Company formation in Malta: 5% tax after the shareholder's refund
Your Malta private limited company is filed online with €1,164.69 of capital, and the Registry registers it from 24 hours.
Company type
€100
registry fee
- 2 to 50 shareholders
- Share capital from €1,164.69, 20% paid in at signing
- One director or more, and a company secretary
€100
registry fee
- One shareholder
- Share capital from €1,164.69, 20% paid in at signing
- The sole director may be the secretary
Our fee for the documents, the filing and the local roles is fixed in your quote.
Compare the company types
What a private limited company in Malta is
LtdThe form founders register
The limited liability company is the most common form of business in Malta. Founders register the private kind, the Ltd, whose owners answer for its debts up to the amount unpaid on their shares. A private company restricts the transfer of its shares and makes no offer to the public. The Malta Business Registry, the MBR, registers it under the Companies Act, Cap. 386.
€1,164.69What the Companies Act asks for
- Two shareholders, or one in a single-member company
- One director or more
- A company secretary: a person, or a registered company service provider
- A registered office in Malta and an email address for the Registry's letters
- Share capital from €1,164.69, with 20% of each share paid in at signing
24 hoursOnline through BAROS, from where you live
The Act sets no nationality or residence condition for owners, directors or the secretary: you run the company from where you live. The filing with the Registry, the registered office and the company secretary are arranged as part of our service. Since 1 March 2025 every new company reaches the Registry online, through its portal BAROS. Once the Registrar holds every document, registration takes from 24 hours.
Minimum capital of €1,164.69 means €232.94 paid in at signing: 20%.
Who a Malta company suits: trading, holding and online business
A company that sells goods or services pays 35%, distributes its profit and leaves 5% in Malta after the 6/7 refund.
Dividends from a subsidiary and the gain on its shares arrive free of Malta tax under the participation exemption, from a holding of 5%.
An online business registers the same private company. A gaming or financial business adds a licence from its regulator, and we check yours before the filing.
Royalties from your software, brand or patents are trading income or passive royalties. Passive ones carry the 5/7 refund, which leaves 10%.
Malta company tax calculator
The company pays 35%. On trading profit the registered shareholder claims 6/7 of it back.
- Corporate tax the company pays
- €35,000
- Share of the profit
- 35%
Malta company tax calculator: 35%, and the 5% left after the refund on trading profit.
What clients write about Legarithm
4.8 on Google from 26 reviews.
Company types in Malta: private, single-member and public
| Compared | Private company, Ltd | Single-member company | Public company, p.l.c. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum share capital | €1,164.69 | €1,164.69 | €46,587.47 |
| Paid in at signing | 20% of each share | 20% of each share | 25% of each share |
| Shareholders | 2 to 50 | 1 | 2 or more |
| Directors | 1 or more | 1 or more, each a person | 2 or more |
| Company secretary | Required | Required; the sole director may hold the post | Required |
| Shares | Transfers restricted; no offer to the public | The same; the objects name one main activity | Offered to the public with a prospectus |
What company formation in Malta costs
The Registry's fees are for a file sent online. Our fee covers the documents, the filing and the local roles, and stands in your quote before you start. For the first year in order, from the Registry's fee to the audited accounts, see the Malta services page.
Company formation in Malta, our fee
Fixed in your quoteYou get the figure in writing by the end of the next working day.
Get a quote- MBR registration fee, capital up to €1,500
- €100
- Name reservation for 3 months
- €10
- Capital paid in at signing, 20% of €1,164.69
- €232.94
- Registered office and company secretary, a year
- in your quote
- Accounting, the audit file and the tax return
- in your quote
Malta company registration fees by authorised share capital
Online filing. Capital of €3,000 is 3 steps of €500 above €1,500: €210 and €36, so €246. A part step counts whole.
| Authorised share capital | Fee to register | Fee with each annual return |
|---|---|---|
| Up to €1,500 | €100 | €85 |
| Above €1,500, up to €5,000 | €210, then €12 per €500 | €120 |
| Above €5,000, up to €10,000 | €294, then €17 per €1,000 | €135 |
| Above €10,000, up to €50,000 | €379, then €17 per €2,500 | €300 |
| Above €50,000, up to €100,000 | €651, then €17 per €10,000 | €340 |
| Above €100,000, up to €250,000 | €736, then €8 per €15,000 | €510 |
| Above €250,000, up to €500,000 | €816, then €8 per €10,000 | €680 |
| Above €500,000, up to €1,000,000 | €1,016, then €17 per €20,000 | €765 |
| Above €1,000,000, up to €2,500,000 | €1,441, then €8 per €50,000 | €1,020 |
| Above €2,500,000 | €1,900 | €1,200 |
Setting up a company in Malta: six steps
- name held 3 months1
Name and structure
The name is reserved in BAROS for 3 months, for €10. You choose the shareholders, the director and the capital, and we write the memorandum in English.
- your part2
Your documents
You upload the certified passport copies and the other papers to your account on the Legarithm platform, and our compliance officer reads the file.
- before filing3
Capital and signatures
You pay 20% of the capital into a bank account opened for the company in formation, and the bank issues a deposit slip in its name. You sign the memorandum, the articles and each director's form K(1).
