Malta's taxes at a glance
Structure used: Nomad Residence Permit, self-employed for clients outside Malta, 10% flat on net income after the first 12 months (S.L. 123.210), plus Class 2 social security as a self-employed person ordinarily resident in Malta. Bands are the effective tax on profit for a remote worker using this structure, with clients abroad and costs of 15% of revenue.
Malta tax residency: no day count, and why domicile matters
Malta's Income Tax Act defines a resident individual as someone who resides in Malta, apart from temporary absences the Commissioner accepts as reasonable. There is no statutory day count, so residence is a question of fact: where you live, where your home is, and how your year is actually spent.
Domicile is a separate test. You are domiciled where you have your permanent home, so a newcomer whose permanent home is still elsewhere is resident but not domiciled, the status people call non-dom. Most people who move to Malta for work start there.
How Malta taxes non-doms: the remittance basis
A non-dom resident is taxed on income arising in Malta and on foreign income remitted to Malta. Foreign income that stays abroad is not taxed, and foreign capital gains are not taxed even when you bring them in.
There is a floor. A non-dom whose foreign income was €35,000 (about $39,800) or more in the prior year pays a minimum tax of €5,000 (about $5,690), even if nothing was remitted.
The catch for remote workers is where the work happens. Work done while you are physically in Malta is Malta-source income, taxable there whether your clients are in Valletta or Vancouver, so the remittance basis does nothing for freelance or salary income earned from a Maltese desk.
Freelancing from Malta for foreign clients
Works
You are a non-EU freelancer on the Nomad Residence Permit and every client is based outside Malta with no place of business there. Your remote-work income is untaxed for the first 12 months and taxed at a flat 10% after that.
Fails
You move to Malta as a non-dom without the permit and keep invoicing the same foreign clients from an apartment in Sliema. The work is Malta-source income, the remittance basis does not cover it, and progressive rates of up to 35% apply.
Malta income tax rates for 2026
The table shows the 2026 single rates. Married couples and parents use separate scales, and each rate applies only to the slice of income inside its band.
Malta income tax rates for single taxpayers, 2026
| Chargeable income (EUR) | About (USD) | Rate on the slice |
|---|---|---|
| €0–€12,000 | $0–$13,654 | 0% |
| €12,000–€16,000 | $13,654–$18,205 | 15% |
| €16,000–€60,000 | $18,205–$68,268 | 25% |
| Over €60,000 | Over $68,268 | 35% |
The Nomad Residence Permit's 10% rate in practice
The Nomad Residence Permits (Income Tax) Rules tax only authorized work: employment under a contract with a non-resident employer, or self-employment for clients who do not reside in Malta and have no fixed place of business there. Tax of 10% or more already paid abroad on that income can settle the Maltese liability through double tax relief.
The permit itself is for non-EU nationals with gross income of at least €42,000 (about $47,800) a year. It lasts 1 year and can be renewed 3 times up to 4 years, and each renewal needs proof of at least 5 months of residence in Malta over the previous 12, usually bank statements showing spending there.
The 12 months without tax run from the later of the permit date or January 1, 2024, and they are lost if you file a declaration that your residence in Malta is not merely casual. You still register for income tax from the start, but you do not report the exempt income, and a holder with no other Maltese income files no return for that period. A new permit within 2 years of losing the old one keeps the 10% rate but brings no fresh 12 months; after a gap of more than 2 years, the exemption applies again.
Self-employed people in Malta pay Class 2 contributions of 15% of the previous year's net income, capped at €83.89 (about $95) a week for people born from 1962. The Social Security Act, articles 2 and 10, charges Class 2 on self-employed people who are ordinarily resident in Malta. The Index treats a permit holder who lives in Malta as ordinarily resident, so it counts the cap of €4,362 (about $4,960) a year and puts tax and social security at 15.8% of profit at $100,000 of revenue. A holder who is not ordinarily resident owes no Class 2 and pays 10% of profit.
| Revenue | €87,889 (about $100,000) |
|---|---|
| Net income after costs of 15% | €74,706 (about $85,000) |
| Income tax at 10%After the 12-month exemption ends | €7,471 (about $8,500) |
| Class 2 social securityThe cap of €83.89 (about $95) a week, due from self-employed people ordinarily resident in Malta | €4,362 (about $4,960) |
| Total tax and social security | €11,833 (about $13,500), 15.8% of profit |
Clients all outside Malta with no place of business there. This is the rate the Index uses. In the first 12 months of the permit no income tax is due on this work, and a holder who is not ordinarily resident owes no Class 2.
If Malta and another country both treat you as resident, the tax treaty between them settles it, starting with where you have a permanent home. The Commissioner for Tax and Customs issues the residence certificate a treaty partner or client asks for.
David's note
I would keep 1 account abroad for foreign income you do not plan to bring to Malta, and pay Maltese living costs from money that is already taxed or that you intend to remit. When the 2 are mixed in one account, every transfer to Malta starts to look like a remittance of income.
Registering and filing in Malta
Your first year in Malta
- Apply for the Nomad Residence Permit with proof of your income and contracts if you are a non-EU remote worker.
- Register for income tax with the Commissioner for Tax and Customs as soon as the permit is issued, even though the first 12 months are exempt.
- Keep contracts showing every client is based outside Malta with no place of business there.
- Spend at least 5 months of each 12 in Malta and keep the bank statements that prove it.
