Company Year-End in Malta 2026: The Full Cycle

By the EGM Assurance Editorial Team · Last reviewed June 2026 · 16 min read

A company’s year-end sits at the centre of its entire compliance calendar. The date a company chooses as its accounting reference date sets the clock for the financial statements, the audit, the tax return, the annual return, and every deadline that flows from them. Most directors give it little thought at incorporation and never revisit it, yet the year-end quietly governs when work falls due, how much of it clusters together, and whether the company aligns cleanly with a group or a tax position. Understanding the cycle, and knowing that the year-end can be changed when it no longer suits the business, is one of the more useful pieces of corporate knowledge a director can hold.

This guide sets out the Maltese company year-end cycle in full, then explains how to change it. It covers what the accounting reference date is and how it is fixed, the special rules for the first accounting period, the approval and filing deadlines that follow each year-end, the tax and annual-return cycles that run alongside, and the procedure and consequences of changing the accounting reference date once the company is running. It closes with worked scenarios and the practical points that matter most. The position reflects Maltese law as at June 2026, principally the Companies Act (Chapter 386) and the tax legislation administered by the Malta Tax and Customs Administration.

The topic is more intricate than it first appears, because the company-law cycle and the tax cycle run in parallel and interact, and because changing the year-end triggers knock-on effects across both. The guide works through each layer in order so that the full picture is clear by the end.

1. What the accounting reference date is

The accounting reference date, or ARD, is the date on which a company’s financial year ends. Everything in the compliance cycle is measured from it. In common usage it is simply called the year-end. Under the Companies Act, a company’s accounting reference date and accounting periods are set out in Articles 164 to 166: Article 164 fixes the reference date and the first accounting period, and the accounting periods then run by reference to that date, with the ARD being the point at which each period closes.

The default: 31 December

Under Article 164, a company may set a different accounting reference date by giving notice to the Registrar in the prescribed form (Form R) within nine months of its registration. If no such notice is given within that window, the ARD is treated as 31 December by default. This is why the large majority of Maltese companies have a 31 December year-end aligned with the calendar year. It is the default rather than a requirement, and a company is free to choose another date that suits its business, its sector, or an overseas parent’s reporting cycle. Once the nine-month window has passed, or once a December date is otherwise in place, moving to a different year-end is no longer an initial notice but an alteration under Article 165, which is addressed in Section 6.

Company-law and tax use the same date

The accounting reference period is the basis period both for company-law reporting and for tax. The financial statements are drawn up to the ARD, and the company is taxed by reference to the profits of the accounting period ending on that date. Keeping a single date for both purposes is what makes the cycle manageable; using different dates for accounts and tax is not permitted.

The 31 December year-end is a default, not an obligation. A company that wants a different year-end simply notifies the Registrar. But because 31 December aligns the accounts, the tax return and most advisers’ busy season, it remains the sensible choice for most companies unless there is a specific reason to differ, such as aligning with a foreign parent or a seasonal trade.

The governing Companies Act provisions at a glance

The whole year-end cycle sits in one place in the Companies Act: Chapter X of Part V, headed "Accounts, audit and annual return", which runs from Article 163 to Article 191. The table below maps the provisions a director is most likely to need, and the rest of this guide works through them in turn.

A quick way to hold the cycle in mind: Article 164 sets the year-end, Article 165 changes it, Article 167 is where the accounts are prepared, Article 182 is approval, Article 183 is filing, and Article 185 caps the first-accounts timeline. Everything else in the annual cycle hangs off these.

2. The first accounting period: a special case

The first accounting period is the one area where the rules are genuinely different, and it is where newly incorporated companies most often trip up. A company’s first accounting period does not have to be twelve months, and the flexibility it carries has real consequences for when the first accounts and first tax return fall due.

Six to eighteen months

Under Article 164, the first accounting period begins on the date of the company’s registration and must be a period of not less than six months and not more than eighteen months. Within that window the directors choose where the first year-end falls. After the first period, each successive accounting period is the twelve months ending on the accounting reference date.

