Property tax in Malta
See what Malta's tax rules do to your property portfolio.
What Freeholt models for property, income and retirement in Malta, and what it does not.
Free to start. No card. Rules reviewed 12 July 2026.
Modelled here
- Tax on rental income
- Capital gains on a sale
- Duty on purchase
EUR · Rates as at 12 July 2026 · Estimates, not advice
Rental income is taxed here under the 15% FINAL tax on GROSS rent (the common optional regime, which means neither running costs nor mortgage interest reduce the bill), and the progressive scale alternative is NOT offered by this projection. Malta's remittance basis for non domiciled residents, under which foreign income is taxed only if remitted, is out of scope. A disposal pays an 8% FINAL Property Transfer Tax on the transfer PRICE rather than on the gain, which is what the projection applies; the election to be taxed at 35% on the gain instead, and the 2%, 5% and 10% variants, are NOT modelled.
How rental income is taxed in Malta
For a resident owner: A flat 15% on gross rent. For an owner living abroad and renting this out: A flat 15% on gross rent.
Interest and losses
Mortgage interest is NOT deductible against the rent, which changes the whole case for borrowing here. A rental loss brings no relief: it cannot reduce other income, and it does not carry forward.
Capital gains on a sale
The sale is taxed at 8% of the SALE PRICE, not of the gain, so it is owed even on a sale at a loss.
Annual property tax while holding
An annual property or land tax is not modelled here, which is not the same as there being none. Treat holding costs on this page as excluding it.
What it costs to buy
About 5% of the price on purchase. Stamp duty is 5%, or 2% in Gozo, and the projection charges a FLAT 5% rather than a modelled schedule; the Gozo rate, the reduced main residence rate (the first €200,000 at 3.5%) and the first time buyer reliefs are none of them modelled, so a Gozo or main home buyer is overstated here. NO ANNUAL PROPERTY TAX IS CHARGED HERE, and Malta genuinely levies no general one. Two recurring bills go unpriced rather than being absent: the small annual land tax of €40 to 250, and any ground rent (ċens) the title carries, which varies hugely by property. Both are running costs rather than taxes and belong on the running costs lever. A non EU/EEA citizen, and an EU/EEA citizen who has not resided in Malta for the preceding five years, needs an Acquisition of Immovable Property (AIP) permit, which costs €233 and takes roughly 6 to 12 months, unless the property sits in a Special Designated Area, where there are no restrictions at all. OUTSIDE AN SDA AN AIP BUYER IS LIMITED TO ONE PROPERTY AND MAY NOT RENT IT OUT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, which makes the SDA question decisive for an investment purchase rather than merely procedural.
Can a foreign buyer purchase here?
A foreign buyer needs approval before purchasing. Non residents (and residents buying a second home) need an AIP (Acquisition of Immovable Property) permit outside Special Designated Areas, subject to a minimum value; SDAs are permit free with full ownership rights.
How Freeholt models Malta
Every rate above is priced from Freeholt's own table for Malta and runs through the whole projection: rental income, a modelled sale and the annual holding costs all use the same figures. They cannot be edited yet, so a position that differs from the defaults has to be read with that in mind. The estimate assumes an individual owner rather than a company or trust, and where a rule is not modelled it is listed below rather than quietly priced at zero.
What running this property costs
In Malta this covers any ground rent (ċens) payable on the title, which many older Maltese properties are sold subject to rather than being outright freehold, plus a small annual land tax of €40 to 250, condominium and common area service charges that can run €1,200 to 8,000+ a year on a development with amenities, insurance and maintenance. There is no general annual property tax.
How borrowing works here
Central Bank of Malta rules cap loan to value at 90% for a primary residence (Category I) and 75% for a second or investment property (Category II), stress tested at the contract rate plus at least 150 basis points against a 40% debt service to income ceiling. Terms are commonly 25 to 30 years, and up to 40 for a first time buyer, capped by retirement age.
What actually happened here
This country's own record, one year at a time. Nothing on this page is borrowed from another country. Move across a chart to read a year.
What Freeholt models here
- ModelledTax on rental income
- Resident and non resident rates, with interest and losses treated under the local rule.
- ModelledCapital gains on a sale
- Priced in the year of the sale under the rules of that year.
- ModelledDuty on purchase
- One off, on the way in, at the scale in force.
- Not yetAnnual property or land tax
- Not priced here; the page says where the charge falls instead.
- Not yetIncome tax beyond the rent
- Not modelled for this country yet.
- Not yetDividends, interest and share sales
- Not modelled for this country yet.
- Not yetRetirement savings
- Not modelled for this country yet.
- Not yetInheritance and what happens on death
- Not modelled for this country yet.
What Freeholt does not model here
- Any annual property or land tax, which may still exist here
- Inheritance and estate tax
- Treaty relief between this country and the owner's country of residence
Coverage deepens country by country. Every figure is an estimate, not advice.
Compare with another country
Each page is built from the same table the app runs on, so the figures line up side by side.
Compare Malta with another country — rent, gains, annual tax and duty, side by side.
Questions people ask
- Does Freeholt model Malta property tax?
- Yes. Rental income tax, capital gains on a sale and duty on purchase are priced from Freeholt's own rate table for Malta. Annual property or land tax is not priced here, and the page says so rather than showing a zero. The rates are not editable yet, so one that differs in a particular case cannot be overridden. Every figure is an estimate, not advice.
- How is rental income from Malta taxed if I live somewhere else?
- A flat 15% on gross rent. Tax may also be due in the country of residence, with credit for what was paid here. Estimates only, not advice.
- What are the Malta figures as at?
- The rate table for Malta was last reviewed on 12 July 2026. Freeholt date stamps every country rather than implying all of them were checked on the same day. Estimates only, not advice.
Model a property in Malta alongside everything else you own: see the year your portfolio starts paying you back.