Malta Retirement Programme

Legal Notice 317 of 2012 introduced Malta Retirement Program Rules, which offer pensioners of all nationalities to take up residence in Malta under very attractive tax conditions.

Benefits:

• Ability to settle in Malta and travel freely within Schengen community
• 15% flat income tax rate for foreign income remitted to Malta, while any income arising in Malta is subject to tax at 35%
• Remittance basis of taxation
• Wide network of double tax treaties and possibility to claim double tax relief

Eligibility:

• Pensioners of any nationality and their dependents (spouse or partner and minor financially dependent children) who are in receipt of regular pension income
• An individual will not be deemed to be receiving a pension if he is in receipt of a lump sum payment or any capital sum received by way of commutation of pension, retiring or death gratuity

Conditions for obtaining a Malta Retirement Programme status:

Good Character

• Applicants must produce documentary evidence of good conduct by presenting police conduct certificates or equivalent. Applicants are also required to pass a Fit and Proper Test which includes International Due Diligence searches

Health Insurance

• Applicants must be in possession of sickness insurance in respect of all risks across the whole of the European Union normally covered for Maltese nationals for themselves and their dependents

Property in Malta

• An applicant for residency must own property in Malta which is purchased for not less than €270,000 or own property in Gozo which is purchased for not less than €250,000
• Alternatively, the applicant may opt to rent a property of which the minimum rental for Malta is €9,600 per annum and for Gozo it is €8,750 per annum

Financial Requirements

• Applicants must receive the whole amount of their pension in Malta, which pension constitutes at least 75% of the beneficiary’s chargeable income

Other conditions

• Applicants must not be nationals of Malta. They must not be domiciled in Malta and do not intend to establish their domicile in Malta within 5 years from application date. They should not benefit under any other Malta Special Tax Status or be in employment, however they may occupy non-executive posts (directors and chairpersons)

Remittance only basic of tax:

Non-domiciled foreigners who are beneficiaries of a Malta Retirement Programme are taxable on a ‘remittance basis’: only income and capital gains arising in Malta and foreign income remitted to Malta are taxable in Malta. Foreign source capital gains whether remitted to Malta or not are not subject to tax in Malta.

• Annual Obligations
• Annual minimum tax €7,500
• An additional minimum tax of €500 per dependent
• Retention of health insurance and qualifying property
• Submission of tax return
• Spend in Malta at least 90 days a year
• Refrain from staying in any other jurisdiction for more than 183 days.