How the window works in practice

The six-to-eighteen-month range gives a company registered partway through a year two sensible options for a 31 December ARD. A company registered in, say, September can run a short first period to 31 December of the same year (about four months, which is below the six-month floor, so in practice such a company runs a long first period), or a long first period to 31 December of the following year. In broad terms, companies incorporated in the first half of the year tend to run a first period ending on 31 December of the same year, and companies incorporated in the second half run a longer first period ending on 31 December of the following year.

The knock-on to approval deadlines

A longer first period does not simply defer everything by the same amount. Where the first accounting period is longer than twelve months, the period allowed for approving the accounts is reduced by the number of days by which the first period exceeds twelve months, subject to a floor: the approval period cannot be reduced to less than three months after the end of the accounting period. Separately, the approval of the first accounts must not exceed twenty-two months from the date of incorporation. These rules, in Articles 182 and 185, stop a long first period from pushing the first audit and filing too far out.

Decide the first year-end deliberately at incorporation, not by default. A longer first period defers the first accounts and first audit, which can help a company that wants time to establish itself, but it compresses the approval window and is capped at twenty-two months from incorporation. A shorter first period brings the first reporting cycle forward. Either can be right; the point is to choose knowingly.

3. The annual reporting cycle: from year-end to filing

Once the year-end is set, the same sequence repeats every year. The directors prepare the financial statements, the shareholders approve them, and the company files them with the Malta Business Registry. Each step has a deadline measured from the accounting reference date.

Preparation and the directors’ responsibility

Under Article 167 of the Companies Act, the directors are responsible for preparing the company’s annual financial statements for each accounting period. The accounts are drawn up under the applicable financial reporting framework, GAPSME or IFRS as adopted by the EU, and, where an audit is required, are audited before approval. The directors also prepare a statement of their responsibility for the accounts, for safeguarding assets, and for maintaining internal control.

Approval by the shareholders

The directors must lay the financial statements before the company in general meeting for approval. Under Article 182, the approval deadlines are ten months after the end of the accounting period for a private company, and seven months for a public company. The accounts, with the directors’ and auditors’ reports where applicable, must be sent to the shareholders at least fourteen days before the meeting.

The timing of the general meeting

Distinct from the approval deadline is the timing of the annual general meeting itself. The first annual general meeting must be held no later than eighteen months after the company’s registration. After that, an annual general meeting must be held in each calendar year, and no more than fifteen months may elapse between one annual general meeting and the next. These meeting-timing rules sit alongside the ten-month and seven-month approval deadlines rather than replacing them, and a compliant company satisfies both.

Filing with the Registrar

After approval, the company must deliver a copy of the annual accounts, with the auditors’ and directors’ reports where applicable, to the Malta Business Registry within forty-two days. For a private company with a 31 December year-end, this produces the familiar rhythm: approval by 31 October of the following year, filing by around 12 December. The whole cycle, from year-end to filing, is often summarised as ten months plus forty-two days.

The public-company dates in the table are derived from the statutory periods (approval within seven months of year-end, filing within a further forty-two days) applied to a 31 December year-end; the private-company dates follow the same method using the ten-month approval period.

For a private company with a 31 December year-end, the two dates to hold in mind are 31 October (approve) and roughly 12 December (file). Working back from these, the audit fieldwork needs to be substantially finished well before October, which is why preparing early in the year, while the records are fresh, keeps the whole cycle calm and the fees proportionate.

4. The tax cycle running alongside

The company-law cycle is only half of the year-end story. The tax cycle runs in parallel, measured from the same accounting reference date but with its own deadlines, and directors need to see both together.

The income tax return

Every company must file an annual income tax return. The filing deadline depends on the year-end. For a company with a 31 December year-end, the corporate tax return is due by 30 September of the following year for manual filing, with an electronic filing extension that moves the deadline to 30 November. More generally, a company must file within nine months after the end of its accounting period, with the electronic extension adding roughly two months. This nine-month rule is measured from the accounting reference date, which is why the year-end and the tax filing date move together. The tax payment itself, however, remains due at the earlier date even where the electronic filing extension applies.

