How is self-employed tax in Malta calculated in 2026?
If you work for yourself in Malta — as a sole trader, freelancer or self-occupied person — your annual net profit faces two separate, parallel charges, and this calculator works out both. The first is Class 2 Social Security Contributions. For a self-employed person born on or after 1 January 1962, Class 2 SSC is 15% of your annual net earnings, but it is bounded by a weekly floor and ceiling. The minimum is €36.18 per week (€1,881.36 a year) and the maximum is €83.89 per week (€4,362.28 a year). Because of those bounds, the 15% rate only bites cleanly on annual net earnings between roughly €12,543.73 and €29,083.36: below that you pay the flat minimum, and at or above it you pay the flat maximum. No contribution is due if your annual net income is €910 or less. The second charge is income tax, using exactly the same 2026 progressive bands as the Malta salary and income-tax calculators, so the three stay consistent. You pick Single, Married or Parent — each a four-band table at 0%, 15%, 25% and 35% where tax = net earnings × the band rate − a fixed subtraction. The 2026 tax-free thresholds are €12,000 (Single), €15,000 (Married) and €13,000 (Parent), and the 35% band starts at €60,001 for everyone. Crucially, Class 2 SSC is not deductible from the income-tax base — both are charged on your full net earnings and then subtracted to give your net income. Worked example: on €30,000 annual net earnings, Single computation, born on/after 1 January 1962. Class 2 SSC: 15% × €30,000 = €4,500 raw, but because €30,000 is above the upper breakpoint the contribution is capped at the maximum €83.89 × 52 = €4,362.28. Income tax (Single) sits in the 25% band: €30,000 × 0.25 − €3,400 = €4,100.00. Net income = €30,000 − €4,362.28 − €4,100.00 = €21,537.72, and the effective rate is (€4,362.28 + €4,100.00) ÷ €30,000 = 28.21%. As a lower-income check, at €20,000 net earnings the SSC is 15% × €20,000 = €3,000 (within the €1,881.36–€4,362.28 band, so no clamp) and Single income tax is €20,000 × 0.25 − €3,400 = €1,600, leaving €15,400 net. Note on rates: the 15% rate is the common-usage self-employed / sole-trader figure; certain self-occupied categories are charged 10%, and a reduced pro-rata floor of €31.97 per week applies to part-time, student and pensioner cases that apply for it at the MTCA — these status distinctions are left out of this mass-market engine.
Official source: CFR Malta (MTCA) · Data updated: 2026-06-02