- Hold foreign investment income in accounts abroad unless you intend to pay Maltese tax on it.
- File the annual return, declaring Malta-source income and any foreign income you remitted.
- Renew the permit each year, up to the 4-year maximum.
Ways to move to Malta
| Route | Minimum income or investment | Permit length | Makes you tax resident | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nomad Residence Permit Source: nomad.residencymalta.gov.mt, checked September 29, 2026Digital nomad visa | €3,500 (about $3,980) a month Source: nomad.residencymalta.gov.mt, checked September 29, 2026. EUR 42,000 gross a year for applications from April 1, 2024 (EUR 32,400 before), about $3,982 a month | 12 months, renewable | Special tax regimeRemote-work income is untaxed for the first 12 months and then taxed at a flat 10% for the life of the permit, up to 4 years. | Open |
| Global Residence Programme Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. Property of at least EUR 275,000, or rent of at least EUR 9,600 a year; lower thresholds in the south and GozoPassive income route | Varies | Not stated | Special tax regimeRemitted foreign income taxed at 15% with a EUR 15,000 minimum; unremitted foreign income and foreign gains untaxed. | Open |
Special tax regimes in Malta
Nomad Residence Permits (Income Tax) Rules, S.L. 123.210
Holders of a Nomad Residence Permit pay 10% on chargeable income from remote work for foreign employers or for clients outside Malta. Income from the first 12 months of the permit is not taxed, unless the holder declares that their stay is not casual.
Open to new applicants. Lasts up to 4 years. Source: legislation.mt, checked September 29, 2026
Global Residence Programme (GRP)
Non-EU nationals who buy or rent qualifying property pay 15% on foreign income remitted to Malta, with a EUR 15,000 minimum tax a year. Work done in Malta is taxed normally.
Open to new applicants. Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026
Running your own company from Malta
Under the Income Tax Act, a company is resident in Malta if the control and management of its business are exercised there, and every company incorporated in Malta since July 1, 1994 is resident wherever it is managed. A foreign company whose only director lives in Malta and makes every decision there is Maltese resident on the first test.
What Malta taxes for a company owner who is a non-dom resident
| Situation | Malta tax |
|---|---|
| Foreign company, dividends kept abroad, managed outside Malta | None on the dividends while they stay abroad |
| Foreign company, dividends remitted to Malta | Progressive rates up to 35%, or 15% under the Global Residence Programme |
| Foreign company run from Malta | The company becomes Maltese resident |
| Malta company, profit retained | 35% |
| Malta company, trading profit paid out as a dividend | About 5% after the 6/7 refund to the shareholder |
The Maltese route is a local company. A Malta company with the 6/7 shareholder refund pays 35% on its profit, and when trading profit is paid out the shareholder can reclaim 6/7 of that tax, which leaves about 5% in Malta on distributed profit. The full 35% is paid first, and the refund is due within 14 days of becoming payable, a period that can be extended by up to 12 months for checks.
Profit left inside the company bears the full 35%, so the structure suits owners who pay out most of what they earn. It needs at least 1 director, a company secretary and a registered office in Malta, and the annual running costs of accounts, audit and administration are real.
US citizens living in Malta
The 2008 US-Malta income tax treaty does not stop the US taxing its citizens, because treaties generally do not reduce the US tax of US citizens. You still file a US return and claim the foreign tax credit or the 2026 foreign earned income exclusion of $132,900.
Malta has no totalization agreement with the US, and the exclusion does not reduce US self-employment tax, which is figured on all your self-employment income. A self-employed US citizen in Malta can therefore owe US self-employment tax and Maltese Class 2 contributions on the same earnings.
Maltese clients and the 4-year limit on the 10% rate
A client in Malta falls outside the 10% rule
The 10% rate covers only work for employers outside Malta, or for clients who do not reside in Malta and have no fixed place of business there. Take on a Maltese client, or a foreign client with an office in Malta, and that income is taxed at the normal rates of up to 35%. The permit itself only licenses authorized work, so the same client also sits outside what the permit allows.
The permit also runs out. After 4 years it cannot be renewed, and the 10% rate ends with it, so anyone planning to stay longer needs a different route and should expect normal rates on work done in Malta from then on.
EU citizens cannot hold the permit at all. They can live in Malta under EU free movement and use the non-dom rules, but freelance income earned while living there is taxed at the progressive rates.
Who Malta suits, and who it does not
Good fit
- Remote freelancers and employees from outside the EU with clients or employers abroad: 0% for 12 months, then 10% on net income for up to 4 years, plus capped Class 2 social security for the self-employed.
- Non-doms who can keep investment income and gains outside Malta (remittance basis; foreign gains untaxed even if remitted).
- Non-EU nationals with foreign income to bring into Malta who can meet the GRP property condition: remitted income is taxed at 15%, with a €15,000 (about $17,100) minimum tax.
Poor fit
- EU citizens, who cannot hold a Nomad Residence Permit and pay progressive rates up to 35% on work done in Malta.
- Freelancers with any Maltese clients, since the 10% rule covers only clients outside Malta.
- Anyone planning to stay more than 4 years, when the permit and its 10% rate end.
Recent tax and visa changes in Malta
Nomad Residence Permit income requirement raised to EUR 42,000 gross a year for new applications (from EUR 32,400). nomad.residencymalta.gov.mt
Nomad Residence Permits (Income Tax) Rules in force: 0% on remote-work income for 12 months, then a flat 10%. legislation.mt