Where the year-end is not 31 December

For companies whose accounting reference date falls in the first half of the year, a different fixed date applies: companies with a January-to-June accounting reference date file their tax return by 31 March of the year of assessment. Companies with a year-end in the second half file within nine months after the accounting reference date. This interaction between the chosen year-end and the tax filing date is one of the practical reasons the choice of ARD matters beyond mere housekeeping.

The annual return to the Registrar

Separately from the financial statements and the tax return, every company must file an annual return with the Malta Business Registry. The annual return is a snapshot of the company’s registered particulars, its share capital, its shareholders, and its directors, made up to each anniversary of the company’s registration, and delivered to the Registrar within forty-two days of that anniversary date. It is important to note that the annual return runs off the registration anniversary, not the accounting reference date, so it sits on a different clock from the accounts and the tax return.

Three separate filings, two different clocks. The annual accounts and the tax return both run from the accounting reference date; the annual return runs from the anniversary of incorporation. Directors sometimes assume everything is driven by the year-end and miss the annual return, which keeps its own schedule. Map all three onto a single compliance calendar so none is overlooked.

5. Changing the year-end: when and why

A company is not locked into its original year-end. The accounting reference date can be changed, and there are sound commercial reasons a company might want to. Understanding when a change is worthwhile is the first step; the procedure follows in the next section.

Common reasons to change the year-end

• Aligning with a group or parent: a Maltese subsidiary of a foreign group often benefits from sharing the parent’s year-end, so that consolidation, intercompany reconciliations and group reporting all fall on the same date.

• Matching the natural business cycle: a business with a strong seasonal pattern may prefer a year-end that falls at a natural low point, when stock is low and the position is easiest to measure, rather than in the middle of its busy season.

• Spreading or aligning adviser workload: moving away from the 31 December crowd can, in some cases, secure earlier attention and a smoother audit, though this is a secondary consideration.

• Tax and timing considerations: because the filing date and the basis period follow the year-end, a change can shift when income falls into charge and when returns are due, which may suit a particular position. This should always be checked with a tax adviser for the specific facts.

The trade-offs of a change

Changing the year-end is not free of friction. A change usually creates one irregular accounting period, either shorter or longer than twelve months, in the year of transition. That transitional period has its own accounts, its own audit, and its own tax computation, and the deadlines for it are recalculated from the new date. There can also be one-off costs in restating comparatives and re-running the cycle. The benefits of a better-aligned year-end are usually worth these one-time costs, but they should be understood before committing.

6. How to change the accounting reference date

The mechanics of changing the year-end involve both the company-law side, through the Registrar, and the tax side, through the Malta Tax and Customs Administration. Both need to be addressed for the change to take full effect.

Notifying the Registrar

On the company-law side, under the Companies Act the accounting reference date is notified to the Registrar of Companies using Form R (Notice of accounting reference date), and any subsequent change to it is notified using Form R(1) (Notice of alteration of the accounting reference period). These are the two Malta Business Registry forms that deal specifically with the year-end. A company altering its year-end files Form R(1) with the Registrar. Because the Registry updates its forms and its online procedures from time to time, the current version of the form and its filing requirements should be confirmed with the Registrar, or through the BAROS online system, at the time of the change.

