How Malta’s resident non-dom framework, Individual Tax Programme and business structures can support internationally active founders.
What’s Inside
Malta’s 2027 Individual Tax Programme can provide qualifying international entrepreneurs with a 15% tax rate on foreign income received in Malta. Its suitability, however, depends on considerably more than the headline rate. An entrepreneur must consider Malta’s underlying resident non-dom tax system, the source and character of personal income, the location from which international companies are managed, and the appropriate separation of operating businesses from accumulated family wealth. This publication explains how these elements interact and when Malta may offer an effective European base for an entrepreneur, business family or founder preparing for relocation, international expansion, succession or a future liquidity event.
Key Legal Points
- Malta’s resident non-dom framework determines the underlying tax base; the Individual Tax Programme adds an elective special rate.
- Qualifying foreign income received in Malta is taxed at 15%, subject to a €35,000 minimum annual tax for global and EU/EEA/Swiss resident status.
- Maltese-source income and other income outside the special rate are generally taxed at 35% under the programme.
- Foreign capital gains generally remain outside Maltese taxation for a resident non-dom, even when the proceeds are received in Malta.
- Managing a foreign company from Malta may affect its tax residence, permanent-establishment exposure and reporting obligations.
- A Maltese operating or holding company requires commercial purpose, governance and substance; it is not an automatic consequence of personal relocation.
- Immigration residence, work authorisation, personal tax residence, domicile and corporate residence remain separate legal questions.
- The entrepreneur’s operating business and accumulated family wealth may require different ownership and governance structures.
Who Is This For?
This publication is intended for founders, owner-managed business principals, technology entrepreneurs, investors, consultants, family-business owners and internationally mobile executives considering Malta as a personal residence and European business base. It is also relevant to family offices and professional advisers coordinating a founder’s residence, business interests, investments and succession arrangements across several jurisdictions.
What This Means for You
Malta should be assessed as an integrated residence, business and private-wealth jurisdiction rather than simply as a 15% tax programme. The appropriate outcome depends on the entrepreneur’s expected income and remittances, where the business is genuinely managed, whether Malta will become the family’s principal home, and how operating assets should be separated from long-term family capital. The planning should generally take place before relocation, before management functions move to Malta and, where possible, before a business disposal or other liquidity event.
Malta’s Resident Non-Dom Foundation
The starting point is Malta’s resident non-domiciled, or resident non-dom, tax framework. Residence and domicile are separate concepts under Maltese tax law. An individual can become resident in Malta without acquiring a Maltese domicile.
According to the Malta Tax and Customs Administration’s guidance on the remittance basis, an individual who is resident but not domiciled or not ordinarily resident in Malta is generally taxed on:
- income and capital gains arising in Malta;
- foreign income, but only to the extent that it is received in Malta; and
- no Maltese tax on foreign capital gains, even where those gains are subsequently received in Malta.
👉 Source: MTCA Remittance Basis Guidance
The distinction between income and capital is therefore fundamental. Dividends, interest, pensions, rental income and business income may constitute income. An inheritance, repayment of capital or proceeds from the disposal of a capital asset may be capital, although the classification depends on the facts and applicable law.
Remittances used for ordinary living expenses are generally presumed to represent income unless the taxpayer can substantiate a capital source. Entrepreneurs therefore need clear banking records and properly segregated income, capital and sale-proceeds accounts before relocating.
Under the ordinary resident non-dom rules, Maltese-source income and foreign income received in Malta are normally subject to Malta’s progressive individual rates. A separate minimum tax of €5,000 may apply to certain non-domiciled individuals whose foreign income reaches the statutory threshold. The 15% rate is not the resident non-dom system itself. It arises through a qualifying special tax status, including the new Individual Tax Programme.
“Malta’s international competitiveness does not rest on a single preferential rate. Its more important distinction is the tax base: Maltese-source income remains taxable, foreign income is taxed when received in Malta, and foreign capital gains generally remain outside the Maltese charge. The Individual Tax Programme should be understood as an elective layer built on that foundation.”
Dr Jean-Philippe Chetcuti
Senior Partner – Citizenship, Residency and Private Client Tax
Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates
How the 2027 Programme Works
The Individual Tax Programme Rules, 2026, come into force on 1 January 2027. The Rules consolidate four categories of special tax status:
- global resident status for qualifying third-country nationals;
- EU, EEA and Swiss resident status;
- retired pensioner status; and
- UN pensioner status.
👉 Full legal framework: www.ccmalta.com/publications/malta-15-tax-status-for-international-residents
International entrepreneurs will ordinarily consider either global resident status or EU/EEA/Swiss resident status, depending on their nationality.
For these two categories, foreign income received in Malta is subject to tax at 15%, with the possibility of claiming applicable double-taxation relief. A minimum annual tax of €35,000 applies. The minimum is payable in full in the year in which status is granted and in the year in which it ceases, meaning that it is not automatically apportioned according to the number of months for which the status is held. Income not qualifying for the 15% rate is generally taxed separately at 35% under the Rules.
