The Individual Tax Programme Rules, 2026 (Legal Notice 195 of 2026), made under the Income Tax Act (Chapter 123 of the Laws of Malta), come into force on 1 January 2027. They provide a single special tax status framework covering the ground of four instruments currently in force: the Global Residence Programme, The Residence Programme, the Malta Retirement Programme and the United Nations Pensions Programme (together, the existing programmes).
The distinction the rules draw is by date. Applications under the existing programmes received by 31 December 2026 are determined on those programmes' terms, and statuses granted under them continue on those terms until 31 December 2031. From 1 January 2027 the new rules are in force, and applications for special tax status are made under them. This note sets out the provision that draws the line, and what it leaves untouched.
The transitional provision
The rules provide that any granting of special tax status made before or up to 31 December 2026, including, for the avoidance of doubt, any application for the granting of such status received up to the same date, shall continue to apply until 31 December 2031.
Two situations are covered. A person who holds special tax status under one of the existing programmes on 31 December 2026 keeps it, on that programme's terms, until 31 December 2031. A person whose application has been received by the Commissioner for Tax and Customs by 31 December 2026 is in the same position once the status is granted.
The date the provision attaches to is the date the application is received by the Commissioner. Under each of the existing programmes an individual applies to the Commissioner through an authorised registered mandatary, and the same is true of the new rules. For an application to fall within the provision, it needs to have reached the Commissioner by the end of the year; the preparation, documentation and mandatary steps the rules prescribe come before that.
Until 31 December 2031
The existing programmes specify no term for the statuses they grant. The transitional provision supplies one for statuses within it: 31 December 2031. The rules do not spell out the position beyond that date.
What the provision does not cover
The provision is about tax status only. Special tax status under the new rules is a tax status; a beneficiary's residence documentation is applied for separately, through Identità: third country nationals under the applicable immigration framework, and nationals of the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland under the free movement framework.
As at the date of this note, the existing programmes' rules remain in force.
The choice between the frameworks
The existing programmes and the new rules differ in their administrative fees, minimum annual tax, property thresholds, dependant categories and other conditions. The differences are material: the minimum annual tax rises from €15,000 to €35,000 for global and EU resident status and from €7,500 to €15,000 for retired pensioner status, and the property purchase threshold from €275,000 to €700,000, with the remaining differences set out on the firm's comparison page, instrument by instrument, each free-standing. Which framework suits a given applicant turns on that applicant's circumstances.
Readers considering an application under either framework are welcome to discuss their position.
This note is adapted from the firm's guide to the Individual Tax Programme, section 10, and from its comparison of Malta's special tax status instruments, both at attardbaldacchino.com. It is provided for general information only. It does not constitute legal or tax advice, nor does it create a lawyer-client relationship. It states the law as at 28 September 2026; legislation, guidelines and official practice may change. Where anything in this note and Legal Notice 195 of 2026 differ, the legislation prevails.
Dr Russell Attard Baldacchino is a Malta warranted Advocate (warrant 2176) and an Authorised Registered Mandatory with the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (ARM04271), and advises on the Individual Tax Programme. Attard Baldacchino is a registered trade mark, EUIPO 018891262.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
