Malta - Crypto penetration

intro

Malta has been famous for its loyal regulation of crypto entities since 2017. It’s one of the EU's first countries to regulate crypto assets.

Security level

Malta has a Minor danger security level according to our rating. Jurisdiction has 60.0 points (from 100) for safety level in Numbeo crime rating (1). The homicide level (2) is 0.4 per 100,000 inhabitants a year.

Crypto Payments

According to the Malta Inland Revenue Department (IRD) tax guide (3), crypto payments are legal in the country.

When a payment is made or received in a cryptocurrency, it is treated like a payment in any other currency for income tax purposes. Accordingly, for businesses which accept payment for goods or services in cryptocurrency, there is no change to when revenue is recognised or the manner in which taxable profits are calculated.

Crypto Salaries

IRD tax guide (4) also mentions that crypto salaries/wages are taxable as wages in any other currency.

The same applies to payments of remuneration, such as salaries or wages, and therefore such should be regarded as taxable in terms of the general principles.

Legal

Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) (5) and Commissioner for Revenue (6) regulate virtual assets in Malta. You can check the latest updates from the regulator on their website (7).

License	Regulator	Type of Activity
VFA Class 1 license	MFSA	Investment advice
VFA Class 2 license	MFSA	Wallet provider
VFA Class 3 license	MFSA	P2P
VFA Class 4 license	MFSA	Exchange

According to the MFSA (7¹) site in 2023, there were a total of 40 companies registered in the VFA Framework. VFA Agents - 20, Whitepaper - 5, VFA Service Provider - 15. At the end of 2024 amount of VFA provider increased up to 18. As for MiCA implementation Maltese legislators have approved special law with No. 107 - "Markets in Crypto Assets Bill". New regulations include greater fees for CASP registration - from €5,000 up to €10,000 and annual supervisory fee €10,000. The transition period for already registered VASPs is 19 months - up to July 2026.

Taxation

Tax name	Index
PIT tax Min	3
PIT tax Max	35
Corporate tax (CIT)	35
Min Individual CGT (for crypto)	0
Max Individual CGT (for crypto)	35
Wealth tax Min	0
Wealth tax Max	0

Taxation of DLT assets in Malta is regulated by local tax authorities CfR (Commissioner for Revenue). Its website has a detailed guide (8) about DLT's income taxation. Also, there is CfR guide (9) about duty taxation.

An important fact (10) about individual income is that individuals who are “resident in Malta but not domiciled in Malta are taxable only on income arising in Malta and on any foreign income remitted to Malta.”

PIT

According to PWC (11), Malta has a 35% PIT rate on income higher than 9509 EUR. This rate applies to all crypto-related personal income (salaries, mining, staking, etc.)

CGT

Long-term crypto profits have(12) a 15% tax rate and short-term implied to ordinary income tax.

CIT

Companies are subject to income tax at a flat rate of 35%. There is no corporate tax structure separate from income tax.

Links

1)Crime Index by Country 2023 Mid-Year

2)List of countries by intentional homicide rate

3, 4, and 8)GUIDELINES on the Income Tax Treatment of transactions or arrangements. PDF-file

5 and 7)Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Supporting innovation and new technologies for financial services in the area of crypto-assets.

6)Commissioner for Revenue

7¹)Financial Services Register

9)GUIDELINES for the Duty on Documents & Transfers Act. PDF-file