Malta tax for companies: 35%, the refund, and the new 15% option
A Malta company pays 35% tax. When it pays a dividend, the shareholder claims most of that back: 6/7 on trading profit, so Malta keeps 5% in the end.
Since the 2025 tax year a company can instead choose a flat 15% final tax, with no refund and a five-year lock-in. Malta takes nothing from dividends paid to owners abroad.
Malta has the EU's highest headline company rate and one of its lowest real ones, and the gap between the two is a refund you have to wait for. Most guides stop at "5%". This one follows the money: what's paid when, what comes back, and when the new 15% option is the better deal.
Key takeaways
- Company tax is 35%; the shareholder refund brings Malta's share to 5%, 10%, 6.25% or 0% depending on the income.
- The refund is claimed after a dividend and paid within 14 days of falling due, though Malta can take 12 months more to check.
- The 15% final tax is optional from the 2025 tax year: no refund, no wait, and five years locked in.
- Malta doesn't withhold tax on dividends paid to owners abroad.
- A holding of 5% or more can bring dividends and gains in at 0%.
- The tax return is due by the end of the ninth month after year end, or 31 March if later.
Malta corporate tax rate: 35%, then the refund
Under the Income Tax Act, every Malta company pays 35%. The refund belongs to the shareholder, and its size depends on what kind of profit paid the dividend. Opening the company's account, and what Maltese banks charge foreign owners, is in our Malta company bank account guide.
| Profit from | Refund of the 35% | Malta keeps |
|---|---|---|
| Trading, services, most businesses | 6/7 | 5% |
| Passive interest and royalties | 5/7 | 10% |
| Foreign income, with the flat rate foreign tax credit | 2/3 | 6.25% |
| A participating holding, if taxed rather than exempt | All of it | 0% |
The fractions come from Article 48 of the Income Tax Management Act. The shareholder must be registered with the tax authority and claim within four years. The refund itself isn't taxed in Malta.
35% goes in, up to 6/7 comes back. What's left depends on what earned it.
Malta 15% final tax or the refund: which leaves you more?
The 15% option, called final income tax without imputation, came in with Legal Notice 188 of 2025. It's final: no refund for anyone, and no credit against other tax. Compare the two routes.
Under the notice, the 15% can never come out below 35% less the refunds that would apply. This is general information, not advice on your situation.
Paying profit out? The refund usually wins. Keeping it in? Look at the 15%.
Malta tax return deadline and refund timeline
The 35% is paid first, partly in advance as provisional tax. The refund only starts once the tax is paid and a dividend declared. Pick the month your financial year ends.
Accounts carry an auditor's report unless the company stays within two of three limits in the Companies Act: EUR 46,600 balance sheet, EUR 93,000 turnover and two employees. Late tax costs 0.6% a month.
The refund comes after the tax, the return and the dividend, in that order.
Malta participation exemption: does your holding qualify?
Dividends and gains from a participating holding, as Article 2 of the Income Tax Act defines it, are exempt in Malta. Two tests: the size of the stake, and the company you own.
5% of a company abroad can bring its dividends home at 0%.
Malta company, owner abroad: what Malta takes from you
Malta takes nothing from your dividend. Your country may.
Malta non-dom tax: if you move there yourself
A resident who isn't domiciled in Malta is taxed on Malta income and on foreign income brought into Malta. Foreign income left abroad, and foreign capital gains, aren't taxed. With EUR 35,000 or more of foreign income kept abroad, the Income Tax Act sets a minimum of EUR 5,000 a year.
| Chargeable income, single, 2026 | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to EUR 12,000 | 0% |
| EUR 12,001 to 16,000 | 15% |
| EUR 16,001 to 60,000 | 25% |
| Above EUR 60,000 | 35% |
A Malta resident shareholder is taxed on dividends with the company's 35% credited against their own bill, so the refund route is built for owners abroad.
Live in Malta as a non-dom and foreign income kept abroad isn't taxed.
Malta VAT: 18%, and who must register
- You make your first taxable sale in Malta, within 30 days
- You sell services to a business in another EU country, from the first one
- You buy services from abroad that carry reverse charge
- 18% standard
- 12% custody of securities, boat hire and body care
- 7% accommodation; 5% electricity, some food, printed matter
A business selling only in Malta, under EUR 35,000 a year, can use the small enterprise scheme in Article 11 of the VAT Act: no VAT charged, none reclaimed. Selling only to customers outside the EU usually needs no registration at all.
18%, and registration from the first sale to an EU business.
Malta tax questions, answered
What is the corporate tax rate in Malta?
Is the Malta 6/7 refund guaranteed?
Who should choose the 15% option?
What did Budget 2027 propose?
Is Malta a tax haven?
Does the global minimum tax change anything for my company?
When is a Malta company's tax return due?
Do you handle the refund claim?
Changelog
- 10 November 2026: first published.
- 13 November 2026: official sources linked in the text.
A Malta company with the refund claim handled for you.
EUR 3,640 to start, then EUR 2,020 a year with accounts and tax return.