Accounting services in Malta: books, returns and the refund claim
We keep the books of your Malta company, prepare its VAT, payroll and tax returns and draw up the shareholder's claim for the 6/7 tax refund.
Filing dates
Every month's last working day FSS tax and social security for the month before, form FS5
15 Feb Forms FS3 and FS7 for the year before
30 Apr Provisional tax, first instalment: 20% of the tax in the last return
31 Aug Provisional tax, second instalment: 30%
What accounting for a Malta company includes
Your accountant works to this calendar, and each item shows in your account.
Every month
- Bookkeeping from your invoices, receipts and bank statements
- Payroll: payslips, income tax and social security, with the monthly form FS5
- The recapitulative statement of sales to EU businesses, by the 15th
- The month's income, costs and missing papers, in your account
Every quarter
- The VAT return, online by the 22nd of the second month after the period
- The VAT to pay, or the credit carried forward
Every year
- Financial statements under GAPSME or IFRS
- The audit file, and our answers to the auditor
- The corporate tax return and the provisional tax
- The annual return and the beneficial owners' confirmation for the Malta Business Registry, the MBR
- Forms FS3 and FS7 for the payroll year, by 15 February
- The shareholder's tax refund claim after each dividend
Bookkeeping in Malta: the books, the accounts and the audit the law asks for
10 yearsRecords the Companies Act asks for
The Companies Act, Cap. 386, asks every company for accounting records that explain its transactions and show its financial position at any time. The company keeps them for 10 years, at its registered office or wherever the directors decide. When the books are kept abroad, accounts reach Malta every 6 months.
31 DecemberThe financial year and GAPSME
The financial year ends on 31 December unless the company gives the Registry another date within 9 months of registration. A small or medium-sized company prepares its yearly accounts under GAPSME, Malta's own accounting principles, unless its board chooses IFRS, the international standards.
2 of 3Limits that let a private company drop the audit
A certified public auditor reports on the accounts of every company. The Companies Act lifts the audit from a private company within two of three limits: a balance sheet total of €46,600, turnover of €93,000 and 2 employees.
2025The audit test, applied to the tax return
For the tax return the Audit Exemption Rules of 2025 apply the two-of-three test to periods that start on or after 1 January 2025. Within two limits, a review report stands in for the audit report. Within all three, the return goes in with neither.
€80,000A new company's first two returns
A new company with turnover within €80,000 a year sends its first two tax returns with no audit report. Its owners are individuals who formed it within 3 years of gaining a qualification at level 3 or higher of the MQF, Malta's qualifications scale.
The filing year of a Malta company
For a financial year that ends on 31 December. We keep this calendar for your company, and every filing goes in before its date.
- Jan
- Feb15 FS3 and FS7
- Mar
- Apr30 Provisional tax, 20%
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug31 Provisional tax, 30%
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov27 Tax return for 2025, 2026
- Dec12 Accounts for 2025, 202621 Provisional tax, 50%
The last working day of every month FSS tax and social security for the month before, form FS5
Every quarter the VAT return, by the 22nd of the second month after the period, online
Each anniversary of registration the annual return, within 42 days
What clients write about Legarithm
4.8 on Google from 26 reviews.
What accounting services in Malta cost
Four things set the monthly fee: the number of documents, the bank accounts, VAT and payroll. The annual return fee is the Registry's own. For the full yearly cost of a Malta company, with the audit file and the tax after the refund, see the Malta services page.
Accounting in Malta, our fee
Fixed in your quoteYou get the figure in writing by the end of the next working day.
Get a quote- Payroll
- in your quote
- Yearly accounts, the audit and the tax return
- in your quote
- Shareholder's refund claim
- in your quote
- MBR fee with the annual return, filed online
- from €85 a year
Filing dates of a Malta company in 2026: VAT, payroll, tax return, annual return
The last column is what the law charges for a late filing.
| Filing or payment | Due | If late |
|---|---|---|
| VAT return | 22nd of the second month after the period, online | The higher of 1% of the VAT due and €20, for each month, up to €250 |
| FSS tax and social security, form FS5 | Last working day of the next month | Interest of 0.6% a month |
| Forms FS3 and FS7 | 15 February of the next year | FSS additional tax, up to €1,000 a default |
| Provisional tax | 30 April, 31 August and 21 December: 20%, 30% and 50% of the tax in the last return | 0.6% a month on the unpaid instalment |
| Corporate tax return, year to 31 December 2025 | Online by 27 November 2026; the tax by 30 September 2026 | 0.6% a month on unpaid tax |
| Annual accounts, year to 31 December 2025 | With the MBR by 12 December 2026 | Up to €2,329 and up to €46 a day |
| Annual return | 42 days after each anniversary of registration | Up to €2,329 and up to €46 a day |
VAT registration in Malta: Article 10, Article 11 and Article 12
The Malta Tax and Customs Administration, the MTCA, asks every company registered in Malta to register for VAT.
| Compared | Article 10 | Article 11 | Article 12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | A company with taxable sales | A small enterprise with sales in Malta up to €35,000 a year | A company outside Article 10 that buys from other EU states |
| When to register | Within 30 days of the first sale | By choice, in place of Article 10 | For goods, once EU purchases pass €10,000 in a year; for services, by the day of the first one |
| VAT on sales | Charged at 18%, the standard rate | None charged | None charged |
| VAT on purchases | Reclaimed | Not reclaimed | Not reclaimed |
| Return | Every 3 months | One declaration a year; the MTCA names the date each year | Maltese VAT self-charged on each EU purchase |
Payroll in Malta in 2026: FSS tax and social security contributions
FSSTax and social security, paid monthly
An employer deducts income tax and social security from each salary under the Final Settlement System, the FSS, and pays both to the Commissioner for Tax and Customs each month. Before the first salary the company takes a PE number, its employer's number, and sends form FS4 for each new employee.
