner details with the annual return and update them on every change;
• prepare financial statements, as a rule audited, and file them with the registry;
• file a tax return and pay 35% corporate tax, after which shareholders may claim a partial refund;
• keep registers of shareholders and directors at the registered office in Malta.

For late annual returns and accounts the registry charges penalties that grow with each day of delay, and a company that fails to report for years is struck off. So we keep the deadlines in a calendar from day one.

Common reasons for refusal

• the owners' source of funds is not documented;
• the beneficial owner is hidden behind nominees or a chain of companies with no explanation;
• the name matches one already registered or is misleading;
• the articles and forms do not agree: different addresses, shareholdings or spellings of names;
• the activity requires a regulator's licence that has not been obtained;
• an owner or director is on an EU sanctions list.

The registry more often returns documents for correction than refuses outright, whereas a bank rarely reconsiders after a refusal. So we check the file before filing.

Restrictions for certain nationalities

EU citizens need no additional permits. A citizen of another country can own a Malta company and be its director, but to live in Malta and work in their own company they need a residence permit with the right to work.

EU restrictions apply to citizens of Russia and Belarus. Accounting, auditing, tax and management services may not be provided to companies established in Russia, and banks do not accept deposits from Russian nationals and residents above about $120,000 per bank unless the owner holds citizenship or a residence permit of an EU, European Economic Area country or Switzerland. Maltese corporate service providers operate under the regulator's authorisation and must check every client, so we check whether your profile can proceed before preparing documents.

What we do

Murblz specialists calculate the tax burden including shareholder refunds and your country of residence, prepare the articles and documents, register the company, help with the bank account and file the annual return on time.

The work goes step by step. First we calculate the overall tax burden including the refund and the rules of the country where you live, and propose an ownership structure. Then we check the owners' documents the way the registry and the bank will, draft the articles and file the application. After registration we obtain the tax numbers, help with an account at a bank or payment institution and take over the calendar: annual return, accounts, tax return and the shareholders' refund claim.

Fees

See also

Business account · Personal account · Investment property · Country taxes · All country programs

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