Company Formation in Malta

The advantages of choosing company formation in Malta for business

Malta is one of the most popular jurisdiction in the EU for business, along with Cyprus. Malta shines on about every level, when it comes to discerning its advantages as a jurisdiction for registering a company.

The effective taxation ranging from 0% to 10% (or 15% in certain cases) makes it the lowest taxed jurisdiction in Europe and in the European Economic Area.

With a complete setup process is just one week, Malta company registration is hard to beat. Entrepreneurs with an idea necessitating an immediate move are often relying on a Maltese Ltd to get started without delays.

This is due to the overall simplicity of forming a company in Malta. It is as simple to manage from anywhere in the world, as it is to form in the first place. Malta actually beats quite a few offshore jurisdictions, when it comes to being easy to operate remotely.

Being a member state of the EU and the ground of highly qualified regulators, Malta can be your gate to high potential activities. Crypto entrepreneurs may want to learn about the MiCA CASP license in Malta, while the Maltese gambling license is the most famous gaming framework for online casinos and betting platforms in the EU.

All in all, those are the sure signs of a jurisdictions that heavily leans in favour of business. The whole country’s flourishing economy is due to incentivizing entrepreneurs and companies to choose Malta as their headquarter. Incorporating in Malta becomes a no-brainer, given the well-rounded and simple nature of this pro-business jurisdiction, and all its advantages for multiple industries.

How long does it take to form a company in Malta?

Registering a company in Malta is very fast. Provided that the entrepreneurs have properly handed out the necessary documents, one (1) week is enough to incorporate a Maltese Limited Liability Company. In theory, it could even be less. With the prompt assistance of a partner such as LegalBison, the whole process can be as short as just a few days, but depends on a few factors that aren’t all in our (or your) control. Hence the affirmation that 1 week is generally speaking an average.

Procedure to prepare the registration of a company in Malta

Limited company formation in Malta is notoriously simple. The requirements in terms of documents to provide are as one would expect, and the procedure simply requires their proper presentation to the Maltese Business Registry (MBR). The review itself takes up to 2 days, after which the newly formed company is granted with its Certificate of Incorporation.

Making things as simple as possible, LegalBison manages the whole process for you. Our experts assists with the preparation and gathering of the few necessary documents, and conduct the whole registration procedure on your behalf. Our expertise ensures the smooth conduct of the business registration in Malta. You can sit back and receive your company documents in a just a few days!

How much tax will my Maltese company pay?

Malta has a refund-based taxation system. The base rate is then subject to potentially important refunds, eventually reaching very low effective tax rates.

This system was designed to benefit non-resident shareholders of Maltese companies.

The mechanism works as follows:

• The Maltese company earns a profit and pays the 35% corporate tax;
• The company distributes the remaining profits as a dividend to its shareholders (can be a single person);
• Upon receiving the dividend, the non-resident shareholder is entitled to claim a refund of the tax that the company originally paid.

Other refunds exists to lower the effective tax burden of Maltese companies. For example:

• The 6/7th refund, for trading activities;
• The 5/7th refund, for investments and passive incomes;
• The 2/3rd refund, for income sourced from abroad.

A LegalBison expert can let you know about the likely income tax rate applicable to your new company registered in Malta. For a ballpark estimation, most businesses range between 0% and 10% of effective tax rate.

Required documents to provide to register a company in Malta

The requirements to form a company in Malta are basic.

The new company shall decide on its board and ownership structure, even if it has a single individual as both the director and shareholder. Individuals on the board, shareholders and ultimate beneficial owners (UBO) should fulfill a basic KYC check (Know Your Customer) consisting of a few documents:

• Certified ID document;
• Recent proof of residence;
• Proposed company names;

At the incorporation stage, Memorandum of Association will be duly prepared by LegalBison as your trusted partner.

There is a share capital requirement for Limited companies in Malta, set at 1,165 EUR. Only 20% of this amount has to be paid up (233 EUR) for the company to be successfully registered.

LegalBison offers to handle the complete structuration of your incorporation file for you to simply provide basic documents and get a notification once your company is registered in Malta.

Holding Companies in Malta

Malta is a very interesting jurisdiction for setting up a holding company. Notwithstanding its easiness of formation and operation, Maltese holdings benefit from a massive tax incentive: the Participation Exemption.

Under this regime, Maltese holding companies can receive dividends and capitals gains from the companies under its ownership (provided it owns at least 5% of them) without being subject to tax. This means that tax consolidation of a group with its holding entity in Malta saves a considerable amount of money in taxes, legally, and in the European Union of all places.

Contact Us

Crypto and gambling companies in Malta

Malta being a forward-thinking jurisdiction for business, it also provides the opportunity to shape the future of finance, with financial authorizations for regulated activities.

