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Malta's 5% needs two companies. Cyprus needs one.

Malta's tax refund leaves an effective 5% on trading profit you pay out, against 15% in Cyprus. Cyprus wins on structure, with one company, one audit and no refund to claim. Moving your Maltese company out costs exit tax on its value.

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  • Fixed prices
  • Eligibility checked before you pay
  • One team for the Cyprus side

On rate, Malta comes out ahead.

Malta's refund means you keep more of the trading profit you pay out, and the calculator shows it. Profit left in the company pays 35% there and 15% here.

€200,000
In Malta
Corporate tax
−€10,000
Tax on dividends
−€0
You keep
€190,000
In Cyprus
Corporate tax
−€30,000
Health contribution (GeSY)
−€4,505
You keep
€165,495

Malta: 35% corporate tax, less the six-sevenths a registered shareholder claims back on distributed trading profit, so an effective 5%, and no further tax on the dividend. Retained profit pays the full 35%, and Malta keeps 10% on passive interest and royalties.

Headline rates for a founder who takes the profit out as dividends and has become Cyprus tax resident with non-dom status. Your own figures will differ. This is an illustration, not tax advice.

Leaving Malta has a price.

The exit tax is often the largest number in the move, bigger than the rate gap. Price it with a Maltese adviser before anything is filed.

  • Exit tax on what the business is worth

    Moving your company's tax residence out of Malta taxes the gap between what its assets are worth and their value in the tax books, at 35%. For a software or brand business that's most of its value, though nothing was sold. Moving before the value builds costs less.

  • Instalments only on request

    You can spread the exit tax over five years only if the tax authority approves a written request, and interest runs on it. Sell or move the assets on and the whole balance falls due at once.

  • Run the company from Cyprus

    Malta can tax a foreign company's profit in Malta if you own over half, it pays less than half the tax Malta would charge, and its key decisions are still taken in Malta. A Cyprus company run from Sliema fits exactly. Move yourself and the decisions.

  • Residence ends when you really leave

    Malta treats you as ordinarily resident while you live there on a permanent basis. That ends when you leave for good, not when your day count drops. Keep the apartment, the family and the board seat, and Malta can still claim you.

  • Duty on the way out

    Transferring shares in a Maltese company costs 2% of the price or real value, whichever is higher, or 5% if it holds Maltese property. Selling your apartment costs you 8% of its sale value, 10% if bought before 2004, even at a loss.

  • Your pension record travels

    EU rules count your Maltese contributions alongside your Cyprus ones, and a Maltese pension for the years you paid in stays payable to you abroad.

What Cyprus does better.

One company and one rate, whether you pay profit out or keep it in. And no yearly minimum tax on the non-dom.

Corporate tax
15%
One flat rate, with no local surcharges.
Tax on dividends
0%
As a non-dom, for up to 17 years.
Days a year for tax residency
60
Under the 60-day rule, with a home and a business here.
Wealth or inheritance tax
0
Cyprus has neither.
  • As a Maltese citizen you're an EU citizen, so you register with the Yellow Slip, which we file with you. No visa, no permit.
  • Malta's non-dom pays at least €5,000 a year once foreign income kept outside Malta reaches €35,000. The Cyprus non-dom has no yearly minimum.
  • Under the tax treaty between Malta and Cyprus, a company resident in both belongs where it's really managed. The decisions have to move with you.
  • Income from qualifying intellectual property pays an effective 3% under the Cyprus IP Box, below Malta's 5% on trading profit.

Value first, then move.

The exit tax depends on when you go, so the valuation comes before anything else.

Book a free call
  1. First

    Value the business, pick the route

    A Maltese adviser estimates the exit tax in writing. Together you choose between moving the company itself or only its decisions, and plan how any tax group (fiscal unit) unwinds. We can recommend an adviser if you need one.

  2. Month 1We do this

    Form the Cyprus company

    We register it with tax, VAT and VIES. Your books open the day you order.

