Outsourced accounting, tax, payroll, and ongoing corporate administration for your Malta company — everything under one roof, from one MFSA-authorised zeta. group company.
Incorporating a Malta company is the quick part — keeping it accurate, filed and in good standing every month afterwards is where structures stand or fall. zeta. delivers a full suite of accounting, payroll, tax, and corporate administration services designed to keep your business compliant and financially sound: the compliance backbone behind every structure we incorporate or administer. Delivered through an MFSA-authorised zeta. group company, our experienced professionals support businesses and individuals across Malta with accurate reporting, timely filings, strategic tax planning, and ongoing back-office administration — all from one regulated partner.
The recurring obligations of a Malta company, handled as one engagement — with the deeper disciplines set out below.
Full-cycle bookkeeping and financial reporting tailored to your business. We maintain accurate records, prepare management accounts, and ensure your financials are always audit-ready.
End-to-end payroll processing including salary calculations, payslip generation, employee registration, social security contributions, and annual reporting to the relevant authorities.
Corporate tax compliance and planning for Malta-registered companies. We handle tax computations, annual filings, and advise on the effective use of Malta's imputation and refund systems.
Individual income tax return preparation and filing for residents and non-residents. We ensure accurate reporting and help you take advantage of applicable deductions and credits.
VAT registration, return preparation, and ongoing compliance management. We handle all aspects of Malta's VAT framework, including cross-border transactions and periodic filings.
Advisory and compliance services for stamp duty obligations and capital gains tax on transfers of securities, shares, and other assets under Maltese law.
Tax compliance support for property acquisitions and disposals in Malta, including computation of applicable duties, exemption eligibility, and filing with the Commissioner for Revenue.
Proper accounting records are a statutory obligation for every Malta company — and the foundation on which every audit, tax return and VAT filing is built.
Request a QuoteThe Companies Act requires every Malta-registered company to keep proper accounting records — covering receipts and payments, assets and liabilities, and inventory where the company deals in goods — sufficient to show its financial position with reasonable accuracy at any time. Records are kept at the registered office or wherever the directors decide; where day-to-day books are maintained abroad, sufficient accounts and returns must still be kept in Malta. We maintain accurate records, prepare management accounts, and ensure your financials are always audit-ready.
Annual financial statements are prepared under GAPSME — Malta's reporting framework for small and medium-sized entities — where the company qualifies under the applicable size thresholds. Larger undertakings, public-interest entities and certain regulated companies report under IFRS as adopted by the EU, and group accounting policies can require a Maltese subsidiary to follow IFRS too. The classification is reassessed each year as size, group status and regulatory position change — we advise on the framework that applies and prepare the statements accordingly.
Malta companies generally have their annual financial statements audited. We are not the auditor — our job is to make the audit run smoothly, on time and without surprises.
For each accounting period the directors must prepare financial statements — balance sheet, profit and loss account and notes — and in most cases these must be audited by a warranted auditor authorised by the Maltese Accountancy Board, in accordance with International Standards on Auditing, before filing with the Malta Business Registry. Limited exemptions may apply for certain small or newly incorporated companies, subject to conditions.
Reconciliations, schedules and supporting documentation are maintained through the year — not assembled in a rush after year-end.
We obtain fee proposals from independent warranted audit firms for your consideration, preserving auditor independence throughout.
We respond to audit queries directly from the accounting records, reverting to you only where confirmations or decisions are needed.
Audited financial statements are approved and filed with the Malta Business Registry within the statutory windows.
The auditor must be independent of the bookkeeper. Keeping the accounting with zeta. and the audit with a separate warranted firm keeps that line clean — and the audit efficient.
Computations, returns and payments with the Commissioner for Tax and Customs — and the shareholder refund administration Malta's system is known for.
Every Malta-registered company files an annual income tax return on a self-assessment basis, prepared from its audited financial statements and submitted through a registered tax practitioner. Deadlines run from the financial year-end, provisional tax is typically settled in instalments during the year with any balance due with the return, and certain companies qualify for extended payment timelines, subject to conditions. We prepare the computations, file the return and manage every payment date.
Malta companies pay tax at 35% under a full imputation system, so dividends carry a credit for the tax already paid by the company. On a distribution, qualifying shareholders may claim a refund of part of that Malta tax — most commonly the 6/7 refund on trading income, which can bring the combined effective rate to approximately 5% for qualifying structures, subject to conditions and advice. A 5/7 refund may apply to passive interest and royalties, and other fractions apply where double taxation relief has been claimed. Qualifying holdings may benefit from the participation exemption, and Malta's network of 70+ double tax treaties supports cross-border groups.
Refunds are claimed by the shareholder, not the company, after the tax is paid and the dividend distributed. We maintain the tax accounting that supports each claim, prepare and submit the applications, and track them through to payment.
These are established features of Maltese law, but the outcome always depends on the facts. We confirm the analysis with your tax advisors before any structure relies on it.
