Malta tax treaties in 2026: what they save you and how to claim

Last reviewed: November 2026 · Reviewed by Stéphane Gombauld, tax expert, technologist and digital nomad

You live in Malta, or plan to, while your clients, employer or investments sit elsewhere. Two countries may want to tax the same euro. This guide shows how Malta's treaties split the bill, what each main partner keeps at source, and how to claim relief.

Malta tax treaties in 2026: the key figures

What changed for 2026

• Crypto reporting. Legal Notice 162 of 2026 brought crypto-asset service providers into Malta's automatic exchange rules (DAC8), with effect from 1 January 2026. Treaty partners in the EU now receive this data.
• New expat regime. The Tax Treatment of Highly Skilled Individuals Rules (LN 20 of 2026) apply from 1 January 2026, with a 15% flat rate on qualifying employment income. Some foreign authorities look closely at flat-rate taxpayers before granting treaty relief.
• New programme rules. The Individual Tax Programme Rules (LN 195 of 2026) come into force on 1 January 2027.
• Treaty rates unchanged. The consolidated treaty texts for the six partners below show no 2026 amendment.

Is this guide for you?

Read on if you…

• earn income from another country while living in Malta, or the other way round;
• could count as tax resident in two countries in the same year;
• receive dividends, interest or royalties from abroad and want to know how much survives the border.

Probably not your case if you…

• live in Malta and all your income is Maltese. Start with personal income taxes in Malta;
• only want the headline rates. Your tax guide to Malta has them on one page.

How do Malta's tax treaties work?

A double tax treaty is an agreement between two countries about who taxes what. Malta gives its treaties effect through the Income Tax Act (Cap. 123). Where a treaty limits Maltese tax, the treaty wins. The MTCA treaty list shows 78 in force.

Malta's treaties broadly follow the OECD model and do three jobs.

1. They settle residence. If both countries treat you as resident, a tie-breaker picks one. It looks, in order, at your permanent home, your centre of vital interests (where your life is), where you habitually live, and your nationality. Authorities then agree if all else fails.
2. They allocate income. Each article covers one type: business profits, employment, dividends, interest, royalties, pensions, gains, property. It says who may tax and whether the source country must cap its tax.
3. They remove double tax. Malta uses the credit method: you declare the foreign income, compute Maltese tax on it, then deduct the foreign tax, up to the Maltese amount.

The OECD Multilateral Instrument (MLI) can add a principal purpose test to a treaty. In plain words: a benefit can be denied if obtaining it was one of the main purposes of an arrangement. Whether the MLI changes a given Maltese treaty depends on the positions both countries took. The MTCA list flags each one: Austria, Spain and Portugal are modified, Germany, Italy and Switzerland are not.

Where no treaty applies

You are not left without relief. The Income Tax Act also grants unilateral relief (arts. 79–88): a credit for foreign tax on income taxed in Malta, even without a treaty. Where that is unavailable too, a flat-rate foreign tax credit may apply (arts. 92–95). Keep proof of the foreign tax actually paid.

How Malta's remittance basis interacts with treaties

Most foreigners living in Malta are resident but not domiciled. They pay Maltese tax on Maltese income and on foreign income they bring into Malta. Foreign income left abroad is not taxed in Malta. Details are in tax residency in Malta.

Here's the catch. A credit only works against Maltese tax. If your foreign dividend stays abroad, Malta taxes nothing, so there is nothing to credit the foreign withholding against. Some treaties also limit source-country relief to income actually taxed in Malta. Read the treaty's limitation of relief clause before you rely on a reduced rate for money you keep offshore.

A second catch: a non-dom whose foreign income in the previous year was EUR 35,000 or more, and not fully remitted, owes a minimum Maltese tax of EUR 5,000 (art. 56(27) Cap. 123). It does not apply if another minimum-tax regime, such as a 15% programme, already covers you. Maltese tax you already pay counts towards it, except the final tax on a property sale. That minimum is computed before double tax relief, so foreign tax credits do not reduce it.

What do Malta's main treaty partners withhold?

The table shows the maximum tax the partner country may withhold on payments to a Maltese resident. Malta keeps 0% on payments going the other way.

Rates are the maximums in each treaty's dividends, interest and royalties articles; the lower holding-based rates are for companies. EU directives can cut withholding further for qualifying companies. Without the paperwork, the payer applies its full domestic rate.

Austria and Switzerland matter for many readers who keep ties there. See international tax treaties of Austria and international tax treaties of Switzerland for the other side of each treaty.

How to claim a reduced rate

1. Become resident in Malta and register with the Commissioner for Tax and Customs. Steps: practical guide to obtaining your tax residency in Malta.
2. Ask the Commissioner for a certificate of tax residence for the year. Act III of 2026 renamed the tax department the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA).
3. Send the certificate, with the payer's own form, to the foreign payer before payment. Otherwise the payer withholds the full domestic rate.
4. If full tax was withheld, file the partner country's refund claim within its deadline.
5. Declare the foreign income and the foreign tax on your Maltese return to claim the credit.

