Malta Rental Income Tax Calculator 2026

How it's calculated

Rent from immovable property situated in Malta is taxable income, but the law lets you settle the tax on long-term lettings in one of two ways. The default route in this calculator is the 15% final tax under Article 31D of the Income Tax Act, declared on form TA24. It is worked out on the gross rent you actually received during the year — before a single cent of expenses. You cannot net off maintenance, ground rent, agency commission, licence fees, insurance or loan interest, so the calculation is simply gross rent multiplied by 15%. Because the tax is final, that income is then closed: it is not added to your other income, it does not push your other earnings into a higher band, and there is no refund or further charge on it. The alternative is to declare the rent at the normal progressive rates (0%, 15%, 25% and 35%) together with your salary, pension or trading income, in which case allowable expenses can be claimed but the rent is taxed at your marginal rate. The 15% election is taken year by year and applies to all your qualifying rental income for that year. Choosing between the two comes down to one number — your marginal rate on the normal scale — and the break-even sits exactly at 15%. In practice most landlords with other taxable income are already into the 25% or 35% bands, so the gross 15% rate wins comfortably even though it allows no deductions; the normal route only pays off where the marginal rate would be below 15%, which usually means the rent fits inside an otherwise unused tax-free band. The calculator therefore does two sums for you: it applies the flat 15% to the gross rent to give the final tax and the net rent, and it multiplies the same gross rent by the marginal rate you select to show what declaring it would cost, so the saving (or loss) from electing the 15% scheme is immediately visible.

Final tax (TA24) = Gross rent × 15%
Net rent          = Gross rent − Final tax
Effective rate    = Final tax ÷ Gross rent  (always 15%)

Normal-rates comparison = Gross rent × your marginal rate
Saving with 15% route   = Normal-rates tax − Final tax

Worked example

Take the calculator's default figures: €12,000 of gross rent received during 2026 from a long-term residential let, taxed under the 15% final scheme (TA24), and compared against declaring the same rent at a 25% marginal rate.

On these figures the 15% final tax costs €1,800.00 and leaves €10,200.00 net, against €3,000.00 if the rent were taxed at a 25% marginal rate — a saving of €1,200.00. The break-even is a 15% marginal rate: declaring €12,000 in the 15% band also costs €1,800.00, so the two routes are identical there. Only when your marginal rate would be below 15% (for example rent that falls inside your tax-free band) does declaring the rent and claiming expenses become the cheaper choice.

When your result may differ

This estimate models the standard 15% scheme on gross rent only, so your actual position can differ in a few situations. If you declare the rent at the normal rates instead, you may deduct allowable expenses, which lowers the taxable amount and can beat the 15% route at low marginal rates. Reduced final rates exist and are not modelled here: 5% for property let for seven years or more under a registered Housing Authority private-rent scheme, and 10% in certain restored or regenerated-property cases. Rent from related parties is excluded from the 15% option and must be declared normally. Short-term and holiday lets follow different rules and may carry VAT, unlike long-term residential letting, which is VAT-exempt. Finally, the TA24 must be filed and paid by 30 April of the following year; late payment attracts interest, and the election is made for the whole year rather than property by property. The estimate also ignores any expense relief you might claim under the normal route, so where you have genuine, well-documented costs the declared-rent figure shown here is a worst case rather than the final bill. Always confirm your exact treatment with the Commissioner for Tax and Customs (CFR).

Rates and thresholds

Tax on rental income from immovable property situated in Malta, 2026 (long-term lettings).

Sources & legal basis

Update log

• 2026-06-04 — Confirmed the 15% final tax (TA24) and normal-rates comparison for the 2026 rental year against CFR/MTCA guidance.
• 2026-06-15 — Added how-it-works explainer, worked example, when-it-differs notes, a rates table and an official sources table; refreshed the editorial review.