The MiCA regulation is now applicable to all the European Union in regards to cryptocurrency businesses. Malta was on the starting blocks to offer CASP registration to entrepreneurs, and has already secured a good share of promising crypto companies within the MiCA framework.

Way before the advent of cryptocurrency as a flourishing business, Malta was already popular for its gambling license. It remains true as of today, as it is the top EU jurisdiction for setting up online games such as an online casino.

Both the MiCA and gambling license may even be secured by a single Maltese entity to develop and offer GameFi services.

Contact Us

Intellectual Property and Patent holding in Malta

Innovative companies and inventors are often seduced by the Patent Box Regime of Malta. Under this regime, companies benefit from a major tax deduction on income derived from qualifying IP, reducing the effective tax rate to as low as 2,5%. In combination with the absence of dividends and capital gains taxes as a holding, this makes Maltese companies a valuable asset for tax planning.

It stands insisting that such advantages are a rarity within the European Union (and even within the European Economic Area), making Malta even more valuable.

Contact Us

International Trade and e-commerce in Malta

This may sound obvious to anyone familiar with the advantageous tax regime of Malta for companies. The Mediterranean island is a great pick for trading companies and to set up an e-commerce headquarter. Not just for the low taxation, but for the easiness of opening and managing a legal entity in Malta.

Contact Us

Consulting services with a company in Malta

A company registered in Malta is ideal for operating any business that does not require a logistical or physical installment in a given place at a given time.

This means that professions such as consulting, freelance for IT, etc, are popular activities among companies registered in Malta. Given the low effective tax rate, the quickness and easiness of opening a Limited company in Malta, and the low cost and time effort to manage one.

Contact Us

Is the Malta Business Registry public and available for consultation?

The website of the Malta Business Registry (MBR) is the online portal for all entrepreneurs whose company is registered in Malta.

The registry of companies registered in Malta is publicly available on the internet for a fee, and includes the following information:

• Full names of the company’s directors;
• Full names of the company’s shareholders;
• The official correspondence address provided for these individuals;
• The company’s Memorandum & Articles of Association;
• Filed annual returns and annual accounts.

What are the accounting and auditing rules in Malta for Limited liability companies?

Every year, a company registered in Malta has to report to the Malta Business Register (MBR):

• Annual return in a specified form (up to 42 days after the end of the annual period);
• A copy of the annual accounts (up to 10 months after the end of the annual period);
• A report from an auditor and from the directors.

The filing is done online, through the web portal of the Malta Business Register.

Financial statements are to be audited by a certified public auditor every year. Managing the audit procedure is taken care of by LegalBison’s team in Malta, as included in our corporate services.

What are the residential requirements in Malta?

There are no residential requirements to establish a LLC in Malta.

• A registered address is the only requirement;
• The company needs to have a director and a company secretary. They need to be two different persons. None of them needs to reside in Malta.

LegalBison offers help with all of the above requirements. We assist and are local on ground. Speak now for free with one of our consultants to get your business started.

Privacy of directors and shareholders in Malta

Directors and shareholders of a company registered in Malta are disclosed to the public in the Malta Business Register (paid consultation). Nominee shareholders are legal, but in certain circumstances that are framed by law and only available to certain activities authorized by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). It is more accurate to talk about regulated transparency than secrecy.

• Passport copies (a scan) of all individuals above, also beneficiary owner if applicable
• A Power of Attorney (in case of a remote company registration)
• Certified company documents (in case at least one of the shareholders is going to be a foreign company)

• 3 options of your desired name for the company and a company contact email address
• Names, addresses and emails of all shareholders and board members
• Short description of your companies’ activity

• The whole incorporation process can be conducted remotely. No travel necessary. Notarization of documents is necessary
• A Power of Attorney (POA) from (all) partners is needed
• The POA is sent to you by us based on the services you want
• You have to certify the POA by a notary and in some cases legalize it by apostille (some countries need full legalization)
• Once you have the POA on your hands, we double-check, and you send us the original form (physical document!) via courier to our address
• Malta is part of the Hague Convention of the Apostille

Every year, a company registered in Malta has to report to the Malta Business Register (MBR):

• annual return in a specified form, a copy of the annual accounts & a report from an auditor and from the directors

The filing is done online, no more than 10 years after the end of the financial period of the company. For small companies answering two of the following three criteria, auditing the accounts is not mandatory:

• Balance sheet total under 46,600 EUR /OR/ turnover under EUR 93,000 /OR/ 2 employees (as an average) during the accounting period

What are the residential requirements in Malta?

There are no residential requirements to establish a LLC in Malta.

• A registered address is the only requisit
• The company needs to have a director and a company secretary. They need to be two different persons. None of them needs to reside in Malta

LegalBison offers help with all of the above requirements. We assist and are local on ground. Speak now for free with one of our consultants to get your business started.