The programme also requires:
- a non-refundable application fee of €8,500;
- a qualifying property purchased for at least €700,000 or rented for at least €14,000 annually;
- stable and regular resources;
- comprehensive sickness insurance covering the beneficiary and dependants;
- adequate communication in one of Malta’s official languages;
- satisfaction of the fit-and-proper requirement;
- continued representation by an authorised registered mandatary; and
- non-domicile in Malta, without an intention to establish a Maltese domicile during the relevant five-year period.
The qualifying Maltese property must be occupied as the beneficiary’s primary residence. The Rules define this as the dwelling in which the individual habitually resides as their “principal place of abode worldwide”. The property cannot be let or sublet while being used as the qualifying property.
The status is granted for five years and may be renewed for further five-year periods. Each renewal application carries a €2,500 administrative fee. Applications and ongoing filings must be handled through an authorised registered mandatary.
The programme does not, by itself, constitute an immigration or work permit. It grants a special tax status under the Income Tax Act. The entrepreneur must separately establish the legal basis for residing and, where relevant, working or carrying on a self-employed activity in Malta.
Status can cease where the beneficiary:
- becomes a Maltese national;
- becomes a long-term or permanent resident of Malta;
- loses or sublets the qualifying property;
- no longer holds the required medical insurance;
- spends more than 183 days in another jurisdiction during a calendar year;
- ceases to be represented by an authorised registered mandatary;
- fails to pay the minimum tax or submit the prescribed return; or
- otherwise ceases to satisfy the eligibility conditions.
The interaction with permanent residence requires particular attention. An entrepreneur whose longer-term objective is permanent or EU long-term residence may need to plan for the eventual cessation of ITP status and the resulting transition to a different Maltese tax basis.
When the ITP Suits Entrepreneurs
The programme is most relevant where the entrepreneur expects to receive substantial recurring foreign income in Malta.
At a 15% rate, the €35,000 minimum annual tax corresponds arithmetically to approximately €233,333 of qualifying foreign income received in Malta, before considering double-taxation relief and any other taxable income.
The ITP may be particularly suitable for an entrepreneur who:
- receives substantial foreign dividends or investment income;
- wants predictable taxation of recurring foreign income used in Malta;
- intends to establish a genuine principal residence in Malta;
- is relocating with a spouse and qualifying dependants;
- expects Malta to be a medium-term personal and commercial base;
- will maintain sufficient commercial substance outside Malta for businesses intended to remain foreign-resident; or
- is coordinating relocation with succession, investment or post-liquidity planning.
The programme may be less suitable where:
- annual foreign-income remittances are relatively modest;
- the entrepreneur’s principal income will arise from services physically performed in Malta;
- the individual intends to seek permanent or long-term residence shortly after arrival;
- Malta will not genuinely become the principal place of abode worldwide;
- the founder will continue to manage a foreign company informally from Malta;
- the departure jurisdiction continues to regard the individual or company as resident; or
- an unresolved exit tax, controlled foreign company rule or anti-avoidance provision applies elsewhere.
An entrepreneur expecting limited remittances should compare the ITP against the ordinary resident non-dom framework rather than assuming that the 15% rate produces the lower liability.
“The decisive question for an entrepreneur is not whether Malta offers a 15% rate. It is whether the expected foreign-income remittances justify the €35,000 minimum and whether that income remains foreign-source once the founder begins directing business activity from Malta.”
Magdalena Velkovska
Director – Private Client Tax
Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates
Managing International Business from Malta
An entrepreneur’s personal tax status does not determine the residence or taxation of their companies.
Once a founder begins conducting substantial business activity from Malta, several separate issues arise:
- where strategic and commercial decisions are taken;
- where board meetings and executive functions occur;
- where contracts are negotiated and concluded;
- where employees and operational teams work;
- where intellectual property is developed and managed;
- whether a foreign company has a Maltese permanent establishment;
- whether the foreign company’s management and control have moved to Malta; and
- whether the entrepreneur’s remuneration is foreign-source or Maltese-source.
👉 Related analysis: www.ccmalta.com/publications/guide-malta-companies-company-tax-system
The Malta Tax and Customs Administration states that a company may require Maltese income-tax registration where it is incorporated in Malta, where its management and control are located in Malta, or where it carries on an activity in Malta.
The ITP does not convert Maltese-source earnings into foreign income. Salary, consultancy income or business profits connected with activities performed in Malta may be taxable as Maltese-source income.
The entrepreneur should also review the law of the departure jurisdiction, which may continue to assert:
- individual tax residence;
- corporate residence;
- a permanent establishment;
- controlled foreign company taxation;
- exit taxation;
- transfer-pricing adjustments;
- social-security liability; or
- taxation of a subsequent business disposal.
Maltese Companies as a Business Base
A Maltese company can provide an established EU corporate platform for international business, but it should be used for a genuine commercial purpose.
