Company Registration

Annual Compliance Calendar in Malta: Filings & Deadlines 

Malta annual company compliance is more about a steady process of filings that repeat every year. Once the company is set up, the real job is keeping the Registrar, the tax authorities, and your employees all happy, without spending your life reading laws. 

This well-researched guide provides information on the key Malta statutory filings that an average private company deals with annual return, accounts, income tax, VAT, payroll, and how to turn them into a simple Malta compliance calendar to follow.  

Big Picture: What Malta’s Annual Company Compliance Covers? 

For a typical Maltese company (private, not listed, and not heavily regulated), annual compliance usually means: 

• Registrar / Malta Business Registry (MBR): Annual return and filing of annual accounts. 

• Tax authorities: Corporate income tax return and tax payments, monthly payroll submissions, and VAT returns where applicable. 

• Internal governance: Approving accounts on time and keeping records in order. 

Once you know who wants what, and when, you can build a Malta compliance calendar that repeats year after year with only minor changes. After company registration in Malta, an annual compliance calendar will keep you updated and help you stay compliant.  

Annual Return to the Malta Business Registry 

This is the basic “still alive” filing. Every officially registered company has to file its annual return.  

What is the Annual Return? 

Every company must file an annual return with the Malta Business Registry (MBR) each year. It confirms: 

• Company details (name, registered office, company number). 

• Share capital and shareholdings. 

• Directors, the company secretary, and other key officers. 

The MBR’s own guidance explains that the annual return is due within 42 days of the company’s anniversary date, which is effectively the date of incorporation (often called the “made up date”). 

Deadline & Penalties 

Key points for your Malta annual company compliance list: 

• Due: within 42 days from each anniversary of incorporation.​ 

• Late filing: penalties start to accrue if the return is not submitted within that window, and they can add up – public guidance notes that penalties for a single late annual return can reach into the low thousands of euros if ignored.​ 

So, on your Malta compliance calendar, the company’s “birthday” month gets a clear reminder for the annual return plus fee. 

Annual Accounts: Approval & Filing Deadlines in Malta 

Malta is strict about annual accounts. For most companies, this is a two‑step story: approve the accounts, then file them with the MBR. 

Approval Deadline 

For private limited companies, the board must approve the annual financial statements within 10 months of the financial year‑end.​ 

For public companies and certain regulated entities, a shorter 7‑month approval deadline applies, but most small and mid‑size private companies fall under the 10‑month rule.​ 

Filing Deadline 

Once approved, you then have a short extra window: 

• The accounts must be filed with the MBR within 42 days after the approval deadline (10 months for private companies, 7 months for public).​ 

• For a private company with a 31 December year‑end, that typically means: 

• Approve accounts by 31 October of the following year. 

• File the signed audited accounts with the MBR by around 12 December (10 months + 42 days).​ 

The MBR highlights that missing those dates leads to late‑submission fees, which increase the longer you wait.​ 

Audit Requirement 

Under Maltese law and tax rules, almost all companies must prepare audited financial statements, even if size‑based exemptions exist under parts of the Companies Act, because the Income Tax Management Act still requires audited accounts for tax‑return purposes. That means “audit season” is part of Malta’s annual company compliance for nearly everyone.​ 

On your Malta compliance calendar, put: 

• “Accounts approval” at 10 months after year‑end. 

• “Accounts filing with MBR” 42 days after that. 

Corporate Income Tax Return & Payment 

Once the accounts are done, you still have to tell the tax authorities what happened. 

Filing the Company Tax Return 

Malta requires companies to submit an annual corporate income tax return and self‑assessment. For most companies, the main rule is: 

• The tax return is due within 9 months after the end of the company’s financial year, with some practical date rules around specific year‑ends.​ 

Public guidance notes that: 

• Companies with year ends between 1 January and 30 June often have a return deadline around 31 March of the following year. 