  3. Month 1 to 3We do this

    Yellow Slip and a directorship

    We apply for your Yellow Slip with you. You become a director of your Cyprus company, which the 60-day rule builds on.

  4. Month 3 to 6

    Move in, move the decisions

    Take the Cyprus home the 60-day rule needs and take the company's decisions here. Your adviser handles the Maltese company and files any request to pay exit tax in instalments.

  5. From month 12We do this

    Tax residency and non-dom

    We register your Cyprus tax residency and non-dom status, then keep the day counts and filings in order.

  6. From month 12

    Cut the Maltese ties

    With your adviser, let go of what still ties you to Malta. Your Maltese residence ends with the ties, not with a Cyprus certificate.

The Cyprus side, done for you.

Fixed prices, excl. VAT, agreed before you start. Government fees are charged at cost, on top of our fee, once your application is approved.

What Maltese founders ask us.

Still unsure? Talk to a person on WhatsApp, or book a free call below.

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On the rate, no. A Maltese company pays 35%, and a registered shareholder claims six-sevenths back on dividends from trading profit, leaving 5%. Cyprus charges 15% and stops. Cyprus is cheaper on everything around the rate, with one company instead of two, one audit, one annual return and no refund claim to file and defend. Profit kept in the company pays 35% in Malta and 15% here.

The refund belongs to the shareholder, who must be registered to claim it. So the usual set-up is a second Maltese company that owns the trading one. A tax group (fiscal unit) removes the wait by charging the net rate up front, but it still needs a parent and a 95% subsidiary. Claims have a four-year window, and a wrong claim costs a penalty equal to the whole refund.

Yes. Moving the company's tax residence out of Malta taxes the gap between what its assets are worth and their value in the tax books, at 35%, unless they stay with a Maltese branch. For a software or brand business that's most of its worth. You can pay in five yearly instalments, with interest, only if the tax authority approves a written request. Get the business valued before you move.

You can, but it's worse to live with. A company formed in Malta stays Maltese, so moving only its decisions makes it resident in both countries. The treaty then places it where it's really managed, and you keep filing in Malta indefinitely. Moving the company itself to Cyprus is cleaner. It takes weeks, needs tax and creditor clearances, and triggers the exit tax.

When you leave for good, not when your days drop. Malta treats anyone living there on a permanent basis as ordinarily resident, and a temporary absence doesn't end it. Keep the apartment, the family and the board seat, and Malta still has its argument. More than 183 days in Malta makes you resident for that year anyway. If both countries claim you, the treaty decides.

You can, but it works against you. A home kept in Malta is one of the ties Malta weighs when it decides whether you really left. If you sell instead, you pay a final tax of 8% of the sale value, or 10% if you bought before 2004, even when you sell at a loss. Price it early with your Maltese adviser.

You keep what you paid in. EU rules add your Maltese record to your Cyprus one, and a Maltese pension for your years there stays payable abroad. Ask for your contribution record before you leave. Malta's self-employed contributions are light, topping out around €4,500 a year, so this is one line where Malta stays cheaper.

No. Under the 60-day rule you can be Cyprus tax resident with 60 days a year here, a home you rent or own, a business, job or directorship in Cyprus, and no more than 183 days in any other country. Running your own Cyprus company can count. Since 2026, Malta still claiming you as a resident no longer rules you out in Cyprus.

No. We build and run the Cyprus side. For the exit tax, duty on your shares, ending your Maltese residence and unwinding a tax group, work with a Maltese adviser. We can recommend one if you need it.

Plan your move with us.

Tell us what you own and when you'd like to move. We'll tell you what applies, what it costs, and what to do first.

  • Which rules at home affect you
  • The order to do things in
  • A fixed price for the Cyprus side

30 minutes, by video, free

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Your move, one partner.

We form your company, apply for your residency with you and keep your books.

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