👉 Learn more: https://www.ccmalta.com/solutions/malta-holding-company
A Malta company may function as:
- an international trading or operating company;
- an EU contracting company;
- a group headquarters or coordination company;
- an intellectual-property company;
- a holding company for international subsidiaries;
- a family investment company;
- an investment or co-investment platform; or
- a succession and governance vehicle.
Maltese companies are generally subject to corporate income tax at 35%. Malta operates a full imputation system and shareholder refund mechanisms depending on structure and income type.
👉 Corporate tax overview: www.ccmalta.com/publications/guide-malta-companies-company-tax-system
It is therefore inaccurate to describe Malta as having a universal 5% corporate tax rate.
“A founder’s personal relocation does not automatically justify moving every company or asset to Malta. The operating business, investment holdings and family wealth should each be located and governed according to their commercial purpose, substance and succession objectives.”
Dr Priscilla Mifsud-Parker
Managing Partner, ACC Advisors
Senior Partner – Tax, Family Office and Immigration, Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates
Separating Business and Family Wealth
Entrepreneurs often begin by holding most of their wealth through the operating business. As the business matures, wealth may need to be separated into:
- operating risk;
- intellectual property;
- strategic shareholdings;
- surplus corporate cash;
- investments;
- real estate;
- family assets; and
- succession structures.
👉 Related publication: www.ccmalta.com/publications/malta-family-investment-companies
A Maltese holding company, family investment company, trust or foundation may be used depending on objectives, but each structure must be assessed independently for tax, legal and cross-border recognition.
Planning Before Relocation
A coordinated review should include:
- departure tax analysis;
- income and capital mapping;
- comparison of ITP vs non-dom taxation;
- corporate residence review;
- Malta company structuring;
- asset separation planning;
- immigration alignment;
- remittance structuring; and
- compliance preparation.
How Our Tax and Immigration Lawyers Help
ACC Advisors and Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates advise on:
- Malta residence and tax structuring;
- Individual Tax Programme applications;
- cross-border corporate structuring;
- family office and wealth structuring;
- trusts and foundations;
- relocation planning; and
- ongoing compliance.
👉 Contact us: https://www.maltaimmigration.eu/contact-us
About the Expert Contributors
Dr Jean-Philippe Chetcuti – Senior Partner, Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates
https://www.ccmalta.com/people/jean-philippe-chetcuti
Dr Priscilla Mifsud-Parker – Managing Partner, ACC Advisors
https://www.maltaimmigration.eu/key-people/dr-priscilla-mifsud-parker/
Magdalena Velkovska – Director, Private Client Tax
https://www.ccmalta.com/people/magdalena-velkovska
Official Sources
All legislative and regulatory references are available via Malta’s official legislation portal and the Malta Tax and Customs Administration.
https://legislation.mt/eli/ln/2026/195/eng
https://legislation.mt/eli/cap/123/eng
https://mtca.gov.mt/business-tax/corporate/corporate_tax
https://mtca.gov.mt/business-tax/corporate/Income_Tax
About the Authors
Dr Jean-Philippe Chetcuti is Senior Partner at Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates and a leading Maltese practitioner in international private-client tax, citizenship and residence planning, and cross-border wealth structuring. He advises entrepreneurs, family offices and high-net-worth individuals on the interaction between Maltese tax residence, remittance-based taxation, corporate structuring and succession planning across multiple jurisdictions. His practice focuses on designing legally robust frameworks for internationally mobile clients whose affairs span business ownership, investment portfolios and family governance structures. He regularly works alongside foreign counsel to coordinate Malta’s tax and immigration regimes with the legal and tax systems of other countries.
Dr Priscilla Mifsud-Parker is Managing Partner of ACC Advisors and Senior Partner at Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates, specialising in international tax structuring, family office advisory, trusts and foundations, and complex cross-border relocation planning. She advises entrepreneurial families and corporate groups on aligning personal residence, business operations and long-term wealth preservation strategies. Her work includes the establishment of Malta-based holding structures, family investment companies and governance frameworks designed to support succession planning and intergenerational wealth transfer. She is widely recognised for her advisory role in multi-jurisdictional structuring projects involving both private and corporate clients.
Magdalena Velkovska is Director of Private Client Tax at Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates, advising on Maltese tax residence, non-domiciled taxation, special tax programmes and cross-border personal tax planning. She works closely with internationally mobile entrepreneurs and executives to structure income flows, remittances and investment holdings in a tax-efficient and compliant manner. Her practice includes detailed analysis of foreign income characterisation, treaty relief, and the interaction between Maltese tax rules and the tax regimes of other jurisdictions. She also supports clients in ensuring ongoing compliance with Maltese reporting obligations and special tax status requirements.
Together, the authors form part of an integrated private-client advisory team combining Maltese tax law, immigration law, corporate structuring and family wealth planning. Their work is focused on delivering coordinated solutions for entrepreneurs and families whose personal residence, business interests and investment structures span multiple countries and regulatory systems.
