Company registration and maintenance
- Official formation fee
Electronic registration starts at €100 for authorised capital up to €1,500; higher-capital fees rise.
- Annual state fee
Electronic annual return starts at €85 in the lowest capital band. Accounts, audit where required and services are extra.
- Share capital
Minimum €1,164.69; at least 20% of each subscribed share paid on formation.
- Directors
At least one director and a company secretary. Management, residence and professional suitability need separate review.
- Shareholders
Normally two to 50; statutory single-member company provisions permit one.
- Office / registered agent
Registered office in Malta.
- Published timing
No current guaranteed formation processing time verified.
What the public can see
- Directors / managers
Director and secretary particulars publicly available.
- Shareholders
Shareholder identities in public registry records.
- Beneficial owners
AML-related legitimate-interest access from 10 July 2026; authorities and eligible obliged entities retain access.
- Accounts
Annual accounts filed and obtainable; size exemptions can reduce detail or audit requirements.
MBR describes extensive public personal particulars, including residential addresses in relevant filings. Restricted BO access does not conceal names already filed as shareholders/directors.
Profits, company tax and distributions
- Ordinary company treatment
35% ordinary company tax; conditional regimes separate
- Standard headline comparison rate
35% — before lower bands and conditional reliefs
- Retained-profit comparison
35% — company layer
- Distributed-profit comparison
35% — company layer, excluding owner’s tax and outbound withholding
- Conditional reliefs / alternatives
Shareholders may qualify for partial/full refunds after distributions. FITWI offers eligible income a final 15% charge, with a minimum five-year election and no shareholder refund of that tax.
- Distributions / withholding
Ordinary taxed-account dividends generally have no further Maltese withholding; untaxed-account distributions can trigger 15% for defined recipients, including certain Malta-controlled non-residents.
- Other tax conditions
FITWI exclusions and effective-tax floor require review. Owner residence and overseas tax can change the total burden.
Two distinct tax routes
The ordinary imputation/refund framework and Final Income Tax Without Imputation are alternatives with different cash-flow outcomes. FITWI began for year of assessment 2025 under S.L. 123.217; the election applies for at least five consecutive years of assessment.
Legislation and public information
The Companies Act, Chapter 386, governs capital, private-company formation and accounts. Legal Notice 184/2026 changed BO access on 10 July 2026; justified AML-related access differs from unrestricted public access.
Owner tax and management
An overseas owner still needs analysis of personal dividend taxation, actual company management and any UK connection. Registering an address in Malta is not proof that foreign tax obligations disappear.