What it's worth
Net pay per year in Malta, employee, single, 2026. Below €65,000 the rate doesn't apply at all; from €65,000 it applies to every euro of your salary.
| Gross salary | Standard | HSI 15% | Difference | A month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €60,000 | €45,492 | Below €65,000: the 15% rate doesn't apply | ||
| €65,000 | €48,742 | €52,342 | +€3,600 | +€300 |
| €100,000 | €71,492 | €82,092 | +€10,600 | +€883 |
| €150,000 | €103,992 | €124,592 | +€20,600 | +€1,717 |
| €250,000 | €168,992 | €209,592 | +€40,600 | +€3,383 |
On standard rules the first €12,000 is tax-free and the rate reaches 35% above €60,000. The 15% rate has no tax-free part, but it's still lower from the first euro of the threshold up. Check your exact salary
Who qualifies
You can be taxed at 15% if all of these are true:
- You earn at least €65,000 a year from the job, not counting fringe benefits. The minimum rises to €75,000 from 2031 and €85,000 from 2036.
- You hold one of the senior or specialist roles listed for your employer's sector, such as chief executive, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, chief risk officer, portfolio manager, senior trader or senior analyst.
- Your employer works in a covered sector: financial services, gaming, aviation, maritime, family offices, or innovation and technology work such as software, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.
- You have the professional qualifications for the role and at least 5 years of relevant experience.
- Your contract is under Maltese law, and you really do the work in Malta.
- You have health insurance for yourself and your family, a place to live in Malta, and enough money not to need social assistance.
- You aren't domiciled in Malta. Maltese people who come home have their own rules for returnees.
Nationality doesn't matter: unlike the old rules, people from outside the EU get the same 15% for the same number of years. If you're not from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you still need a work permit; the Key Employee Initiative is the fast route for roles like these.
What it covers
- Your salary from the qualifying job
- Bonuses and other pay from the same contract
- Pay above €7 million is taxed at the normal top rate, 35%
- Social security is paid in full, at most €55.93 a week in 2026
- No tax-free band, deductions or credits against the 15%
- Other income, such as rent or investments, is taxed as usual
- Your spouse's income is taxed under the normal rules
The 15% is final: there's no further tax on that pay, and no deductions or credits against it. You choose it each year, in your tax return.
How long it lasts
Five tax years in a row, from the year it's first granted for. It can then be extended twice, by five years each time, so up to 15 years in all, but never beyond 2040. Example for someone whose first year is 2026:
The 15% applies only in years when you still meet every condition. A year in which you earn less than the minimum is taxed at the normal rates.
How to apply
- 1Check that your role and your employer's sector are on the list. The regulator for the sector decides: the MFSA for financial services, the Malta Gaming Authority for gaming, Transport Malta for aviation and maritime, Malta Enterprise for innovation and technology.
- 2Apply to that regulator with your contract, your qualifications, references covering your 5 years of experience and recent payslips. It has 90 days to decide and sends its decision to the tax office. Applications are open until the end of 2035.
- 3Each year, choose the 15% rate in your tax return and attach the form that goes with it. Tell your employer, so the tax it takes from your pay during the year matches.
When it ends
When your 15% years end and aren't extended, all your pay is taxed at the normal rates. At €100,000 a year that means €883 less a month.
If you were on the HQP rules
The HSI rules replaced the Highly Qualified Persons (HQP) rules, and the rules for innovation and creativity and for aviation, from 2026. Nobody can join the old rules any more. If you were already taxed under one of them at the end of 2025, you keep it, but you must apply to move to the new rules by the end of 2028. If you're coming from a regime with a lower minimum salary, the €65,000 minimum is phased in over your first three years.
Malta's other tax benefits
- Nomad Residence Permit: for people who work remotely for a foreign employer or their own foreign clients. Pay is tax-free for the first 12 months, then taxed at 10%.
- Non-domiciled residents pay tax on foreign income only when they bring it to Malta, and never on foreign capital gains. There's a €5,000 minimum yearly tax if foreign income is €35,000 or more.
- Global Residence and Retirement programmes: 15% on foreign income brought to Malta, with a minimum tax. From 2027 they become one Individual Tax Programme.
Sources and limits
- Tax Treatment of Highly Skilled Individuals Rules, 2026 (Legal Notice 20 of 2026, S.L. 123.219) · legislation.mt
- Malta Tax and Customs Administration, guidelines on the Highly Skilled Individuals rules, April 2026 · Malta Tax and Customs Administration
- Highly Qualified Persons Rules (S.L. 123.126), the rules HSI replaced · legislation.mt
- Nomad Residence Permits (Income Tax) Rules, 2023 (S.L. 123.210) · legislation.mt
- Income Tax Act (Cap. 123), art. 56: the standard rates · legislation.mt
- Social Security Department, Class 1 contributions 2026 · Social Security Department
Information, not tax advice. The rules are new: this guide is built from the tax office's guidelines and the published summaries of the 2026 rules, and we haven't yet checked every condition against the legal text. The salary figures come from our Malta calculation (single, born in 1962 or later, no statutory bonuses), computed by us; the standard rates are checked against an independent calculator. The regulator for your sector decides whether you qualify.