A Maltese accountant will tell you the same thing in the first five minutes: the word that matters is not resident, it is domicile. Tax in Malta is generous for newcomers who are resident but not domiciled, and unforgiving for those who do not understand what "received in Malta" means. This guide gives you the framework for 2026.
When do you become tax resident in Malta?
The Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA), formerly the Commissioner for Revenue, considers you resident from the day you arrive if you come to settle, whatever length of stay you manage in the first year. If you come for a temporary reason, you become resident beyond 183 days of presence in the year.
Do not look only at days. A series of regular stays over three years combined with personal and economic ties can also make you ordinarily resident. You can be resident in Malta and in your home country at the same time; the double taxation agreement then decides. Tell your home tax office that you have left.
What does domicile change?
Domicile is a legal notion: your permanent home in the eyes of Maltese law.
- Ordinarily resident and domiciled: taxed on worldwide income.
- Resident but not domiciled (or not ordinarily resident): taxed on Maltese-source income and on foreign income that is received in Malta. Foreign capital gains are not taxed, even if they are brought to Malta.
There are exceptions in article 4(1) of the Income Tax Act. The remittance rule stops applying from the year you obtain a permanent residence certificate or card, or long-term resident status: your foreign income and gains are then taxed even if they stay abroad. It does not apply either if your spouse is both ordinarily resident and domiciled in Malta.
Many newcomers fall in the second category at first. It means your Maltese salary is taxed at the normal scale, and your foreign pension or rental income is taxed only if you remit it to Malta. That is where the traps are: a transfer from your foreign account to your Maltese account can be a remittance of income. Keep a clear record of what is capital and what is income, and organise your accounts before you leave.
What are the Malta tax rates for 2026?
Rates for 2026 incomes (assessed in 2027) are set by the MTCA in seven scales, depending on family situation. The first two are the most common:
| Situation | 0% up to | 15% band | 25% band | 35% above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | €12,000 | €12,001 to €16,000 | €16,001 to €60,000 | €60,000 |
| Married | €15,000 | €15,001 to €23,000 | €23,001 to €60,000 | €60,000 |
The MTCA calculates the tax by applying the rate of the band that contains your income and subtracting a fixed amount it publishes for that band. Parent and family scales have higher 0% bands (for a married couple with two or more children, up to €22,500). The scales with children are reserved by law to families where a parent or spouse is an EU or EEA national or a long-term resident; if neither spouse is, the children must be born and live in Malta. The Swiss are not named in the text, so ask the MTCA how it applies equal treatment if that is your case. The 2026 budget law (Act III of 2026) rewrote the scales, so a later budget may change them again.
How and when do you declare tax in Malta?
If your only income is a salary the MTCA already knows, you can be a non-filer: you receive a tax statement and correct it with form AF if it is wrong. If you have other income, you file a return and self-assessment by 30 June of the following year and pay the balance. Online filing with your e-ID on myTax is accepted until 31 July.
People with income besides a salary (self-employed, retirees, landlords) also pay provisional tax during the year, in three instalments: 30 April (at least 20% of the benchmark), 31 August (at least 30% more) and 21 December (at least 50% more). The benchmark is generally the tax shown on your last return due before the year starts. If you expect this year's tax to be lower than the benchmark, for example after you retire, you can opt to pay less by sending the P.T. reduction form (rule 10 of the same rules).
Late payment costs interest of 0.6% per month after 30 June (the rate in force since September 2022), plus additional tax for a late return. If you overpay, keep your returns filed and your bank details current with the MTCA so that the refund can be paid. For an assessment you dispute, you have 30 days to object in writing after paying the undisputed part, then 30 more to appeal a refusal to the Administrative Review Tribunal.
Is there a minimum tax for some non-domiciled residents?
Yes. Since the 2019 assessment year, if you are ordinarily resident and not domiciled, outside any special tax scheme, and your foreign income that is not (or not fully) received in Malta reaches €35,000 (the two spouses' incomes together for a couple), your annual Maltese tax cannot fall below €5,000 (Income Tax Act, article 56(27)). You can cap it lower if you prove you would pay less on a worldwide basis. If you hold foreign income and do not remit it, this minimum is the first thing to calculate.
What about double taxation and other taxes?
Malta has tax treaties with the other 26 EU states, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the UK, according to the MTCA list (last updated in 2020, so check the version in force with your country). They prevent double taxation through a tax credit or an exemption. Pensions have their own rules, described in how to retire in Malta.
Buying a home triggers stamp duty, paid by the buyer: 5% as the standard rate, 3.5% on the first €200,000 for your only main residence, and 0% on the first €200,000 for a first home (deeds signed since 28 October 2025); see buying property in Malta. None of the MTCA pages we read mentions a recurring property tax, so confirm that point with your notary. Gozo follows the same tax rules as Malta, and the MTCA has an office there.
Which special schemes can lower your bill?
Malta also has special regimes that tax foreign income brought to Malta at 15%, with a minimum yearly tax. They suit large foreign incomes, and are heavy commitments: see our Malta residence programme guide. For a first step, register properly: the numbers are explained in social security and tax numbers in Malta.
How does tax in Malta treat a salary and foreign income together?
Your Maltese salary is taxed at source by your employer during the year, on the scale that matches your family situation, so in most cases the tax statement you receive simply confirms it. Foreign income works differently for a non-domiciled resident: rent or interest that stays abroad is not taxed in Malta, while the same income transferred to a Maltese account is added to your taxable income. Above €35,000 of foreign income left abroad, the €5,000 minimum comes into play.
Before you move money or decide where your income is paid, ask a Maltese tax adviser or accountant to look at your own situation: what counts as income and what counts as capital is decided case by case, and the remittance rules change when your residence status changes. Your first step is to register properly, as explained in social security and tax numbers in Malta.
When is the Malta tax return deadline, in one list?
- 30 April: first provisional tax payment, where it applies.
- 30 June: the Malta tax return deadline for the previous year, with the balance due.
- 31 July: end of the extension for online filing on myTax.
- 31 August: second provisional tax payment.
- 21 December: third provisional tax payment.
What are the classic tax mistakes of new arrivals?
- Thinking non-domiciled means untaxed. Maltese salary is taxed, and remitted foreign income is too.
- Moving money without a plan. A transfer can count as income.
- Forgetting the €5,000 minimum.
- Mixing up the years. The "2026 rates" apply to 2026 income, declared in 2027.
- Not informing your home tax office.