• Companies with later year ends generally have a deadline 9 months after year‑end, and electronic filing can sometimes extend the submission deadline slightly (even though tax payment dates do not always move).​ 

Maltese tax calendars published by firms show that manual company tax returns for December year‑ends are usually due by 30 September of the following year, with electronic filing windows extending into November, but tax itself still needs to be settled on time.​ 

Tax Payment/Settlement 

The return is one thing; paying the tax is another: 

• Settlement tax (the balancing payment for the year) for a 31 December year‑end company is typically due by 30 September of the following year, according to up‑to‑date Malta tax calendars.​ 

• Interest applies if tax is paid late.​ 

So, for a standard private company closing on 31 December, your Malta statutory filings list looks like: 

• By 30 September: Pay settlement tax and (for manual filers) submit the company tax return.​ 

• By 30 November: Electronic tax return deadline for many electronic filers with a December year‑end.​ 

Exact dates can vary slightly each year based on official notices, so it is smart to cross‑check the current tax calendar annually. 

Provisional tax and the Final Settlement System (FS5, FS7) in Malta 

Malta uses a provisional tax and Final Settlement System (FSS) for companies with employees, so your Malta compliance calendar gets some monthly and annual payroll entries too. 

Provisional Tax 

Companies may have to pay provisional tax in instalments during the year, based on previous assessments, to avoid a large lump sum at settlement time. These instalments are usually tagged to specific dates in the year, which your tax advisor or the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) calendar will set out.​ 

Payroll (FSS) Forms 

If your company has employees, you must: 

• Withhold tax and social security at source from salaries. 

• File monthly FS5 forms (showing tax and contributions withheld) and pay the amounts by set dates, often the end of the following month.​ 

• File an annual FS7 reconciliation and issue FS3 forms (similar to payslips/annual statements) to employees after the year‑end.​ The deadline 15 February of the following year.  

Maltese tax compliance calendars list, for example, that FS5 for March must be submitted and paid by 30 April; FS5 for August by 30 September; and so on.​ 

On your Malta compliance calendar, payroll gets: 

• 12 monthly FS5 filing/payment slots. 

• One annual FS7 and FS3 run early in the year. 

Vat Returns & Recaps in Malta 

If your company is VAT‑registered in Malta, VAT adds another repeating layer to Malta’s annual company compliance. 

VAT Returns 

Key points: 

• VAT returns are generally due quarterly or every six months, depending on the registration profile, although some businesses may have monthly returns.​ 

• Each VAT return must be submitted and paid by a specific deadline after the end of the VAT period (often 6 weeks to 2 months, depending on the scheme).​ 

Because VAT obligations vary by entity, your Malta compliance calendar should: 

• Note your assigned VAT period (quarterly, monthly, or half‑year). 

• Add filing and payment deadlines for each period, with reminders a couple of weeks in advance. 

EC Sales & Other Recaps 

If you trade with other EU Member States, you may also need to file: 

• EC Sales Lists (ESLs) for supplies of goods and certain services to VAT‑registered customers in other EU countries.​ 

• Intrastat declarations are required if you exceed specific thresholds for goods movement.​ 

These are typically monthly or quarterly, depending on volume. They belong in the same VAT section of your Malta compliance calendar. 

Sector‑specific & Activity‑based Compliance in Malta 

Beyond the usual annual return, accounts, tax, VAT, and payroll filings, some businesses face extra obligations in Malta tied to what they actually do: 

• Regulated sectors such as financial services, gaming, investment funds, insurance, and certain virtual‑asset activities often report to dedicated regulators and must file periodic prudential returns, conduct reports, and audited statements in formats that go beyond normal company accounts. These firms also typically have fit‑and‑proper requirements for key staff and owners. 

• Activity-based regimes, such as those in the fields of healthcare, education, food and beverage, construction, and environmental impact, may call for operating licenses, inspections, and renewals from particular authorities. These regimes may also have their own reporting schedules that are distinct from those for taxes and registrations. 

These obligations are not one-size-fits-all because the regulations, formats, and timing differ significantly between sectors. In order to create a special mini-calendar on top of the general Malta annual company compliance schedule, business owners in regulated or sensitive industries should constantly check the most recent guidelines from the relevant Maltese authority (or seek local advice). 