The tax side

The tax rules run parallel to the Companies Act, and a change of accounting reference date for tax purposes requires the permission of the tax authority: the Commissioner for Tax and Customs may permit a company to change its accounting reference date. In practice, aligning the company-law ARD and the tax basis period is essential, because the two are required to match; a company cannot report to one date for its accounts and be taxed to another. This permission is not a formality. Once a company already has a 31 December year-end in place, the authority generally expects a genuine commercial reason for a change rather than allowing it at will, and alignment with a parent or group accounting reference date is the most common accepted ground. A change is therefore straightforward to justify where it brings a subsidiary into line with its group, and harder to obtain where the only motive is to defer a filing. Where the accounting reference date is changed to a date other than 31 December, specific tax principles govern the transitional period. In particular, annual wear and tear (capital) allowances are computed for a full year even where the accounting period is not a full twelve months, so they are not reduced pro-rata for a short period. In addition, all income arising in the calendar year after a non-calendar accounting period must be brought into charge in the same assessment year as that accounting reference period, and a company cannot mix an accounting-year basis for some income with a calendar-year basis for other income.

Transitional-period mechanics

The alteration of the accounting reference date is governed by Article 165 of the Companies Act, and the change is effected on Form R(1). When the year-end changes, the transition is handled through one irregular accounting period that bridges the old and new dates. If the year-end is brought forward, the transitional period is shorter than twelve months; if it is pushed back, the transitional period is longer, but an extension cannot produce an accounting period exceeding eighteen months, which is the same ceiling that applies to a first period. A further practical point sits behind the common parent or group reason for changing: under the Companies Act, the directors of a parent company are expected to ensure that the accounting periods of its subsidiaries coincide with the parent’s, unless there are valid reasons otherwise, so aligning a subsidiary’s year-end to its parent is a recognised and well-supported basis for an alteration. Where a change is made after an accounting period has already closed, the room to alter it, and in particular to extend it, is more limited, so timing matters. For the transitional period, annual wear and tear allowances are still given for a full year rather than apportioned down for a period shorter than twelve months, and the income of the calendar year following a non-calendar accounting period is assessed in the same year as that period. These are the reasons the tax authority’s involvement is needed and why advice on the specific transition is worthwhile.

Treat a year-end change as a two-sided exercise: notify the Registrar for company-law purposes and obtain the tax authority’s agreement for the basis-period change, so the accounts and the tax computation stay aligned. Changing one side without the other creates a mismatch that causes problems at filing. Confirm the current Registry form and the tax procedure at the time of the change, because both are periodically updated.

7. Recent and possible changes to the cycle

The framework around the year-end cycle is broadly stable, but it does evolve, and a director should be aware of the direction of travel. Two recent developments and one ongoing theme are worth noting, each stated on the basis of what has actually been enacted rather than speculation.

Audit exemption (Legal Notice 139 of 2025)

The most significant recent change affecting the reporting cycle is the introduction of the Audit Exemption Rules by Legal Notice 139 of 2025. These changed the long-standing position under which the tax rules effectively required almost every company to obtain an auditor’s report regardless of size. Smaller companies meeting the micro-entity thresholds may now be fully exempt from audit, or may satisfy the requirement with a review engagement, which affects what has to be produced at each year-end. The obligation to prepare financial statements, hold the approval meeting, and file with the Registrar remains unchanged; it is the audit element within the cycle that is affected.

Digitalisation of filings

The Malta Business Registry has continued to move filings onto its online platform, and electronic submission is now standard for the annual accounts, the annual return, and most statutory forms. Directors changing a year-end or managing the cycle should expect to interact with the Registry’s online system, and should confirm current form references there, as the digital forms are updated periodically.

Company-law modernisation

The Companies Act has been amended repeatedly in recent years to modernise corporate procedures, including changes to electronic communications, share-capital procedures, and dissolution. While these amendments have not overhauled the core year-end cycle, they form part of a continuing programme of updates. Because the detail changes, the prudent approach for any specific filing is to confirm the current position with the Registry and the tax authority rather than relying on a fixed recollection of the rules.

On regulatory change, the sensible posture is to know the framework but verify the detail at the point of filing. The core cycle, accounting reference date, approval within ten or seven months, filing within forty-two days, has been stable, but audit requirements, forms and the digital platform have all moved recently. Confirming the current position for a specific transaction is part of good compliance, not a sign that the rules are unsettled.

