Guide
Malta parent rates vs married rates: which is better?
Updated
A married parent in Malta may be assessed on the married table or, filing separately, the parent table. Which is better turns on how the couple's income is split.
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How this calculator works
- Income tax is computed from the tables in article 56(1) of the Income Tax Act (Cap. 123) as consolidated on 10 March 2026 (legislation.mt: Cap. 123). The Act writes each band as a rate less a fixed subtraction; computing them as marginal slices gives the same answer to the cent.
- Single: 0% to €12,000, 15% to €16,000, 25% to €60,000, then 35%. Married: 0% to €15,000, 15% to €23,000, 25% to €60,000, then 35%. Parent: 0% to €13,000, 15% to €17,500, 25% to €60,000, then 35%.
- Social security is Class 1 at 10% of basic weekly wage from each side, employee and employer. It is set by Part I of the Tenth Schedule to the Social Security Act (Cap. 318) (legislation.mt: Cap. 318). Both sides pay the same amount. Overtime and the statutory bonuses are not basic wage.
- Verify the weekly maximum before running payroll. The maxima used here are €53.23 a week for a person born on or after 1 January 1962 and €42.31 for a person born earlier. Below a basic weekly wage of €213.54, the category B flat rate is €21.35.
- These are the figures in the Tenth Schedule as consolidated on 10 March 2026. Legal Notice 10 of 2025 substituted that schedule with effect from 1 January 2024, and no later amendment appears in the consolidated Act. Malta revises the ceiling by legal notice, so check it against the current year's rate sheet.
- The employer also pays a maternity fund contribution of 0.3% of basic weekly wage under Part IV of the Tenth Schedule. That is between €0.64 and €1.60 a week for a person born on or after 1 January 1962 (€1.27 for earlier cohorts). Same consolidation date, same verification point.
- The calculator assumes an employee aged 18 or over in ordinary insurable employment for a full 52 contribution weeks. Under-18 rates, student-worker schemes, part-time elections and any year treated as 53 contribution weeks are outside it.
- Not modelled: the statutory bonus and weekly allowance, cost of living adjustment, fringe benefits and non-resident rates. Also not modelled: the 15% flat rate for qualifying highly skilled individuals under separate rules, tax credits, and any final withholding tax on other income.
The two tables side by side
- Married (joint) rates
- Nil to €15,000, 15% to €23,000, 25% to €60,000, then 35%. Applied to the couple's combined chargeable income on a joint return.
- Parent rates
- Nil to €13,000, 15% to €17,500, 25% to €60,000, then 35%. Applied to one individual's chargeable income.
- Single rates
- Nil to €12,000, 15% to €16,000, 25% to €60,000, then 35%. The fallback for a resident individual with no qualifying child.
Why the comparison is about the split
The married table is wider than the parent table, but it is applied once to two incomes. Two parents each earning €25,000 who elect separate returns are each assessed on €25,000 under the parent table. Assessed jointly, they are assessed on €50,000 under the married table. One wider set of bands is used once, instead of the narrower set twice.
| Household income | Split | Joint at married rates | Two separate returns at parent rates |
|---|---|---|---|
| €50,000 | €25,000 each | €7,950 | €5,100 (€2,550 each) |
| €50,000 | €50,000 and nil | €7,950 | €8,800 (€8,800 and nil) |
| €40,000 | €20,000 each | €5,450 | €2,600 (€1,300 each) |
| €40,000 | €40,000 and nil | €5,450 | €6,300 (€6,300 and nil) |
The pattern is the same at every level. Where both spouses earn, separate returns using the narrower table twice usually beat one joint return using the wider table once. Where one spouse earns everything, the joint table wins, because the second set of bands would go unused.
What the Act actually allows
- The married rates apply by default to a married couple resident in Malta assessed jointly under article 49.
- An election for a separate return under article 49A, or a separate computation by the responsible spouse under article 50, moves each spouse onto the rates in article 56(1)(b): the parent table where a qualifying child is maintained, otherwise the single table.
- A single parent who wholly maintains a child under sole custody, and meets the children's allowance and non-cohabitation conditions in article 56(1)(b)(iii), is assessed under the married table rather than the parent table.
- From year of assessment 2027, Act III of 2026 adds wider tables again for taxpayers maintaining one child or two or more children, subject to nationality, long-term residence and place-of-birth conditions.
This page compares statutory tables; it is not advice on which election to make. The choice interacts with tax credits, other income, maintenance payments and the 2026 child-related tables, and the election is made on the return rather than in a calculator. Put your actual numbers to a Maltese accountant or tax practitioner before electing.