Grants and Tax Breaks for Home Buyers in Malta (2026–2027)

Buying a home in Malta comes with more help than most buyers realise, and some of it is easy to miss. It comes in two kinds. Tax breaks reduce the stamp duty you pay, and your notary applies them on the deed. Grants are money you apply for yourself, each with its own rules and its own deadline.

Both apply to purchases in 2026 and 2027. Budget 2027, presented in October 2026, renewed all existing property schemes for 2027, including those for buying and renovating a home, and the first-time buyer scheme is now permanent. The legal notices that carry each scheme into the new year usually follow the Budget, so confirm the current terms with your notary before you sign.

Stamp duty: the starting point

Stamp duty is the tax the buyer pays on a property purchase, and the general rate is 5% of the price. It's paid in two parts. When you sign the Konvenju (Promise of Sale), your notary registers it with the tax authorities, and 1% is paid as provisional stamp duty at that point. The remaining 4% is paid on the final deed.

Everything below either reduces that 5% or gives part of it back, if you qualify.

First-time buyers: no stamp duty on the first €200,000

If you're buying your first home to live in, you pay no stamp duty on the first €200,000 of the price; the 5% applies only to anything above it. On a €300,000 home, that means duty on €100,000: €5,000 instead of €15,000.

The relief is for your first property, bought as your sole, ordinary residence. Your notary confirms that you qualify and applies it on the deed. It was made permanent in the 2026 Budget, so it no longer depends on a yearly extension.

Second-time buyers: duty back on the first €86,000

If you sell the home you live in and buy your next one, you can claim back the stamp duty paid on the first €86,000 of the new property, which is up to €4,300 at the 5% rate. The sale and the purchase have to happen within 12 months of each other, in either order.

The main conditions, from the second-time buyer order (S.L. 364.17):

• the home you sell must have been your own residence, and the new one must be your sole residence;
• you can't own any other residential property when you buy the new one;
• if you're buying a share of the property, the refund is worked out on your share;
• you claim the refund in writing within six months of the last contract;
• for registered persons with disability, and their guardians, the refund covers the first €150,000.

The order currently covers purchases up to 31 December 2026, and Budget 2027 renewed the property schemes for 2027. Ask your notary to confirm that you qualify before you sign.

Buying in an Urban Conservation Area

Properties in an Urban Conservation Area (UCA), the historic cores of Malta's towns and villages, carry their own exemption: the buyer pays no stamp duty on the first €750,000, subject to conditions, and the seller has a matching exemption on the tax due on the sale. The UCA card has the details, with Dr. Laferla's explanation.

A UCA property doesn't automatically qualify for a grant, though: grants set their own conditions. If you're buying an old property to work on, our chapter on buying an old property to renovate covers the works side.

Grants: the money you apply for

Grants work differently from tax relief. Nobody applies them for you: you find the schemes, check the conditions and apply yourself. Andrew Cachia of grants.mt answers the questions buyers ask most.

Do you qualify?

Probably for more than you think. A few grants consider your age or income, but Andrew stresses that these tend to be few: there are a large number of grants for buyers and owners, so check all the options.

And a grant the seller received won't count against you: grants are awarded to the person buying, not tied to the building.

Buying as a couple

Most grants are still open to you as a couple, normally as one joint application in both names. If only one of you is a first-time buyer, Andrew's rule of thumb is that you can generally still apply, but very likely for half the amount. More on buying with a partner.

Don't miss the window

This is where first-time buyers lose out most. Grant windows open after you buy and tend to be relatively short, so find out what you qualify for before the final deed, and be ready to apply as soon as the property is yours.

Planning works? Approval comes first

If a grant will help pay for renovation, don't start the works before it's approved. For a large number of grants, works that start early can make you ineligible.

Read the small print, twice

Andrew's standing advice: read each scheme's guidelines two or three times, get to know the eligibility criteria, and if anything is still unclear, seek professional guidance or contact the authority or ministry running it.

Put it into your budget

What you're entitled to can change what you can afford, which is why it comes first in our step-by-step guide to buying property in Malta. Plan the numbers with the Home Loan Calculator, see the main costs of buying, and if you're financing the purchase, read getting a home loan in Malta.

Sources

• S.L. 364.17, Duty on the Acquisition of the Second Immovable Property to be used as Sole Residence (Exemption) Order, as amended up to L.N. 283 of 2025: the second-time buyer refund, its conditions and the claim deadline
• CSB Group, Malta Budget 2027: Key Tax Measures (27 October 2026): existing property schemes renewed for 2027; the permanent first-time buyer scheme
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Malta: Other taxes (reviewed 30 September 2026): Urban Conservation Area exemptions
• Dr. Michael Laferla, Yitaku Asks videos: stamp duty, the 1% provisional duty at the promise of sale, the first-time buyer exemption
• Andrew Cachia, Yitaku Asks videos: eligibility, couples, previous owners' grants, application windows, approval before works, reading the guidelines