Malta

US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

The agreement concluded between the Republic of Malta and the United States to improve international tax compliance and to implement the FATCA (the 'Agreement') entered into force on 26 June 2014. On 18 November 2014, the FATCA Regulations were accordingly issued implementing the said intergovernmental agreement (IGA). Guidelines on the implementation and interpretation of the FATCA Regulations and the said Agreement have been issued by the Maltese Commissioner for Tax and Customs and are updated periodically.

Furthermore, the Exchange of Information (United States of America) (FATCA) (Amendment) Order was enacted in 2015.

Guidelines on FATCA, providing guidance for its implementation and interpretation, have also been issued by the Maltese Commissioner for Tax and Customs and should be periodically updated. 

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and EU Council Directive 2011/16/EU and 2014/107/EU

By virtue of LN 384 of 2015 entitled the ‘Cooperation with Other Jurisdiction on Tax Matters (Amendment) Regulations, 2015’, the EU Council Directive 2014/107/EU of 9 December 2014 amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation (DAC2) and the CRS have been accordingly implemented into Maltese legislation, with effect from 1 January 2016.

The last update made to the Cooperation with Other Jurisdiction on Tax Matters Regulations (the “Regulations”) was published on 22 May 2026 by means of legal notice 162 of 2026.

Broadly, in respect of CRS, a new Annex VI was added, setting out reporting requirements, due diligence procedures and other rules of Reporting Malta Crypto-Asset Service Providers, to enable automatic exchange of information under Article 8ad of the EU Administrative Cooperation Directive. More specifically, Annex VI applies to entities authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, which are entities allowed to provide crypto-asset services following notification under that Regulation, and certain Malta connected entities or individuals, including those tax resident in Malta, incorporated or organised under Maltese law, managed from Malta or having a regular place of business in Malta. Furthermore, the Regulations now include administrative penalties for Reporting Malta Crypto-Asset Service Providers, including penalties for failures connected with due diligence procedures and for misleading or false information submitted by such providers.

Guidelines on the implementation and interpretation of the DAC2 and CRS have also been issued by the Maltese Commissioner for Tax and Customs (the ’Guidelines‘) and updated periodically, with the last update issued in April 2025.

With respect to reporting, although FATCA and CRS/DAC2 reporting is to be done primarily by the XML Schema reporting, the Maltese Commissioner for Tax and Customs provides for an alternative online reporting tool available to Maltese Financial Institutions that were classified as Reporting Malta Financial Institutions for DAC2 and CRS purposes. The reporting tool includes both the report to be submitted relating to the FATCA as well as DAC2/CRS. According to the latest Guidelines, the alternative online reporting tool is only made available after Reporting Malta Financial Institutions request authorisation from the Maltese Commissioner for Tax and Customs, after they successfully manage to explain why they are unable to report by using the XML Schema reporting.

Disclosure of Tax Arrangements (DAC6)

The provisions of the fifth update to Council Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation have been transposed and implemented into Maltese law (DAC6 or the Directive). The rules transpose the Directive provisions and impose mandatory disclosure by intermediaries (and taxpayers, in specified situations) of certain arrangements with an EU cross-border element where the arrangements bear certain 'hallmarks' set out in the Directive.

In 2026, the Regulations were amended to clarify that no person may be requested to provide information subject to attorney-client privilege. For this purposes, protected information includes confidential communications between a client and a lawyer or other legal representative produced for the purpose of seeking or providing legal advice, or for use in existing or contemplated legal proceedings.

Reporting obligations for digital platforms (DAC7)

Legal Notice 8 of 2023, which was published on 20 January 2023, introduced rules that transposed the provisions of the sixth update to Council Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation into Maltese law (DAC7). DAC7 extends the EU tax transparency rules to digital ’platforms‘ and introduces an obligation on ’reporting platform operators‘ to collect, verify, and report specific information with respect to ’reportable sellers‘ that have undertaken ’relevant activities‘ through their platforms. DAC7 also introduces new automatic exchange of information between the EU tax authorities regarding the taxable events and income generated through these platforms. Furthermore, DAC7 includes a legal framework to enable joint audits. In joint audits, two or more countries join to form a single audit team to conduct a taxpayer examination.

Reporting platform operators are required to report to the local tax authorities specific information with respect to the operator itself and also with respect to the reportable sellers by 31 January of the year following the calendar year in which the seller is identified as a reportable seller. The tax administrations must then exchange the information between member states within one month, i.e. by the end of February. Penalties for non-compliance may apply.

Reporting Crypto Assets Service Provider (DAC 8)

As outlined above, Malta introduced amendments to the Cooperation with Other Jurisdictions on Tax Matters Regulations to implement the EU DAC8 framework. The amendments were made through Legal Notice 162 of 2026, the Cooperation with Other Jurisdictions on Tax Matters (Amendment) Regulations 2026, which is deemed to have come into force on 1 January 2026. The amendments update Malta’s tax transparency framework by extending the automatic exchange of information rules to crypto-assets and crypto-asset service providers.

The amendments to the regulations update the “EU Administrative Cooperation Directive” in the Cooperation with Other Jurisdictions on Tax Matters Regulations to include Council Directive (EU) 2023/2226, commonly referred to as DAC8, together with subsequent related amendments. This brings the Maltese regulations in line with the latest EU administrative cooperation rules in the field of taxation.

DAC8 lays down the rules and procedures for exchanging information on crypto-asset users by implementing due diligence procedures and reporting rules for operators active in crypto-asset transactions and their users. The rules are based on the OECD's international standard Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). This Directive covers a broad scope of crypto-assets, building on the definitions set out in the European Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).

In addition, crypto-assets that have been issued in a decentralised manner, as well as stablecoins, including e-money tokens and certain non-fungible tokens (NFTs), are included within the scope of the directive.

Furthermore, in view of the comprehensive review of the CRS made by the OECD and the resulting amendments made, DAC8 also considers such amendments to the Standard. As a result, the scope of the CRS has been expanded to include specific electronic money products and central bank digital currencies. Further revisions have been made to ensure that indirect investments in crypto-assets, through derivatives and investment vehicles, are now subject to the CRS. In addition, amendments have been made to strengthen the due diligence and reporting requirements and to provide a carve out for genuine non-profit organisations.