Malta's standard VAT rate is 18%, with reduced rates for specific supplies. Whether — and how — a company must register depends on its economic activity, and getting that right at the outset avoids assessments later.
The VAT Act provides different registration types: full registration for businesses carrying on taxable activity, a small-undertaking registration below the applicable thresholds, and a registration confined to intra-Community acquisitions. Pure holding companies with no economic activity typically fall outside registration. We assess the position and register the company correctly.
Periodic VAT returns — typically quarterly for fully registered persons — prepared, filed and paid on time, with annual declarations for other registration types. Where goods or services are supplied to VAT-registered customers in other member states, we prepare the recapitulative statements and any adjustment forms.
The EU One Stop Shop allows businesses selling to consumers across member states to account for the VAT due in each country through a single periodic return filed in Malta, described generally. We handle OSS registration and the ongoing filings for e-commerce and digital-services clients.
Place-of-supply analysis and the VAT treatment of specific transactions, liaison with the VAT authorities during inspections and information requests, and orderly deregistration when a company winds down or its activity changes.
VAT positions are transaction-specific and rates and schemes evolve. We confirm the treatment for your supplies before returns are built on it.
Employing people in Malta commits a company to a precise monthly cycle of withholdings, contributions and filings — and to formalities at every engagement and termination.
Under Malta's Final Settlement System (FSS), income tax is withheld from salaries each month at rates reflecting each employee's status, alongside employee and employer social security contributions. Each month we calculate the payroll, issue payslips, and prepare the FS5 return and payment to the Commissioner for Tax and Customs. At year-end, the annual FS7 employer declaration and the FS3 statements for each employee reconcile the year and feed the employees' personal tax returns.
For international staff, the tax rate applied depends on the employee's residence position, and the social security treatment of EU and non-EU nationals must be established before the first payslip — not corrected after it. We coordinate registrations, applicable-rate determinations and, together with our residency team, the permits and formalities relocating employees need.
A structure should end as cleanly as it began — with every authority informed, every filing made and nothing left to resurface later.
A solvent Malta company is generally wound up through a members' voluntary liquidation: the shareholders resolve to dissolve, a liquidator is appointed, and final liquidation accounts and a scheme of distribution are prepared, audited and filed with the Malta Business Registry before the company is struck off after the statutory notice period. Recent amendments to the Companies Act have also introduced a simplified dissolution route for qualifying companies with fewer steps, subject to conditions — we advise on which route fits before the first resolution is passed.
Pending shareholder tax refund claims are generally due to the shareholders rather than the company, so a wind-down and the refund process can usually proceed in parallel, subject to advice.
What a Malta company files, how often, and to whom. We run this calendar for our clients so nothing is missed.
| Obligation | Frequency | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Annual return | Annually, on the anniversary of registration | Malta Business Registry (MBR) |
| Annual financial statements | Annually — approved and filed within statutory windows after year-end | Malta Business Registry (MBR) |
| Corporate income tax return | Annually — deadline set by reference to the financial year-end | Commissioner for Tax and Customs |
| Provisional tax payments | Typically three instalments during the year, balance due with the return | Commissioner for Tax and Customs |
| VAT returns / declarations | Periodic — typically quarterly; annual for certain registration types | Malta Tax and Customs Administration |
| Recapitulative statements | Periodic, where intra-EU supplies are made | Malta Tax and Customs Administration |
| Payroll withholdings & social security (FS5) | Monthly, with payment | Commissioner for Tax and Customs |
| Annual payroll declarations (FS7 / FS3) | Annually, after the calendar year-end | Commissioner for Tax and Customs |
| Engagement & termination forms | On each engagement or termination | Jobsplus |
| Beneficial ownership confirmations | On any change — and confirmed with the annual return | Malta Business Registry (MBR) |
The annual return carries a registry fee from €100, and late filings with any of these authorities attract administrative penalties and interest. Exact deadlines vary with year-end, registration type and filing method — we confirm your company's calendar at engagement.
Zeta Corporate & Management Services Limited, a zeta. group company, is an Authorised Company Service Provider authorised by the MFSA.
Most of our clients would rather not coordinate a separate accountant, payroll bureau, tax adviser, and corporate service provider. Through an MFSA-authorised zeta. group company, zeta. brings your company's accounting, tax, payroll, and ongoing administration together with company formation, corporate and management services, and regulatory and compliance support — so a single regulated partner keeps your Malta company running and in good standing all year round.
Tell us about the company, its activity and its headcount — we'll map every filing it owes and quote a fixed engagement.
The Companies Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 introduce significant changes to Malta's beneficial ownership framewor…
Read moreEqual pay in Malta has just moved from principle to hard obligation. The new Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations transpose the EU Equal…
Read moreAs of 22nd May 2026, the Salaries or Wages (Exemption from Attachment) Order 2026 increases the protected minimum salary threshold to €1,350 per month…
Read moreTalk to us about outsourcing your accounting, tax, payroll, and corporate administration to one regulated partner.