€22,991.64Take-home pay on €30,000 a year, worked through
A single employee earns €30,000 in 2026. The single rates are 0% to €12,000, 15% to €16,000, 25% to €60,000 and 35% above, so the tax is 25% of the salary less €3,400: €4,100. Social security is 52 weeks at €55.93: €2,908.36. The employee takes home €22,991.64. The employer pays €32,995.72 in all, with its own contributions and €87.36 for the maternity fund.
These are the Class 1 contributions of an adult born in 1962 or later. The employer adds a maternity fund contribution of 0.3% of the wage, capped at €1.68 a week.
Up to €229.44
- Employee pays
- €22.94 a week
- Employer pays
- €22.94 a week
€229.45 to €559.30
- Employee pays
- 10% of the wage
- Employer pays
- 10% of the wage
€559.31 and above
- Employee pays
- €55.93 a week
- Employer pays
- €55.93 a week
Malta tax refund: the shareholder's claim in four steps
The law returns 6/7 of the company's tax on trading profit to a registered shareholder.
- once1
Shareholder registered
A shareholder claims after registering with the Commissioner for Tax and Customs. We prepare it for the MTCA's Shareholder Registration service.
- with the tax return2
Tax paid
The company sends its tax return and pays the 35%. The refund never exceeds the tax the company has paid.
- after the accounts3
Dividend paid
The company distributes the profit and issues a dividend certificate that shows the profit and the tax behind it.
- 14 days by the Act4
Claim filed
We prepare the claim with the certificate, within the 4 years the Act allows. The Act gives the Commissioner 14 days to pay once the refund is due, and 12 months more where he runs further checks.
How you see the books, and who does the work
One account for every paper
Your company has one account on the Legarithm platform, in the browser of your phone or laptop. You photograph or upload each invoice, receipt and bank statement, and it lands in the month's books. Your accountant answers in the account within one working day.
The month in figures, every return approved
After each month you see what the company earned and spent and which papers are still missing. The accountant's calendar of filings shows in your account, item by item. Every return waits in the account before its date, and you approve it there. We keep books in other countries too: outsourced accounting services.
Four people behind each filing
Your accountant at Legarithm keeps the books and prepares every return and the yearly accounts. A registered tax practitioner submits the company's tax return, as the MTCA requires. A certified public auditor signs the audit or review report. A director or the company secretary signs the annual return. The tax practitioner, the auditor and the company secretary are arranged as part of our service.
Changing accountant in Malta: how we take over the books
- day 11
You authorise us
A director signs form MTCA02, and the MTCA opens the company's tax and VAT services to the tax practitioner.
- then2
We collect the records
We ask your present accountant for the ledgers, the trial balance, the filed VAT returns, the FSS forms and the last audited accounts.
- within 14 days3
The Registry is told
A new company secretary goes on form K and a new registered office on form Q, each within 14 days of the change.
- from the next date4
We take over
We list what is filed, due and late, and prepare every return from the next date. A company we formed starts with no handover: company formation in Malta.
A platform where you open
and run the company online
Your whole company is in your pocket. Sign documents, check the books and write to your accountant from your phone.
Your Company Ltd
- Registration in progress
- Next deadline prepared
- Last month closed on time
- Passport copy Uploaded
- Proof of address Checked
- Company documents Sign
- Source of funds declaration Upload
You upload scans and sign the forms in the account. We keep the certificates and registers here afterwards, ready for a bank or an auditor.
The Legarithm team
We prepare your documents, check them before they are filed and keep your books.
Legal
Christina Agapiou Corporate Lawyer
Vasiliki Chatzigeorgiou Compliance Officer
Iryna Hrabovetska Associate
Anastasiia Kolomiiets Associate
Ivanna Plieshivtseva Junior Associate
Vladyslav Khamenushko Paralegal
Alisia Navrotska Paralegal
Vladyslav Syliava Paralegal
Finance and accounting
Ioannis Akritidis Accountant
Elizaveta Pytkina Accountant
Nataliia Dobrynina Accountant
Anna Kyrylova Finance specialist
Questions about accounting services in Malta
How much do accounting services in Malta cost?
Our fee stands in your quote, set by your documents, bank accounts, VAT and payroll. The MBR's fee with each annual return starts at €85 online and rises with capital, by the scale on company formation in Malta.
Does every Malta company need an audit?
No. Staying within two of these three limits exempts a private company: €46,600 of balance sheet total, €93,000 of turnover and 2 employees.
When is the tax return of a Malta company due?
Nine months after the financial year ends, or the next 31 March if that is later. For a year to 31 December 2025 the tax is due by 30 September 2026 and the online return by 27 November 2026.
When does a Malta company register for VAT?
Within 30 days of its first taxable sale, under Article 10 of the VAT Act. A company with sales in Malta up to €35,000 a year may choose Article 11 in its place.
Does a company with no activity need accounting in Malta?
Yes. It still sends the MBR an annual return each year, prepares accounts and files a tax return. A private company within all three small limits does so with no audit.
Who can file a company's tax return in Malta?
A registered tax practitioner: the MTCA takes company returns from no one else. A director signs form MTCA02 to give the practitioner access, and the practitioner is arranged as part of our service.
Get a quote for your company in Malta
Book a 30-minute call about your company
Your consultant Vladyslav Babaiev Opens in a new tab Business Setup Specialist
- We email you the Google Meet link.
- 30 minutes, free, no obligation to order.
- After the call we email you the checklist of documents for your country.
We reply by the end of the next working day with the cost and the dates for your case. The first call is free and confidential.
Also for a company in Malta
Guides to a company in Malta
Updated 21 October 2026. Reviewed by Vladyslav Drapii, Founder.
