Tax in Malta: residence, the remittance basis and the Australia–Malta treaty

Malta's top rate is 35%, the same headline as many places. What makes it different for Australians is domicile: most of us aren't Maltese-domiciled, so foreign income you leave offshore usually stays out of Malta's tax net.

The short version

• Malta's 2026 resident rates run from 0% to 35%, with seven rate tables for single people, married couples and parents [1].
• Residents who aren't domiciled in Malta pay tax on Maltese income plus foreign income they bring into Malta. Foreign capital gains aren't taxed even if remitted [2].
• Employees pay through the Final Settlement System (FSS): tax and social security come off every pay, and for many people that's the full bill [3].
• Social security is 10% of salary for employees, matched by the employer, up to a weekly cap of €55.93 in 2026 [4].
• The Australia–Malta tax treaty (signed 1984, updated by the MLI) and the 2005 social security agreement stop you being taxed twice and help with pensions [5][6].

Resident, domiciled, or both?

Malta looks at two separate ideas.

Residence. If you live in Malta as a regular part of your life, you're ordinarily resident. There's no simple day count in Malta's rules [7].

Domicile. This is about your permanent home, the place you intend to end up [7]. An Australian who moves to Valletta for a job or a few years usually keeps an Australian domicile.

That combination matters:

There are exceptions. If you're married to someone who is Maltese-domiciled and ordinarily resident, or you hold certain long-term or permanent residence, you're taxed on a worldwide basis [2]. That catches some Maltese-Australian couples.

The €5,000 minimum tax

The remittance basis isn't free. Non-domiciled residents with foreign income of at least €35,000 in the previous year (couples combined) that wasn't all brought into Malta pay a minimum of €5,000 in Maltese tax [2]. Tax already withheld, for example through FSS, counts towards it [2]. If you're an employee with an Australian rental property and a decent salary, you may already pay more than €5,000 through your payslip.

"Remitted" is a question of fact

Malta treats whether income has been brought in as a question of fact [7]. Keep your Australian income in an Australian account and pay for your Maltese life from your Maltese salary. Mixing them makes your records hard to defend.

The 2026 rates

Malta's tax authority (MTCA, formerly the Commissioner for Revenue) published these resident tables for 2026 [1]. Multiply your chargeable income by the rate for your band, then subtract the figure in the last column.

The tables for married couples and parents with one child sit between these [1]. The new family tables arrived in 2026, and employees pick them by filling in an updated FS4 form [8].

A quick example

A single Australian on €40,000 a year in 2026:

• Income tax: €40,000 × 25% − €3,400 = €6,600 [1]
• Social security: earnings are above the weekly cap, so about €55.93 × 52 = €2,908 [4]
• Take-home: roughly €30,490 before any fringe benefits

Compared with home, the bands are flatter in the middle. Everything from €16,001 to €60,000 sits at 25%, and there's no Medicare levy, though there's also no super guarantee from your employer.

Your payslip: FSS, FS4 and social security

Under the Final Settlement System, your employer withholds income tax and social security from every pay and sends it to the tax authority [3]. MTCA says FSS aims to deduct the right tax as you're paid, which reduces big refunds or bills at year end [9].

The forms you'll meet:

1. FS4: the payee status declaration you give your employer when you start. It sets your rate table (single, married, parent) [8].
2. FS3: the annual statement of your earnings and deductions your employer gives you after the year ends.
3. Your Maltese tax number: needed before your employer can process you properly.

Social security (SSC)

Employees in Malta pay 10% of their basic wage, and the employer pays another 10% [4]. For people born in 1962 or later, contributions stop rising at a fixed €55.93 a week, reached once you earn about €29,084 a year [4]. These contributions build your entitlement to Maltese benefits, a Maltese contributory pension and, in practice, public healthcare.

Self-employed people pay 15% of the previous year's net income, with a weekly maximum, and pay income tax through provisional tax instalments rather than FSS [3][4].

Filing and deadlines

Malta's tax year is the calendar year. The return and self-assessment are due by the end of June of the following year, and any balance is paid with the return [3]. Unpaid tax from 31 August attracts interest of 0.6% a month [3].

Not every employee has to file. The Commissioner can choose to send some people a statement of their tax position instead, which they can dispute by asking for a full return [3]. If you have foreign income you've brought into Malta, rental income or a side business, expect to file.

Married couples file jointly by default and nominate a "responsible spouse", though some couples can elect separate computations [3].

The Australian side

The tax treaty

Australia and Malta signed their double tax agreement on 9 May 1984, and since 2019 it's been modified by the multilateral instrument (MLI), which adds an anti-abuse test [5]. The parts most Australians care about:

• Tie-breaker. If both countries call you resident, the treaty looks at where your permanent home is, then where your personal and economic ties are closer [5].
• Salary. Pay for work done in Malta can be taxed in Malta. Short trips under 183 days paid by a foreign employer stay with the home country [5].
• Pensions. Pensions are generally taxable only where you live [5]. Malta's tax authority confirms that Australian pensions received by a Malta resident are taxable only in Malta, and asks you to attach bank statements showing the yearly total [10].
• Investment income. Australia can tax interest at up to 15%, dividends at up to 15% and royalties at up to 10% when they're paid to a Malta resident [5].
• Credits. Each country gives a credit for tax paid to the other on income sourced there [5]. Malta's credit is limited to amounts actually remitted or received [5].

On the Australian end, the big question is whether you've stopped being an Australian tax resident. That's an ATO test based on your circumstances, not on a form you fill in. Our Australian tax residency after moving guide walks through it.

The social security agreement

The Australia–Malta social security agreement started on 1 July 2005, replacing a 1991 agreement [6]. It covers the Age Pension and some other Australian payments, plus Malta's contributory retirement, invalidity and widowhood pensions [6].

What it does: Australia counts your Maltese insurance periods towards its residence requirements, and Malta counts your Australian working-life residence towards its minimums [6]. An Australian pension paid in Malta is worked out in proportion to your years of Australian working-life residence, such as 20/35ths for 20 years [6]. The agreement doesn't cover super, and the department page doesn't mention healthcare [6].

Your first year: step by step

1. Get your Maltese tax number and give your employer a completed FS4 [8].
2. Decide what stays in Australia. Keep Australian rent, dividends and savings in Australian accounts if you're on the remittance basis [2].
3. Check your Australian residency with the ATO tests and tell your bank and super fund.
4. Track foreign income. If it passes €35,000 a year, the €5,000 minimum tax may apply [2].
5. Keep your FS3 and bank statements. You'll need them for any Maltese return due by 30 June [3].
6. Get advice for anything unusual, such as share sales, a Maltese property or a business.

People in Cooee Malta, our Facebook group for Australians in Malta, swap notes on FS4 forms and accountants who understand both systems.

Sources

1. Personal tax and 2026 tax rates – Malta Tax and Customs Administration
2. Malta: taxes on personal income (reviewed 30 September 2026) – PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries
3. Malta: tax administration (reviewed 30 September 2026) – PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries
4. Malta: other taxes, social security contributions – PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries
5. Australia–Malta tax agreement, synthesised text with the MLI – Australian Taxation Office
6. Social Security Agreement between Australia and Malta: FAQs – Department of Social Services
7. Malta: residence (reviewed 30 September 2026) – PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries
8. Payroll updates 2026 – PwC Malta
9. Taxation on individuals – Malta Tax and Customs Administration
10. Overseas pensions and double taxation agreements – Malta Tax and Customs Administration

Keep reading

• Working in Malta: iGaming, finance and the Jobsplus licence
• Cost of living in Valletta vs Sydney and Melbourne
• Australian tax residency after moving
• Super while living overseas