8. Worked scenarios

Scenario A: Company incorporated in March, 31 December year-end

A company registered on 15 March 2026 adopts a 31 December accounting reference date. Its first accounting period runs from 15 March 2026 to 31 December 2026, about nine and a half months, comfortably within the six-to-eighteen-month window. As a private company, it must approve those first accounts by 31 October 2027 and file them with the Registrar by around 12 December 2027. Its first tax return, for the period to 31 December 2026, follows the tax cycle for a December year-end.

Scenario B: Company incorporated in October, long first period

A company registered on 10 October 2026 wanting a 31 December year-end cannot sensibly run a first period to 31 December 2026 (under three months, below the six-month floor), so it runs a long first period to 31 December 2027, about fourteen and a half months. Because this first period exceeds twelve months, its approval deadline is reduced day-for-day by the excess over twelve months, subject to the three-month floor and the twenty-two-month-from-incorporation cap. The directors should calculate the exact approval date carefully rather than assuming a full ten months.

Scenario C: Subsidiary aligning with a foreign parent

A Maltese subsidiary with a 31 December year-end is acquired by a group that reports to 30 June. To simplify consolidation, the subsidiary changes its accounting reference date to 30 June. It runs one transitional accounting period from 1 January to 30 June of the transition year, a six-month period, with its own accounts, audit and tax computation. It notifies the Registrar of the new June year-end and aligns the tax basis period with the authority. From then on, its year-end is 30 June and all deadlines recalculate from that date.

9. Frequently asked questions

What is a company’s accounting reference date in Malta?

The accounting reference date, or ARD, is the company’s financial year-end, the date to which its accounts are drawn up and by reference to which it is taxed. Under Article 164 of the Companies Act, a company sets its accounting reference date, and its accounting periods then run by reference to that date. A company may set a non-December date by filing Form R with the Registrar within nine months of registration; if it does not, the ARD is 31 December by default.

Can I choose a year-end other than 31 December?

Yes. The 31 December year-end is only the default that applies where no notice is given to the Registrar. A company may choose another accounting reference date that suits its business, for example to align with a foreign parent or a seasonal trade. The choice is made by notifying the Registrar, and the tax basis period must then match the chosen date.

How long can the first accounting period be?

The first accounting period begins on the date of registration and must be at least six months and no more than eighteen months, under Article 164. Within that window the directors choose the first year-end. After the first period, each accounting period is the twelve months ending on the accounting reference date.

When must the accounts be approved and filed?

Under Article 182, a private company must approve its accounts within ten months of the year-end and a public company within seven months. After approval, the accounts must be filed with the Malta Business Registry within forty-two days. For a private company with a 31 December year-end, that means approval by 31 October and filing by around 12 December of the following year.

Does a longer first accounting period give me more time to file?

Not proportionately. Where the first period is longer than twelve months, the approval deadline is reduced by the number of days by which the period exceeds twelve months, with a floor of three months after the period end, and approval of the first accounts cannot exceed twenty-two months from incorporation. A long first period defers the cycle but compresses the approval window, so the exact deadline should be calculated rather than assumed.

How does the year-end affect my tax return deadline?

The tax return runs from the accounting reference date. A company with a 31 December year-end files its corporate tax return by 30 September of the following year for manual filing, with an electronic extension to 30 November, though the tax payment remains due at the earlier date. Companies with a January-to-June year-end file by 31 March of the year of assessment, and companies with a year-end in the second half file within nine months after the accounting reference date.

Is the annual return the same as the annual accounts?

No. They are separate filings on different clocks. The annual accounts (the financial statements) run from the accounting reference date and are filed after approval. The annual return is a snapshot of the company’s registered particulars, made up to each anniversary of the company’s registration and filed within forty-two days of that anniversary. A company must file both, and because they run on different dates, both should be tracked separately.

Can I change my company’s year-end after incorporation?

