Tax and social security in Malta: how PAYE works, the bands, the FS3, the return

Malta taxes your salary before you see it, through the Final Settlement System (FSS), and the figures are public. The bands below are the tax administration’s own for 2026. The social security rate is 10%, with a cap. Once a year your employer hands you an FS3 that sums it all up; keep every one.

Income tax, 2026 single rates

Chargeable income	Rate	Subtract
€0 to €12,000	0%	€0
€12,001 to €16,000	15%	€1,800
€16,001 to €60,000	25%	€3,400
€60,001 and over	35%	€9,400

Married rates have a zero band to €15,000 and 15% to €23,000. Parent rates start at €13,000, rising with children. Married-with-children computations have wider bands still. Pick the right status on the FSS form your employer gives you; the wrong one means a wrong deduction all year.

Worked: €16,800 a year taxed at 25% minus €3,400 is €800. €30,000 is €4,100. Bonuses and overtime are income and taxed the same way.

Social security, Class 1

10% of your basic weekly wage, and the employer pays another 10%. For people born in 1962 or later the contribution is capped at €55.93 a week once the basic wage reaches €559.30 a week. People on the minimum wage pay €22.94 a week. Students have lower caps. The employer also pays a small maternity fund contribution.

Those contributions build your entitlement to public health care, sickness benefit, injury benefit, maternity and paternity benefits and, in time, a pension. The number of paid weeks matters; gaps show.

The numbers you need

• Social security number: from the Department of Social Security as soon as you have a job. Your employer needs it for the payslip.
• Tax number: non-Maltese citizens register with the Malta Tax and Customs Administration. Your employer needs it to apply the right FSS deduction.

Both free, both online or at a government service hub.

The FS3 and the return

At the end of each year your employer gives you an FS3: your gross, tax deducted, social security paid. It is the document for long-term residence, for family reunification, for a mortgage, and for the tax return. The tax administration tells you whether you must file a return and by when; many employees with one job and correct FSS deductions receive a statement instead. Over- or under-deduction is settled through the return or statement.

Arriving mid-year

The bands are annual. Arriving in August with five months of salary means little or no tax for that year once reconciled, but your FSS deductions during the year may be calculated as if you worked twelve months. Keep the payslips and claim the difference through the return.

Two things non-EU workers ask

• “Can I get the tax back when I leave?” Only what was over-deducted against the annual bands, through a final return. There is no refund of tax correctly paid.
• “Do my contributions count at home?” Only where Malta has an agreement with your country. The Department of Social Security lists them. Keep your Maltese contribution record either way.

Keep

Every payslip, every FS3, your tax and social security numbers, and your FSS status declaration. In a cloud folder, forever.

Check this at the source

• Tax rates for individuals 2026. https://mtca.gov.mt/personal-tax/tax-rates/tax-ratesindividuals
• Class 1 social security contributions 2026. https://mtca.gov.mt/personal-tax/fss/social-security-contribution-rates/class-1---social-security-contribution-rates/2026
• Malta Tax and Customs Administration: registration, returns, deadlines. https://mtca.gov.mt/
• Department of Social Security: registration number, benefits, agreements. https://socialsecurity.gov.mt/