News, 30 September 2026
Malta will replace its flat-tax residence schemes with a single Individual Tax Programme from 1 January 2027, and the headline change is the price: a minimum tax of €35,000 a year for most applicants, up from €15,000 under the Global Residence Programme (GRP). The rules are law, not a proposal: Legal Notice 195 of 2026, made under the Income Tax Act and published on 14 July, per Deloitte and BDO.
Per BDO, the programme consolidates the GRP, The Residence Programme, the Malta Retirement Programme and the United Nations Pensions Programme. The legal notice sets four statuses:
| Status | Minimum tax a year |
|---|---|
| Global resident (non-EU) | €35,000 |
| EU, EEA or Swiss resident | €35,000 |
| Retired pensioner | €15,000 |
| UN pensioner | €20,000 |
The core benefit doesn’t change: 15% on qualifying foreign income remitted to Malta, 35% on other chargeable income. What does change is the entry ticket. You must buy a property for at least €700,000 or rent at €14,000 a year anywhere in Malta or Gozo, with no cheaper southern or Gozo rate. Under the GRP those figures were €275,000 to buy (€220,000 in the south or Gozo) or €9,600 to rent (€8,750). The application fee rises from €6,000 to €8,500, and status runs in five-year terms, each renewal costing €2,500.
The conditions are stricter on paper too. You must not be domiciled in Malta nor intend to become domiciled within five years, hold EU-wide health insurance, and keep the property. Letting or subletting it ends the status, as does spending more than 183 days in a calendar year in any other single jurisdiction.
Transition: status granted, or applications received, up to 31 December 2026 keep the current rules until 31 December 2031, under the legal notice’s saving rule. IMI Daily notes Maltese advisers are telling clients to file before year-end to lock that in.
What it means for you: if a GRP-style setup is on your list, the window for the old €15,000 minimum and €275,000 property is the next three months, and the old terms then last only to the end of 2031. From 2027 the scheme only makes sense if you remit well over €200,000 a year; at 15%, €35,000 of tax corresponds to about €233,000 of remitted income. Ordinary non-domiciled residents still face only the €5,000 minimum tax that applies once foreign income reaches €35,000.
Full guide: Malta residency (2026): nomad permit vs GRP vs MPRP compared
Sources
- Legislation Malta: Individual Tax Programme Rules, 2026 (L.N. 195 of 2026)
- Deloitte Malta: Individual Tax Programme Rules, 2026
- BDO Malta: Malta introduces the Individual Tax Programme Rules, 2026
- IMI Daily: Malta’s new tax program to come into effect in January, with €35,000 minimum tax
- PwC Malta: Residence and Global Residence Programmes brochure 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Malta, taxes on personal income
This is general information from the Nomad Forums team, not immigration, tax or legal advice. Rules change; check the official source or a qualified adviser before applying.
Over to you: Is anyone rushing a GRP application in before 31 December, and what are Maltese mandataries quoting to file it? Does the €35,000 floor rule Malta out for you compared with Italy’s or Greece’s flat-tax regimes?