Yes. On the company-law side the accounting reference date is changed by filing Form R(1) with the Registrar, and on the tax side the Commissioner for Tax and Customs must permit the change so that the basis period stays aligned. That permission is not automatic: once a company already has a 31 December year-end, the authority generally expects a genuine commercial reason, and aligning with a parent or group year-end is the most common accepted ground rather than simply deferring a filing. Changing the year-end creates one transitional accounting period, shorter or longer than twelve months, with its own accounts, audit and tax computation. The company-law and tax sides must be kept aligned.

What form do I use to change the year-end?

On the company-law side, under the Companies Act the year-end is notified to the Registrar on Form R (Notice of accounting reference date), and a later change is notified on Form R(1) (Notice of alteration of the accounting reference period). On the tax side, the Commissioner for Tax and Customs must permit the change, and once a 31 December year-end is in place a genuine commercial reason, most commonly alignment with a parent or group, is generally expected. Because the Registry periodically updates its forms and online procedures, the current form and its requirements should be confirmed with the Registrar, or through BAROS, at the time of the change.

What happens to my deadlines when I change the year-end?

All the cycle deadlines recalculate from the new accounting reference date. The transitional period between the old and new year-ends has its own approval and filing deadlines, measured from the new date, and its own tax return. Where the new year-end is not 31 December, specific tax principles apply to the transitional period: annual wear and tear (capital) allowances are computed for a full year rather than pro-rated for a shorter period, and income arising in the calendar year after a non-calendar accounting period is assessed in the same year as that period. Because of these rules, tax advice on the transition is worthwhile.

Do audit-exempt companies still follow the year-end cycle?

Yes. Audit exemption under Legal Notice 139 of 2025 affects only the audit element. An exempt company must still prepare financial statements for each accounting period, have them approved in general meeting, file them with the Registrar, and submit its tax return and annual return. The year-end cycle and its deadlines apply regardless of whether an audit is required.

Why does my year-end matter beyond just picking a date?

Because it drives the whole compliance calendar. The year-end sets when the accounts are prepared and audited, when they are approved and filed, and when the tax return is due and tax is paid. It determines whether reporting aligns with a group or a seasonal cycle, and whether the workload clusters with everyone else at 31 December. Choosing it deliberately, and changing it when the business changes, is a genuine lever rather than mere housekeeping.

Related guides from EGM Assurance

• Accounting Records in Malta 2026: Companies Act Requirements and Common Pitfalls

• Audit Preparation Checklist for Malta Companies

• Statutory Audit in Malta: 2026 Guide for SMEs

• GAPSME vs IFRS in Malta: Which Framework Applies

• Setting Up a Company in Malta: Step-by-Step Guide

• Corporate Filings and Beneficial Ownership in Malta

Authoritative references

• Companies Act (Cap. 386), Article 164 (accounting reference date and first period), Article 165 (alteration of the accounting reference date), Article 167 (individual accounts), Article 182 (approval), Article 183 (delivery to the Registrar), Article 185 (22-month cap and audit thresholds)

• Malta Business Registry, annual submissions to the Registrar

• Malta Business Registry, official registry forms (Form R – Notice of accounting reference date; Form R(1) – Notice of alteration of the accounting reference period)

• Malta Tax and Customs Administration, corporate tax return deadlines

• Audit Exemption Rules (S.L. 372.33), Legal Notice 139 of 2025

• Income Tax Management Act (Cap. 372), tax records and returns

Choosing or changing your company year-end? EGM Assurance helps directors set the right accounting reference date at incorporation and manage a year-end change cleanly across both the Registrar and the tax authority, keeping the accounts, audit, tax return and annual return properly aligned. Get the cycle right and every deadline falls into place. Get in touch →

This article is prepared by EGM Assurance for general informational purposes and reflects the legal and regulatory position in Malta as at June 2026, principally the Companies Act (Cap. 386) and the tax legislation administered by the Malta Tax and Customs Administration. It does not constitute legal, tax or accounting advice. Deadlines and procedures depend on the specific facts of each company and are periodically updated. Always confirm the current position and obtain specific advice from a qualified professional before setting or changing a year-end.