Building A Practical Malta Compliance Calendar 

To turn this into something you can actually run with, you can build your own Malta compliance calendar in five steps. 

1. Lock in your key dates 

• Note your incorporation date (for the annual return).​ 

• Note your financial year‑end (for accounts, tax, and audit). 

2. Map MBR obligations 

• Add “Annual return + fee” at anniversary + 42 days.​ 

• Add “Approve accounts” at 10 months after year‑end (private companies).​ 

• Add “File audited accounts with MBR” at 10 months + 42 days.​ 

3. Map tax obligations 

• Add “Company tax return due” at 9 months after year‑end (adjusted to the specific date rules the MTCA publishes each year).​ 

• Add “Settlement tax payment” at the date the current Malta tax calendar specifies for your year‑end (for December year‑ends, usually 30 September).​ 

• Add provisional tax instalment dates if these apply.​ 

4. Add VAT and payroll. 

• Slot in your VAT return periods and deadlines (monthly/quarterly/half‑yearly), plus payment reminders.​ 

• Add monthly FS5 payroll submissions and payments and the annual FS7/FS3 run, using the MTCA calendar.​ 

5. Review annually 

• Each year, when Malta’s tax calendars and any new notices are published, check if any dates have moved (for example, manual vs electronic filing deadlines) and update your Malta compliance calendar accordingly.​ 

Once that structure is in place, Malta’s annual company compliance stops being a fuzzy worry and becomes a checklist you can assign and automate. 

Common Pitfalls (How Calendar Helps) 

A few mistakes show up again and again: 

• Forgetting the 42‑day rule for the annual return and accounts filing. Because both use “42 days” after a key date, it is easy to mix them up or assume they are optional. The MBR is clear that penalties apply if companies miss those windows.​ 

• Leaving accounts approval too late. Directors sometimes underestimate how long audits take, then struggle to approve accounts by the 10‑month deadline, which can cascade into late filing with the MBR.​ 

• Assuming tax return and payment dates are identical every year without checking. Malta’s tax calendars show that exact deadlines (especially for electronic submissions) depend on year‑end and MTCA announcements; copying last year’s date can be risky.​ 

• Treating payroll and VAT as “bookkeeping” rather than statutory filings. FS5, FS7, VAT returns, and EC recaps are all formal obligations; missing them comes with penalties and can lead to being flagged to the authorities.​ 

A well‑built Malta compliance calendar will not do the work for you, but it reduces these issues from “painful surprises” to “known tasks with reminders,” which is really the goal. 

If you treat Malta’s annual company compliance as one integrated calendar instead of a scattered list of deadlines, you free up more headspace for actually running the business, while staying on the right side of the Registrar, the tax office, and your auditors. 

Summing Up 

For a typical private company with a 31 December year‑end, your Malta annual company compliance “big ticket” items look like this: 

• Every year, within 42 days of the incorporation anniversary: File the annual return with the MBR and pay the fee.​ 

• By 31 October (10 months after year‑end): Board approves audited financial statements.​ 

• By around 12 December (10 months + 42 days): File signed accounts with the MBR.​ 

• By 30 September of the following year:  

1. Pay the settlement tax for the prior year.​  

2. Submit a manual company tax return if not filing electronically.​ 

• By 30 November (date often used for e‑filers with December year‑end): Submit the electronic company tax return.​ 

• Throughout the year: 

1. Provisional tax instalments are as scheduled.​ 

2. Monthly FS5 payroll submissions and payments; annual FS7/FS3 after year‑end.​ 

3. Quarterly (or monthly/half‑yearly) VAT returns and payments, plus any EC Sales or Intrastat filings.​ 

Those dates shift slightly if your financial year‑end is not 31 December, but the pattern is the same: annual return on your birthday, accounts at 10+ months, tax at 9 months, and settlement, payroll, and VAT on a monthly/quarterly cycle. 

Looking for expert support in meeting your compliance requirements in Malta? Talk to our experts at Enterslice and get your annual compliance calendar for Malta.  

Frequently Asked Questions About Annual Compliance Calendar Malta