- from 24 hours4
Registering a company in Malta
The memorandum, the articles, the deposit slip and the forms go to the Registry through BAROS. The Registrar issues the certificate of registration, and the company exists from its date.
- 1 day for the e-form5
Tax number, VAT and employer number
The tax administration issues the income tax number on registration. One e-form on servizz.gov.mt, the government's portal, brings the VAT number and the employer's PE number.
- after registration6
Bank account and books
We prepare the bank application from the documents in your account and send it to a bank or a payment institution. Your accountant opens the books: accounting in Malta.
Documents for Malta company registration
Documents
Each shareholder, director and the secretary
- Certified true copy of a passport or identity card
- Proof of home address from the last 3 months
- Shareholder from outside the EU: a reference dated within 6 months, from a bank or from a lawyer, auditor, accountant or notary who has known you for a year or more
- Form K(1), the director's consent, dated within a month of the filing
- A short description of the business and the source of its funds
A company that will hold the shares
- Certificate with its name, number and registered address
- Memorandum and articles, or their equivalent
- Register of directors and shareholders, with a chart of the owners
- Board resolution to form the Malta company
- Form BO1, the declaration of its beneficial owners
- Apostille or legalisation, where its country calls for one
You send them in your account. We check each document the day it arrives and tell you what is missing.
See the platformMalta company tax: 35%, the shareholder's refund and the 5% it leads to
35%Tax on worldwide profit
A Malta company pays 35% corporate tax on its worldwide profit. Under the full imputation system the shareholder claims part of that tax back from the Commissioner for Tax and Customs once a dividend is paid.
€5,000A worked year: what stays with Malta
€100,000 of trading profit bears €35,000 of tax. The company distributes the rest, the registered shareholder claims €30,000 back, and €5,000 stays with Malta. The refund is 6/7 of the tax, and the €5,000 is 5% of the profit.
0%Withheld on what the company pays you abroad
Malta withholds 0% from dividends, interest or royalties that the company pays to you abroad. To claim the refund, a person or a holding company registers as the shareholder with the Commissioner. We prepare that registration and each claim. For the four steps, see accounting in Malta.
15%A final 15% tax, chosen for five years
From the year of assessment 2025, which taxes the income of 2024, a company may choose a final tax of 15% in place of the 35% and its refund. The choice binds the company for five years.
5%Of the equity makes a participating holding
A participating holding starts at 5% of another company's equity shares, and its dividends and the gain on its sale are exempt. For dividends the subsidiary passes one test of the Income Tax Act, such as residence in the EU or foreign tax of 15% or more.
Trading profit
- Refund of the company's tax
- 6/7
- Malta tax left
- 5% of the profit
Passive interest and royalties
- Refund of the company's tax
- 5/7
- Malta tax left
- 10% of the profit
Profit relieved from double taxation
- Refund of the company's tax
- 2/3
- Malta tax left
- A third of the tax paid, or less
Dividends and gains from a participating holding
- Refund of the company's tax
- All of it or exempt from the start
- Malta tax left
- 0%
Malta's table of double taxation treaties in force names 78 countries.
After registration: VAT, the yearly returns and their dates
We prepare each of these, and you approve it in your account before it goes in.
| Duty | When | In figures |
|---|---|---|
| VAT registration | Within 30 days of the first taxable sale | 18% standard rate; a small enterprise with sales in Malta up to €35,000 a year may stay exempt |
| VAT return | Every 3 months, online by the 22nd of the second month | VAT charged less VAT paid |
| Annual return to the MBR | Within 42 days of each anniversary of registration | €85 online for capital up to €1,500 |
| Annual accounts | Approved within 10 months of the year-end, filed within 42 days more | Audited, save for the smallest private companies: accounting in Malta |
| Corporate tax return | 9 months after the year-end, or the next 31 March if later | 35% of the profit, less the provisional tax paid |
| Provisional tax | 30 April, 31 August and 21 December | 20%, 30% and 50% of the tax in the last return; none in the first year |
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 company formation in Malta
How much does it cost to set up a company in Malta?
The Registry charges €100 to register a company with capital up to €1,500 and €10 to reserve its name. Of the minimum capital, €232.94 is paid in at signing. Our own fee stands in your quote.
Can a foreigner start a business in Malta?
Yes. The Companies Act sets no nationality or residence condition for owners or directors. A shareholder from outside the EU adds a bank or professional reference, and the registration runs online.
Is Malta a tax haven?
No. Malta is an EU member state that taxes company profit at 35%. The 5% comes from a refund the law pays the shareholder after the company has paid that tax and distributed a dividend.
What are the different types of companies that are allowed in Malta?
The private limited company, the single-member company, the public limited company and two partnerships, en nom collectif and en commandite. A company from abroad registers a branch within one month of opening a place of business in Malta.
Is Malta an EU jurisdiction?
Yes. Malta joined the EU on 1 May 2004 and adopted the euro on 1 January 2008. A company registered for VAT under Article 10 holds an MT number for trade across the EU.
Can I own a Malta company alongside companies in other countries?
Yes. The Malta company holds their shares as a holding company, or trades next to them as your EU arm. For the countries where we register companies, see international company formation.
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.
Guides to a company in Malta
Updated 21 October 2026. Reviewed by Vladyslav Drapii, Founder.
