The closing date for submission of annual reconciliation documents FS7 & FS3 is the 15th of February of the following year.

On the FS4 form a Single parent should mark box B 3 and write in ink near it the words `Single parent`. To qualify for the married tax rates a single parent (unmarried, widow/er, separated) should satisfy the following conditions.

• Should have maintained a child who was not over 16 years of age within the year. If the child was over that age and was receiving full-time instruction or was incapacitated by infirmity from maintaining himself the single parent qualifies just the same but the child should not receive income of more than €2,400 in his or her own right;
• Should have been recognized by the Director (Social Security) as the beneficiary of the Children`s allowance paid in respect of the child;
• Should not have received financial assistance for the maintenance of the said child from the other parent of the child;
• Should not have lived in the same house with the other parent of the child.

A couple who gets married during the year should decide upon who is going to be considered as the responsible spouse. The responsible spouse should have all the emoluments earned during the year in one single FS3 while the other spouse should inform his/her employer to issue two FS3 forms covering the pre- and post-marriage periods respectively.

Couples who get separated during the year should complete two Income Tax and Self Assessment Forms. One should be completed by the responsible spouse showing his/her whole annual income for the year in question and his/her spouse`s income up to the date of separation using the married rates. The other form should be completed by the other spouse in her/her own name from the separation date to the 31st of December. The latter should be worked out at the Single Rates.

If the alimony is being paid as maintenance to his ex-wife and not to his children, and as long as there is a public deed of personal separation under the authority of the Courts of Malta or a decree by a Maltese Court, the employer may write to the Commissioner and request a reduction in the FSS rate in terms of rule 6(2) of the FSS Regulations 1998.

A copy of the separation contract must also be presented. This approval is generally granted on the condition that the alimony payment is made by the employer directly to the employee`s estranges spouse; that the whole amount of emoluments including the alimony payment should be reported on the FS3 of the employee and that the employee should complete an Income Tax and Self Assessment Form requesting a deduction in respect alimony in the said form.

Cents should be rounded up to the nearest Lira. However in the case of part-time tax charged at 15%, if at the end of the year the tax deducted would be far less than 15% of the income, then the department advises employers that in case of doubt it is better to always round up cents to the next Lira.

In such cases the employer is bound by FSS Rules to deduct tax at the rate of 35% from the employee`s wage and remit the amount to the department. If this deduction is not effected the department would demand payment of 35% tax from the employer himself.

A Director`s emoluments are income arising out of an office. Therefore these emoluments should always be reported under the FSS as any emoluments of other employees, irrespective of the fact that the director may be paying a self employed Social Security Contribution.

If the director has a regular salary that is reported every month in the FS5 form and FSS tax is deducted and paid monthly to the department, then in this case only, a director`s emoluments qualify for separate computation. But if the director receives a Fee once yearly and does not receive a regular wage or salary, he does not qualify for separate computation.

• The Part-time work may be a self-employment duly registered with the VAT Department ( however employing any persons or not keeping proper records will automatically disqualify);
• The Part-time employment may be an employment with an employer who is not the same company, organisation or enterprise with whom one is employed on a full-time basis and such part-time employment:
  • does not exceed thirty hours weekly;
  • is registered with the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC).

The total income from all sources on which an individual may benefit may not exceed €7,000. Remuneration paid to Members of Boards, Members of Parliament and Local Councils, or to pensioners re-employed with Government, Parastatal Bodies, or public Corporations does not qualify for such benefit. The benefit does not apply to directors of companies or management boards of public corporations.

As long as the Social Security Contributions details are shown correctly on each FS3, then there is no need to send an FS6.

The FSS spreadsheet found on the Inland Revenue website helps an employer to work out the FSS tax according to the cumulative method. This spreadsheet calculates tax accurately even if salary varies each month.

If you are going to employ persons, first you have to fill in an Employer Registration Form and you will be given an employer`s number called the PE number which you should quote on all FS4, FS5, FS3 and FS7 forms when you are required to send such forms to the Inland Revenue Department. You are also required to send immediately form FS4 for each person that you are to employ.

As an employer you are required to deduct FSS tax and Social Security Contributions (SSC) from the employees` wages or salaries and remit the amounts due to the department together with form FS5 by the end of the following month. At the end of the year you are then required to send an FS3 form for each employee, showing the total emoluments, FSS tax and SSC deducted for the year together with a reconciliation form FS7. Two copies of the FS3 have to be supplied to the employee. When an employment is terminated, you are required to supply to the employee an FS3 form within seven days after termination of employment.

If you no longer employ persons then you may apply on the appropriate form to deactivate your PE number so that the department would be informed that you are no longer an employer and you would not be expected to remit payments of FSS tax and SSC of your employees. Thus you would avoid being penalised with additional tax.

Yes. Whoever employs personnel, whether full-time or part-time, is required by law to register with the department as an employer and is bound to follow the provisions of the Final Settlement System (FSS) Regulations.

Yes. A company that provides fringe benefits only is required just the same to register as an employer and to send the necessary FSS forms to the department. The fringe benefit is considered as part of the emoluments that a director or an employee receives from the company.

No. According to the provisions of the FSS Regulations, FSS payments should be effected by not later than the end of the month that follows the month in which they have become due. For example, if an employer deducts FSS tax and SSC for January, one has to submit the remittance together with the FS5 form by not later than the end of February.