What changes when you move to Malta or leave it?

Moving in

The year you arrive, two countries often both want a return. The tie-breaker runs on facts: lease, family, bank accounts, where you spend your days. Keep proof that your home and life moved. If you use a special regime, check how the other country treats it; see tax breaks for expats and digital nomads in Malta.

Moving out

When you leave, Maltese-source income such as rent on a Maltese flat usually stays taxable in Malta. Your new country then gives the credit. The checklist is in the practical guide to ceasing your tax residency in Malta.

How do treaties affect a company run from Malta?

A Maltese company is resident because it is incorporated in Malta. Another country can still claim it if it is managed from there. The treaty, as modified by the MLI where applicable, then settles the conflict, sometimes only by agreement between the two authorities.

Working for your company from another country can also create a permanent establishment there: a fixed place of business, such as a home office used for months. Profits linked to it are taxed in that country.

Treaties do not change Malta's own system: the 35% rate, the shareholder refunds and the elective 15% rate apply whatever the owner's country. What a treaty changes is how the owner's country taxes the dividend. See corporate income taxes in Malta.

Common mistakes (and what they cost)

• Assuming 183 days decides everything. Tie-breakers start with your permanent home and centre of vital interests. You can spend 170 days in Malta and still be resident elsewhere.
• Claiming a treaty rate without a residence certificate. The payer withholds its full domestic rate, and you wait months for a refund of the excess.
• Keeping income offshore and expecting a credit. If Malta taxes nothing, there is no Maltese tax to credit, and the foreign withholding becomes a final cost.
• Running a Maltese company from your home country. You risk dual residence or a permanent establishment there, and tax in both places until the authorities agree.
• Forgetting the minimum tax. A non-dom whose prior-year foreign income reached EUR 35,000 and was not fully remitted still owes at least EUR 5,000 in Malta, and foreign credits do not reduce it.

Frequently asked questions

How many tax treaties does Malta have in 2026?

The Malta Tax and Customs Administration lists 78 double tax treaties in force, including Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Hong Kong. Three more, with Curaçao, Ethiopia and Ghana, are signed but not yet in force. Where no treaty exists, Maltese law still grants unilateral relief for foreign tax on income taxed in Malta.

Does Malta withhold tax on dividends paid to foreigners?

No. Malta does not withhold tax on dividends paid by Maltese companies to non-residents, and interest and royalties paid to non-residents are exempt unless linked to a Maltese permanent establishment. This applies with or without a treaty. Your own country of residence may still tax the income under its domestic law and the treaty.

What is the tie-breaker rule in Malta's treaties?

When both countries treat you as resident, the treaty applies tests in order: permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode and nationality. If none decides, the two tax authorities agree between them. The first test that gives a clear answer settles your treaty residence for that period.

What is the Malta–Switzerland treaty rate on dividends?

Switzerland may withhold 15% on dividends paid to a Maltese resident. A Maltese company holding at least 10% of the Swiss company for at least one year can receive them at 0%, if further conditions are met. Without a certificate of residence, the Swiss payer withholds its full domestic rate first.

Does the remittance basis stop me from using treaties?

Not in general: you stay a Maltese resident under the treaty. But a credit only works against Maltese tax, and non-doms pay none on foreign income kept abroad. Some treaties also limit source-country relief to income taxed in Malta. Remitting the income usually restores both the credit and the treaty position.

What happens if Malta has no treaty with a country?

You can claim unilateral relief. You declare the foreign income on your Maltese return and deduct the foreign tax paid, up to the Maltese tax on that income. Keep official proof of the foreign tax. Where unilateral relief is not available either, a flat-rate foreign tax credit may apply.

Related guides

• Tax residency in Malta and the tie-breaker facts
• Corporate income taxes in Malta
• Personal income taxes in Malta
• Capital gains taxation in Malta
• International tax treaties of Austria
• International tax treaties of Switzerland
• Your complete tax guide to Malta
• All country tax guides

Sources

• Income Tax Act, Chapter 123 – Laws of Malta (legislation.mt)
• Double taxation conventions in force – Malta Tax and Customs Administration
• Malta–Switzerland double taxation convention, S.L. 123.136 – legislation.mt
• Malta–Spain double taxation convention, S.L. 123.94 – legislation.mt
• Malta–Germany double taxation convention, S.L. 123.6 – legislation.mt
• Malta–Austria double taxation convention, S.L. 123.12 – legislation.mt
• Legal Notice 162 of 2026 (DAC8) – legislation.mt
• Tax Treatment of Highly Skilled Individuals Rules, S.L. 123.219 – legislation.mt

This guide is general information, not personalised tax advice. See how we research and review.