Malta VAT Calculator 2026

How it's calculated

Maltese VAT is worked out as a simple percentage of the price, but the arithmetic depends on whether the figure you start with already includes the tax. Choose "Add VAT" when you hold a net (VAT-exclusive) price — the amount you intend to charge before tax. The calculator multiplies that base by the chosen rate to find the VAT, then adds the two together for the gross total a customer pays. Choose "Extract VAT" when you hold a gross (VAT-inclusive) total — typically the price on a shelf, till receipt or invoice — and need to know how much of it is tax. Because the VAT was added on top of the net figure, you cannot simply take 18% of the gross; you must divide the gross by one plus the rate to recover the original net amount, then subtract that net from the gross to isolate the VAT. The rate you select drives everything: the 18% standard rate applies to most supplies, while the 12% intermediate, 7% and 5% reduced rates and the 0% zero rate are reserved for the specific categories listed in the Value Added Tax Act (Chapter 406). The tool keeps full precision internally and only rounds the displayed VAT, net and gross to two decimal places, which is how amounts appear on a compliant Maltese tax invoice. The distinction between the two directions matters in practice because guessing wrong inflates or understates the tax: taking 18% of a gross figure overstates the VAT, since part of that gross is itself tax. Dividing by 1.18 first is the only way to recover the true net base from a tax-inclusive price, and the same logic applies at every rate by simply changing the divisor — 1.12 at the intermediate rate, 1.07 and 1.05 at the reduced rates, and 1.00 at the zero rate, where adding and extracting both leave the amount unchanged. Why the rate fraction works: at 18% the VAT contained in any gross figure is exactly 18 ⁄ 118 of that gross — roughly 15.25% — which is why a quick eyeball of "18% of the gross" always reads too high. The same shortcut gives 12 ⁄ 112 at the intermediate rate and 5 ⁄ 105 at the 5% rate, but the divide-by-(1 + rate) method in this calculator is exact at every rate and avoids rounding the fraction. For a VAT-registered trader the practical upshot is that the net figure is the one that feeds the profit-and-loss account and the price you negotiate, while the VAT figure is money you merely hold on behalf of the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) until it is declared and paid on the periodic VAT return. Output VAT charged to customers is offset against input VAT incurred on business purchases, so only the difference is actually remitted — but each individual invoice still has to show the correct VAT line, which is exactly what either direction of this tool produces. Consumers, by contrast, normally care only about the gross they pay at the till, where the VAT is already baked into the displayed price under Maltese consumer-pricing rules.

Add VAT (net → gross):
  VAT   = net × (rate ÷ 100)
  gross = net + VAT = net × (1 + rate ÷ 100)

Extract VAT (gross → net):
  net   = gross ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100)
  VAT   = gross − net

Worked example

Take the calculator's default scenario: an amount of €100.00, the "Add VAT" direction and the 18% standard rate. This is a net base price to which VAT must be added before billing a Maltese customer. A round number is used so the percentage arithmetic is easy to follow, but the same steps apply to any figure you enter — the calculator simply multiplies by the rate and adds the result back on.

So a €100 net charge becomes €118.00 on the invoice, of which €18.00 is VAT collected on behalf of the MTCA. The calculation reverses cleanly: switching to "Extract VAT" on a gross of €118.00 at 18% gives a net of 118 ÷ 1.18 = €100.00 and VAT of 118 − 100 = €18.00. As a cross-check on a reduced rate, extracting VAT from a €112.00 gross at the 12% intermediate rate returns a net of 112 ÷ 1.12 = €100.00 and €12.00 of VAT — confirming that the divide-by-(1 + rate) method holds at every Maltese rate. The pattern scales linearly, so a net charge of €250 at the standard rate carries €45.00 of VAT (250 × 0.18) for a €295.00 gross, while a €250 gross extracted at 18% breaks down to a €211.86 net and €38.14 of VAT (250 ÷ 1.18). Knowing both directions is what lets a Maltese trader move confidently between a quoted price, the figure on a customer receipt and the VAT line that must be declared on the periodic VAT return.

When your result may differ

This tool gives the exact VAT on a single line at one rate, but a real invoice can differ. A mixed basket (for example accommodation at 7% billed alongside meals at 18%) must split each item to its own rate, so the blended total will not match any single calculation here. Penny rounding can also shift a cent: Malta lets businesses round VAT per line or per invoice, and the two methods occasionally diverge by €0.01. Article 11 small undertakings below the €35,000 turnover threshold charge no VAT at all, so their prices contain none to extract, and they cannot recover input VAT on their own purchases. Special schemes — the margin scheme for second-hand goods, travel agents' TOMS, and reverse-charge supplies (common on intra-EU services and certain construction work) where the buyer accounts for the tax — compute VAT on a base other than the headline price. Imports also work differently: VAT on goods entering Malta from outside the EU is charged at the point of importation on the customs value plus duty, not on a simple shelf price. Exempt-without-credit supplies such as insurance, many financial services, health and education carry no VAT but, unlike zero-rated supplies, block the supplier from reclaiming related input VAT, so they are not the same as the 0% option here. Finally, the rate itself can change: rates are set by the VAT Act and amended through the Government Gazette, so always confirm the current rate and the correct treatment for your specific supply with the MTCA or a warranted accountant before relying on a figure for filing.

Rates and thresholds

VAT rates in force in Malta for 2026 under the Value Added Tax Act (Cap. 406).

Sources & legal basis

Update log

• 2026-06-15 — Added how-it-works explainer, a worked example derived from the default €100 at 18%, a rates table and an official MTCA/CFR/VAT Act source list; confirmed Budget 2026 left the 18% standard rate and the 12%/7%/5%/0% rates unchanged.