MALTA TRUSTS, FOUNDATIONS & FAMILY TRUST COMPANIES

Estate & Wealth Planning

Planning for your future and that of your dependants deserves special attention. Acumum Advisory specialises in trusts, foundations, family trust companies, and family offices, alongside estate taxes, succession planning, and wills. We advise on the most tax-efficient and practical structure for your specific circumstances and objectives.

Trusts

A trust is a legal arrangement whereby a settlor transfers assets to a trustee to hold and manage for named beneficiaries. Malta’s Trusts and Trustees Act 2004 is modelled on the UK Law of Trusts (Jersey), and trustees are highly regulated by the MFSA under ‘fit and proper’ requirements. Trusts are not publicly registered, offering a high degree of confidentiality.

  • Available for private individuals and commercial applications
  • Can hold any property, for any person, irrespective of nationality or residence
  • Types available: discretionary trusts, purpose trusts, charitable trusts, unit trusts
  • Duration: maximum 100 years
  • Tax treatment: a trustee may elect for the trust to be treated as a company, resulting in an effective tax rate of 5%–6.25% for non-resident beneficiaries, with access to Malta’s 70+ double tax treaties
  • Acumum Advisory offers: trust formation, trustee services, administration, restructuring, and termination

Family Trust Companies

A Family Trust Company (FTC) is akin to a private trust company (similar to Jersey), allowing families to act as their own trustee and maintain active involvement in the management of their wealth across generations. Introduced by Malta in 2014 through amendments to the Trusts and Trustees Act.

  • Must be incorporated as a Malta Ltd, with activities strictly limited to acting as trustee for specific settlors
  • Maximum 5 settlors; minimum 3 directors (at least one with proven trust expertise)
  • Beneficiaries must be family members of the settlors (up to the fifth degree of collateral relationship)
  • Registration required with MFSA; full authorisation not required
  • A Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) must be appointed

Trust duration: up to 125 years

Foundations

A Malta Foundation is a separate legal entity — distinct from both trusts and companies — that owns its assets on behalf of its beneficiaries. Governed by the Second Schedule of the Civil Code (Chapter 16), foundations offer an ideal solution for asset protection, estate planning, and philanthropic purposes.

  • Private foundations: for the benefit of named persons or a class of persons; maximum 100 years
  • Purpose foundations: for a specified purpose, including charitable; can be established for unlimited duration
  • Commercial use: passive owner of commercial property, shares, or securitisation vehicles
  • Minimum endowment: €1,165 (private); €233 (social/non-profit)
  • Segregated cells available within a single foundation
  • Conversion between foundation and trust (and vice versa) is permitted under Maltese law

Tax options: 0% (if all beneficiaries non-resident and income foreign-sourced) or effective 5%–10% if taxed as a company

Trusts VS Foundations

Legal personality

Legal personality

Asset ownership

Oversight

Purpose structures

Registration

Max. duration

trust

None

Trustee owns assets

Protector

Not available

Not registered

100 yrs (125 for family trusts)

foundation

Own legal personality

Foundation owns its own assets

Supervisory council

Purpose foundations allowed

Registered (details remain private)

100 yrs (private); unlimited (purpose)

 

 

Trusts

Foundations

Legal personality

None

Own legal personality

Asset ownership

Trustee owns assets

Foundation owns its own assets

Oversight

Protector

Supervisory council

Purpose structures

Not available

Purpose foundations allowed

Registration

Not registered

Registered (details remain private)

Max. duration

100 yrs (125 for family trusts)

100 yrs (private); unlimited (purpose)

0% withholding tax on all dividends, interest, and royalties paid to non-residents.

Corporate Remittance Tax System

Companies incorporated outside Malta but with effective management and control in Malta qualify for remittance-based taxation — paying Maltese tax only on Malta-source income and foreign income remitted to Malta.

  • Foreign-source income kept outside Malta: not subject to Maltese tax
  • Foreign-source capital gains: exempt, even if remitted to Malta
  • Effective rate as low as 5% on remitted foreign trading income
  • Fully EU and OECD BEPS compliant
  • Genuine substance in Malta required (local directors, physical presence, key functions performed locally)

Company Redomiciliation

Malta’s continuation (redomiciliation) framework allows foreign companies to transfer their legal domicile to Malta — and Malta companies to transfer outbound — without dissolution, preserving uninterrupted legal identity, assets, and liabilities.

  • Accepted from EU/EEA, OECD, and major offshore centres (BVI, Cayman, Bermuda, Isle of Man, Dubai, etc.)
  • No tax triggered by the continuation process itself
  • Stamp duty exemption on asset transfers
  • Immediate tax residence and treaty access upon provisional registration
  • Process takes approximately 6–9 months; includes a 3-month creditor opposition period.

Company Administration Services

Acumum Advisory provides a full back-office suite so your entity remains compliant and focused on growth.

  • Company formation, registered office, directorships, company secretary
  • Statutory filings, annual returns, beneficial ownership compliance
  • Bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable/receivable, financial reporting
  • VAT compliance, tax preparation, corporate tax advisory
  • Banking support — assistance opening and managing accounts in Malta or abroad
  • KYC/AML support; document certification and legalisation.