Class 2 Social Security in Malta: A Plain-English Guide for the Self-Employed

What Class 2 social security actually is

Class 2 is the weekly social security contribution paid by people who are self-occupied, that is, working for themselves rather than for an employer. It's the self-employed counterpart to the Class 1 contributions deducted from an employee's payslip, and it builds your entitlement to the Maltese state pension and contributory benefits.

It is administered by the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA). Crucially, it is calculated on your net profit, not your turnover, so your deductible business expenses reduce the base it’s charged on, just as they do for income tax.

How much you pay: 15% of last year's net profit, within limits

The headline rate is 15% of your annual net profit, but not the profit you’re earning right now. Class 2 for the current year is based on your previous year's net profit. And that 15% is clamped between a weekly minimum and a weekly maximum, which is where the SA / SB / SC bands come in.

The figures below apply to those born on or after 1 January 1962 (the standard cohort for working-age freelancers today).

So if your net profit falls in the middle band (SB), you genuinely pay 15% spread across the year. Below that, you pay the flat SA minimum of €36.18 a week; above it, you're capped at the SC maximum of €83.89 a week no matter how well the year went.

The under-€910 exemption

If your previous year's net profit was under €910, you are not considered self-occupied for Class 2 purposes and owe nothing. This is the genuine side-earner’s relief: a very small trading profit doesn’t trigger a contribution.

The three payment dates

Class 2 is paid in three instalments across the year, and, conveniently, they fall on the same three dates as provisional income tax, so you can plan for them together.

Miss a deadline and, from 1 January 2026, late Class 2 attracts interest at the ITMA rate, currently 0.6% per month. Not catastrophic, but avoidable. For how these dates sit alongside your income-tax instalments, see provisional tax in Malta.

The rule that catches people out: full-time job + side gig

This is the single most misunderstood point, so it's worth stating plainly. If you are employed full-time and do self-employed work on the side, you pay Class 1 only through your employment, and no Class 2 on the side activity.

In other words, your salaried job already covers your social security. The freelance income on top still counts for income tax (and this is exactly where the TA22 10% Flat Rate often comes in), but it does not generate a second, separate Class 2 bill. Many part-timers over-pay for years because nobody told them this.

Your first year in business

Class 2 looks backwards at last year’s profit, so what happens in your very first year of self-occupation, when there is no previous year to look at? The answer is simple: your first calendar year is charged at the SA minimum, €36.18 per week.

That keeps your first year affordable while your business finds its feet. From year two onward, the calculation catches up with your actual net profit from the year before.

A quick worked feel for the numbers

• Net profit last year of €8,000 → below the SA ceiling → €36.18/week (roughly €1,881 for the year).
• Net profit of €20,000 → squarely in SB → about €57.69/week (15% ÷ 52).
• Net profit of €40,000 → above the SC floor → capped at €83.89/week (≈ €4,362 for the year), no matter how much higher profit climbs.
• Full-time employed with €15,000 of freelance profit on the side → €0 Class 2 (Class 1 only).

Common questions