Malta Freelancer Tax Glossary

TA22#

TA22 is Malta's optional flat-rate scheme for part-time self-employment. Instead of adding your side income to your main income and taxing it at the standard bands, you pay a flat 10% on the net profit (reduced from 15% on 1 January 2022). The scheme is capped at €12,000 of net profit a year, so the most you'll ever pay under it is €1,200; anything above the cap goes in your normal annual return. You must be employed full-time, a pensioner, or a full-time student, with the part-time work registered with Jobsplus. Pay via form TA22 by 30 April of the following year. It's worth comparing both routes and choosing the cheaper lawful one.

TA24: rental income (15% final tax)#

TA24 is a separate flat-rate scheme for rental income, not trading income. It lets a landlord pay a final 15% tax on gross rents received, settled on its own form and deadline, with no further income tax due on that rent. It's optional (you can instead declare rent in your normal return at the standard bands), but the flat 15% is simple and often lighter. If your freelancing sits alongside a rental property, the two are taxed under completely different mechanisms; keep them separate in your books so each is computed correctly.

Class 2 social security (self-occupied)#

Class 2 is the social security contribution paid by the self-occupied, people who work for themselves rather than an employer. It's charged on your previous year's net profit and split into three rates (SA, SB, SC) depending on how much you earned. If your net profit is below €910, you're not considered self-occupied and pay no Class 2 at all. Contributions fall due three times a year: 30 April, 31 August and 21 December. If you're employed full-time and freelance on the side, you pay Class 1 through your job and no Class 2 on the side activity.

SA / SB / SC contribution categories#

These are the three Class 2 rate bands (for those born on or after 1 January 1962), set by your previous year's annual net profit. Your first calendar year of self-occupation always uses the SA minimum. See our full Class 2 explainer for the arithmetic behind each band.

Article 11 (VAT small undertaking)#

Article 11 is the VAT status for a 'small undertaking': you don't charge VAT on your invoices and don't reclaim it on purchases. The threshold is €35,000 of domestic turnover, measured over the calendar year, exclusive of VAT, and attributed by supply date (when the work was actually done: invoice and payment dates are irrelevant). You lose the exemption the day you exceed €35,000. Under Article 11 you file one annual declaration, due 15 February for the previous calendar year, with an e-filing grace period to 22 March. Once you cross the threshold, you move to Article 10.

Article 10 (standard VAT registration)#

Article 10 is full VAT registration: you charge VAT (standard rate 18%, with reduced 12/7/5/0% rates for specific supplies), reclaim input VAT on business costs, and file quarterly returns. Each return is due the 15th of the second month after the quarter ends, with a +7-day grace period to the 22nd if you file and pay online. If your turnover crosses the €35,000 Article 11 threshold, you must apply to switch to Article 10 within 15 days; the change takes effect from the 1st of the following month. Most growing freelancers land here eventually.

Provisional tax (PT)#

Provisional tax is how the self-employed pay income tax in instalments through the year, rather than in one lump at the end. It's benchmarked on your last self-assessment and paid in three tranches: 20% by 30 April, 30% by 31 August and 50% by 21 December. Anything still owed is settled with the annual return. Freelancers on the TA22 route settle through TA22 instead of PT. Late provisional tax attracts additional tax of 1% per month, so the deadlines are worth keeping. This is the mechanism behind the 'set aside as you go' habit.

Supply date#

The supply date (or tax point) is when goods are delivered or a service is actually performed, not when you raise the invoice or when the client pays. It's the date that matters for the €35,000 Article 11 VAT threshold, which is measured on calendar-year turnover by supply date. So a December job invoiced in January counts toward December's calendar year. Getting the supply date right keeps you from tripping over the threshold a whole year early or late, and it's why we track it separately from invoice and payment dates.

Self-occupied#

'Self-occupied' is Malta's official term for someone working on their own account (a freelancer, sole trader or independent professional) as opposed to a 'self-employed' person who also employs others. Being self-occupied is what triggers Class 2 social security contributions on your net profit. If that net profit is below €910, you're not treated as self-occupied and owe no Class 2. And if you already work full-time as an employee, your side freelancing doesn't make you self-occupied for contribution purposes: you stay on Class 1 through your job.

Marginal rate#

Your marginal rate is the tax rate on your next euro of income, not your average across everything you earn. Malta's income tax is progressive, so different slices of income are taxed at different rates. For a single person in 2026: 0% up to €12,000, 15% from €12,001–€16,000, 25% from €16,001–€60,000, and 35% above €60,000. Earning €30,000 doesn't mean 25% on the whole lot: only the slice inside that band is taxed at 25%. Knowing your marginal rate tells you what a deductible expense or extra invoice is really worth.

Self-assessment#

Self-assessment means you calculate your own tax due and declare it, rather than waiting for the authorities to bill you. The self-employed do this through the annual income tax return, due 30 June on paper or 31 July if filed online via myTax. Your self-assessment also sets the benchmark for the following year's provisional tax instalments. It's the moment the year's figures are reconciled: provisional tax already paid is set against the total, and any balance is settled or refunded. Accurate books through the year make this the easy part rather than the panic.

PRS pension credit#

The Personal Retirement Scheme (PRS) credit rewards saving for retirement. You get a tax credit worth 25% of your contributions, capped at €750 a year, fully used once you've contributed €3,000. It's a non-refundable credit with no carry-forward, so it can reduce your tax bill to zero but won't generate a refund, and unused amounts are lost. To claim it for a given year, contribute by 31 December; you must be 18 or over and resident. For a freelancer with tax to pay, it's one of the cleaner ways to shave the bill while building a pension.

MTCA#

The MTCA is the Malta Tax and Customs Administration, the government body that administers income tax, social security and VAT, and the one you actually file with. It was formed by merging what freelancers used to know as the CfR (Commissioner for Revenue / Inland Revenue) and the VAT Department, so older guides and forms may still say 'CfR' or 'VAT Department' where they now mean MTCA. It runs the myTax online portal, issues assessments, and is the final word on anything in this glossary. When in doubt, the MTCA (or your accountant) is who to confirm with.

Let Settlano keep track

Settlano applies all of this automatically (the bands, Class 2, VAT thresholds and every deadline), so you always know what's actually yours.

Common questions