TaxLegal and tax navigator
A practical Malta navigator for company formation, holdings, trusts and private foundations, bank accounts, tax, funds and MFSA licensing.
Legal and business review
The legal form, owners and UBOs, functions and management, tax residence, capital origin, regulated perimeter, markets, payment flows and reporting should be settled before incorporation. Registration alone creates neither a tax benefit nor a guaranteed bank account.
Malta is an EU state whose system combines civil-law and common-law instruments. The MBR maintains company and beneficial-ownership registers, MTCA administers tax and customs, the MFSA licenses financial services and the FIAU leads the AML/CFT framework.
An operating or holding business commonly uses a private limited company; public and specialist forms serve different capital and regulatory objectives. The route covers the name, memorandum and articles, shareholders, director, company secretary, registered office, capital, UBO, MBR and tax registrations.
Open detailed section →A registered office does not replace effective management. Board decisions, authority, contracts, people, premises, expenditure and risk control should evidence the company's function. The annual return and UBO confirmation follow each anniversary within the statutory window; accounting and audit depend on the applicable category.
The bank or financial institution is checked in the MFSA's official register. A company, trust, foundation or private client prepares an ownership chart, UBO evidence, source of wealth and funds, business model, contracts, financial data, tax residence, countries and projected flows. The institution decides under its risk policy.
Open detailed section →Maltese law supports trusts and private foundations, but they differ in legal nature, governance and disclosure. Professional trustees and private-foundation administrators fall within the MFSA perimeter. Selection follows ownership objectives, succession, beneficiary protection, tax and recognition in the family's countries.
Open detailed section →UCITS, AIFs, PIFs, NAIFs and other regimes differ by investor eligibility, authorisation or notification, manager, depositary, administration, NAV, audit and marketing. A label does not replace analysis of the product and its cross-border offering.
Maltese companies are taxed at a 35% headline rate on applicable income and gains. Following a dividend, a shareholder may, where the conditions are met, claim a refund of part or all tax paid by the company. Entitlement, amount and timing depend on income, tax account, recipient and procedure; this is not an automatic 5% rate.
Open detailed section →Standard VAT is 18%; specified categories use 12%, 7%, 5% or 0% or an exemption. Registration, place of supply, reverse charge, imports, intra-EU transactions, financial exemptions and input recovery are mapped for each chain.
Deposit taking, payment services, e-money, investment services, fund management, insurance, crypto-asset and fiduciary services require a licensing analysis before an ordinary company trades. The MFSA examines capital, owners, fitness, governance, substance, safeguarding, outsourcing, IT and AML.
The MBR maintains the central beneficial-owner register. Banks and professionals review control, PEP and sanctions exposure, economic purpose, capital origin and transactions. CRS, FATCA, DAC6 and owner-country rules require a separate analysis.
Participation exemption, treaty access, withholding tax, transfer pricing, anti-abuse, ATAD/CFC, Pillar Two and IP provisions apply only where their conditions are met. A company should not be an unsupported shell without functions and business rationale.
First map objectives and the countries of owners, assets and clients; then settle form, governance, tax model, licences, MBR/UBO, bank file, contracts, accounting, audit, VAT and the annual compliance calendar.
Solutions for international business
The legal system and corporate law determine which vehicle can be formed, how assets are controlled, which licences are required and whether the structure is bankable.
We select an LLC, corporation, partnership, branch, holding or special vehicle and prepare constitutional documents, governance, UBO and approvals.
↗02We compare control, asset ownership, beneficiaries, succession, tax, substance and bankability.
↗03We select an institution for the relevant countries and flows, prepare ownership, business model and source-of-wealth/funds files, and support onboarding.
↗04We classify banking, payment, investment, fund, insurance and other regulated functions and design the licensing and compliance route.
↗Formation, licensing and account opening remain subject to the decision of the relevant authority, regulator or financial institution.
Discuss an international structureInternational tax expertise
A headline rate is only the beginning. Test the full life cycle before choosing a company, fund, bank or place of management.
New rules, effective dates and transition provisions.
Rates, base, special regimes, minimum tax and sector rules.
Management, agents, premises, people, construction and services.
VAT/GST, sales tax, customs, excise, property and registration charges.
Recognition, depreciation, interest, provisions and loss relief.
Consolidation, intra-group transfers, M&A, financing and exit.
Eligibility, real activity, people, expenditure and preservation of relief.
Dividends, interest, royalties, services, capital gains and branch remittance.
Related parties, arm’s length, documentation, DEMPE and treaty entitlement.
Registration, returns, deadlines, audits, penalties, objections and litigation.
Presence days, domicile, permanent home, centre of interests and treaty tie-breakers.
Employment, director fees, business, investments and property.
Allowances, reliefs, pension and insurance contributions.
Capital gains, wealth, property, inheritance and gift taxes.
Foreign tax credit, exemption, treaties and residence certificates.
Returns, instalments, notifications, foreign assets and sample computation.
The outcome depends on the facts, source, residence, applicable treaty and law in force on the transaction date.
Primary sources
Open the regulator and tax-authority documents supporting the country overview. Applicability is tested separately for each transaction.
Banking support
We align a company, trust, foundation or investment structure with its real function, licences and bank requirements, and prepare ownership, capital-origin and transaction evidence. The financial institution makes the final account decision.
Discuss opening an accountThe information is general in nature, does not constitute legal or tax advice and should be verified as of the date of the specific transaction.