Before you start

A Maltese tax number and social security number
eResidence card
Registration with the Malta Tax and Customs Administration
Records of what foreign income you actually remit to Malta

Step-by-step

1
Register with the Malta Tax and Customs Administration
You receive a tax number; your employer applies the correct rate table through payroll based on your status.
OnlineWho: You
2
Establish your domicile position
If you are resident but not domiciled in Malta, you are taxed on Maltese-source income and on foreign income remitted here — not on unremitted foreign income. Domicile is a legal concept, not a matter of choice, so take advice rather than assuming.
OnlineWho: You
3
Check whether the €5,000 minimum tax applies
A non-domiciled resident whose foreign income is at least €35,000 and not fully remitted to Malta faces a minimum annual tax of €5,000, which includes Maltese tax withheld at source.
OnlineWho: You
4
Choose the right rate table
Single, married and parent computations differ, and from 2026 additional widened family bands apply for taxpayers with qualifying children — the parent tax-free threshold rose to €14,500, and €18,500 for parents with two or more children.
Via employerWho: You
5
File the annual return
Returns are filed with the MTCA. Keeping filing current matters beyond tax: single permit renewals require a stamped annual tax declaration.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Maltese tax number
Social security number
Employment income statement (FS3)
Records of foreign income and of what was remitted to Malta

Things most newcomers don’t know

The remittance basis is real, and it comes with a €5,000 floor.

A resident non-domiciled individual is taxed on Maltese-source income and on foreign income actually remitted to Malta. But where foreign income is at least €35,000 and is not fully remitted, a minimum annual tax of €5,000 applies. That floor is the part the marketing omits — for someone with modest remittances it can be a much higher effective rate than the headline suggests.

Source: PwC — Malta individual taxes on personal income; Malta Income Tax Act minimum tax provisions

The Global Residence Programme's 15% is a rate with a €15,000 minimum attached.

The GRP taxes foreign income remitted to Malta at 15%, subject to a minimum annual tax of €15,000 covering the beneficiary and dependants. In a low-income year you still pay €15,000. Maltese-source income remains taxable at 35%. The programme is promoted on the 15%; the minimum is what determines whether it is actually advantageous for you.

Source: PwC Malta; Global Residence Programme rules

Malta's 15% highly-skilled regimes were consolidated into a single set of rules for 2026.

The separate Highly Qualified Persons Rules and the innovation-and-creativity regime were replaced by consolidated rules for highly skilled individuals with effect from 2026, running to 2040. Eligible office remains a closed list of named senior roles in specified licensed sectors, and the salary minimum steps up periodically. Guides describing the old regimes as separate live schemes are out of date.

Source: Malta Tax and Customs Administration — guidelines on highly qualified persons rules; PwC Malta

The 2026 budget widened bands for parents substantially, and it is phased.

The tax-free threshold for parents rose to €14,500 in 2026, and to €18,500 for parents with two or more qualifying children, with further widening scheduled over three years. Two people on the same gross salary can now face materially different liabilities depending on family status. If you are relocating a family, the parent computation is worth modelling rather than using the single rates.

Source: Malta Budget 2026 — new tax brackets for parent and married individuals

Common mistakes to avoid

Reading the remittance basis as tax-free without checking the €5,000 minimum.
Quoting the Global Residence Programme's 15% without its €15,000 annual minimum.
Assuming Maltese-source income benefits from the special regimes. It is taxed at 35%.
Treating the old Highly Qualified Persons Rules as a separate live regime after the 2026 consolidation.
Using single-person rates when the parent computation would apply.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.