Malta stamp duty for first-time buyers: the €200,000 nil band

What the relief gives

For a transfer under an onerous title made on or after 28 October 2025 that qualifies for the concession in article 32(4)(a) of the Act, the final proviso to article 3 of the Exemption of Duty in terms of Article 23 Order provides that no duty shall be chargeable on the first €200,000 of the aggregate value of the consideration paid. Above €200,000 the standard €5 per €100 applies, because article 32(4)(a) reduces only the first €200,000 and the exemption order removes the charge on that same slice.

On a €250,000 purchase that produces duty of €2,500 rather than €9,500 under the ordinary residence rate or €12,500 at the standard rate. The relief applies on a pro rata basis according to the share of the property acquired, so two first-time buyers taking half each get half the band each.

The conditions, in the order they are tested

1. You qualify under article 32(4)(a). That means you do not require a permit from the Minister under the Immovable Property (Acquisition by Non-Residents) Act, and you are acquiring the property to establish or construct on it your sole, ordinary residence.
2. You have made no previous inter vivos acquisition of residential property. The proviso covers any immovable property wholly or partly used or intended to be used as a residence, including land or airspace acquired to build on, and property with a development permit or a pending application for such construction.
3. The notary records your declaration in the deed that the condition is satisfied, and warns you of the importance of its truthfulness.
4. Legal evidence is submitted with the form provided by the Commissioner for Tax and Customs for the purposes of article 51 of the Act.

The small-share carve-out

A previous acquisition of an undivided share of residential property is ignored, as long as it represents in the aggregate less than 25% of the real value of the whole property and you made no other previous inter vivos acquisition of that property or part of it. The carve-out does not apply if you were already granted the concession under article 32(4)(a) or under the order itself. An inherited quarter share of a family home does not always end the entitlement, but the arithmetic has to be done.

What changed in October 2025

The earlier version of the relief, in force from 20 October 2020 to 27 October 2025, also gave a €200,000 nil band but tested whether the property was the first immovable property acquired inter vivos at all, with separate carve-outs for undivided shares under 25% and for a garage of not more than thirty square metres, and it required the article 51 form to be submitted on or before 28 February 2026. The current proviso narrows the test to residential property while dropping the fixed submission deadline. If your promise of sale straddles the change, the date of the transfer decides which version applies.

The relief that is not a relief on the first purchase

The Duty on the Acquisition of the Second Immovable Property to be used as Sole Residence (Exemption) Order (S.L. 364.17) refunds the duty paid on the first €86,000 of a replacement residence where an individual sells one residence and buys another within twelve months, subject to conditions in both directions. The figure rises to €150,000 for people on the Register of Persons with Disability, and for guardians of such persons living in the same household, on production of an occupational therapist's report. The order applies to acquisitions up to 31 December 2026, with the notice due by 28 February 2027, and claims must be made within six months of the last contract.

Every figure on this page comes from the orders named above as published on legislation.mt with point-in-time dates of 26 December 2025 (S.L. 364.12) and 12 December 2025 (S.L. 364.17). These orders have been amended by legal notice almost every year for a decade. Confirm the version in force at the date of your deed with your notary before relying on a band.