Guide
Malta tax brackets: single, married and parent rates
Updated
Malta does not have one set of income tax bands. It has three, and a qualifying taxpayer is assessed on whichever produces the lower tax. Here is each table as the Act writes it.
The three computations
Article 56(1) of the Income Tax Act (Cap. 123) sets out a table for a married couple assessed jointly, a table for any other individual resident in Malta, and a table for a resident individual who is a parent maintaining a child under 18, or under 23 in full-time education. The Act expresses each band as a rate applied to the whole chargeable income less a fixed subtraction, which is arithmetically identical to taxing each slice at its own rate.
| Chargeable income | Single | Married | Parent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nil rate up to | €12,000 | €15,000 | €13,000 |
| 15% band up to | €16,000 | €23,000 | €17,500 |
| 25% band up to | €60,000 | €60,000 | €60,000 |
| 35% above | €60,000 | €60,000 | €60,000 |
| Subtraction in the 15% band | €1,800 | €2,250 | €1,950 |
| Subtraction in the 25% band | €3,400 | €4,550 | €3,700 |
| Subtraction in the 35% band | €9,400 | €10,550 | €9,700 |
Worked example against the Act's own method
Take €30,000 of chargeable income at the single rates. The Act's method: 25% of €30,000 is €7,500, less the €3,400 subtraction, giving €4,100. The marginal method: nothing on the first €12,000, 15% of the €4,000 between €12,000 and €16,000 is €600, and 25% of the €14,000 between €16,000 and €30,000 is €3,500, giving €4,100. The calculator uses the marginal method precisely so that its answer can be checked against the statutory formula.
The 2026 additions for taxpayers with children
The Budget Measures Implementation Act, 2026 (Act III of 2026) added further tables, applicable from year of assessment 2027, that widen the bands where children are maintained and nationality or residence conditions are met. For a married couple with one qualifying child the nil rate runs to €17,500 and to €22,500 with two or more; for an individual with one qualifying child it runs to €14,500 and to €18,500 with two or more.
The calculator does not apply those child-related tables, deliberately. They carry conditions on custody, nationality, long-term resident status and the child's place of birth that a salary box cannot test, and the printed subtraction for the top band of the one-child individual table does not reconcile with its own 25% band. If a child-related table may apply to you, have the computation checked rather than assumed.
Which computation applies
- Married rates apply to a married couple resident in Malta assessed jointly, unless a separate return under article 49A or a separate computation under article 50 has been elected.
- Parent rates apply to a resident individual who maintained a child under 18, or under 23 in full-time education, or who paid maintenance for a child under article 12(1)(t).
- Single rates apply to every other resident individual, including each spouse who has elected a separate return.
- Non-residents have their own scale in article 56(1)(c), starting with a nil band of only €700. An EU or EEA national deriving at least 90% of worldwide income from Malta may claim the resident rates instead.