The Malta Retirement Programme: 15 per cent, at least 7,500 euros, and an end at permanent residence

Yes, Malta has a special scheme for pensioners: the Malta Retirement Programme. Whoever qualifies pays 15 per cent on the foreign income they bring into Malta, with a minimum of 7,500 euros a year, plus 500 euros for each family member. For EU citizens who do not live on a pension there is a second scheme with the same rate, The Residence Programme, with a minimum of 15,000 euros. The find in the Maltese rules themselves: both statuses lapse as soon as you apply for or obtain permanent residence — something an EU citizen builds up automatically after five years. The trap lies on the Dutch side: the treaty only makes the Netherlands let go of what you actually transfer to Malta.

What are the two schemes?

	Malta Retirement Programme	The Residence Programme
For whom	not Maltese, lives on a pension	EU, EEA or Swiss national, not Maltese
Rate	15 per cent on foreign income received in Malta	same
Minimum tax per year	7,500 euros, plus 500 euros per family member	15,000 euros
Application fee	2,500 euros	6,000 euros, 5,500 euros for an owned home in the south
Buying a home	at least 275,000 euros, or 220,000 euros in Gozo and the south	same
Or renting	at least 9,600 euros a year, or 8,750 euros in Gozo and the south	same

The south is a fixed list of localities in the rules, from Birżebbuġa and Marsaxlokk to Żabbar. Income that does not fall under the 15 per cent rate is taxed separately at 35 per cent.

What does the Retirement Programme require?

You must show that you:

• buy or rent a home that meets the thresholds, and make it your main residence;
• receive a pension that arrives in Malta in full and makes up at least 75 per cent of your chargeable income;
• are not domiciled in Malta and do not intend to be within five years;
• have health insurance covering all risks across the EU that a Maltese national is covered for;
• are not in employment — a non-executive board position at a Maltese company or activities for a public-interest institution are allowed.

You do not apply yourself, but through an authorised registered mandatary, a registered lawyer, notary or accountant. You pay the minimum tax every year before 30 April, with a return showing that you still meet the conditions; what you pay is not refunded.

When do you lose the status?

Permanent residence and the Retirement Programme do not go together. The rules say it literally: whoever applies for or obtains permanent residence loses the special status and is taxed on all their income, wherever received, at the ordinary rates. An EU citizen is entitled to permanent residence after five years — so do not apply for that certificate as long as you want to keep the programme, and weigh that up before you start.

You also lose the status if you no longer have the home, no longer bring your whole pension to Malta, spend fewer than ninety days a year in Malta averaged over five years, or stay more than 183 days in another country in a calendar year. You report such an event within four weeks; whoever forgets gets a penalty of 5,000 euros.

When does it pay off?

That is a calculation against the ordinary system. EURES gives the Maltese rates for 2026: for a single person 0 per cent up to 12,000 euros, 15 per cent up to 16,000 euros, 25 per cent up to 60,000 euros and 35 per cent above; for a married couple each threshold is higher.

Taxable pension	Ordinary rate, single person	Retirement Programme
40,000 euros	6,600 euros	7,500 euros, the minimum
60,000 euros	11,600 euros	9,000 euros
100,000 euros	25,600 euros	15,000 euros

For a couple with 40,000 euros together, the ordinary rate comes out lower still. Only with a generous pension does the programme become cheaper — and the application fee, the mandatary and the required home still come off that.

What does the treaty mean?

Article 2(5) of the treaty between the Netherlands and Malta says that the Netherlands only grants a reduction of tax on the part of the income that has been transferred to or received in Malta. The Retirement Programme requires your whole pension to come to Malta, so that fits. But article 19(3) lets the Netherlands tax your AOW, and a pension from government service also stays Dutch; how the two countries settle that is in AOW, pension and tax in Malta. Which home meets the thresholds, you read in buying a house in Malta. Have the whole calculation done once by a tax adviser who knows both countries, before you pay for an application and a home. Where this falls in your journey is in the step-by-step plan for Malta.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Malta or go straight to step 2.2 in the open plan.