FS3 and FS7 in Malta: Employer Year-End Guide

1. FS3 and FS7 in one minute

Both follow the payment date, just like the monthly FS5: the 2026 forms cover every payment you actually made between 1 January and 31 December 2026.

2. What goes on the FS3

• Payer details: business name, address and PE number.
• Payee details: name, address, ID card or tax number, social security number, and the period of employment in the year.
• Gross emoluments: total cash pay under the FSS Main method, any overtime taxed at 15%, part-time income under the Part-time method, and taxable fringe benefits.
• Tax deducted: split the same way, matching the gross amounts.
• Social security: for each SSC category used, the number of weeks, the basic weekly wage, the employee and employer contributions, and the Maternity Fund.

3. What goes on the FS7

The FS7 summarises the year for the whole business:

• The number of FS3s attached.
• Total gross emoluments and fringe benefits from all FS3s.
• Total tax deducted, split by type, and total SSC and Maternity Fund.
• The total you paid to the MTCA with your FS5s during the year.
• The difference: underpaid or overpaid.

It is signed by the employer or an authorised person and sent with copies of every FS3.

4. Reconciling with your FS5s

This is where most of the work is if you use spreadsheets. Line up the tax, SSC and Maternity Fund on each monthly FS5 against the totals from the payslips paid that month.

Typical causes of a gap: a payslip corrected after the FS5 was sent, the employer SSC left out of one month, or December wages paid in January counted in the wrong year.

5. Leavers, part-timers and late payments

• Leavers: give the FS3 when they leave, covering their pay up to that point. It is still included with the FS7.
• Several categories in one year: if an employee's SSC category changed (for example after a pay rise past the cap or turning 18), each category gets its own SSC line.
• Part-timers on the 10%/15% method: their income and tax are shown in the part-time boxes, not the Main ones.
• Pay rises backdated into the next year: they go on the year in which they are paid.

6. Year-end checklist

1. Make sure every 2026 payslip is final, including leavers and the December statutory bonus.
2. Check that all twelve 2026 FS5s were filed and paid.
3. Collect missing ID and SSC numbers.
4. Prepare one FS3 per employee and check the totals.
5. Prepare the FS7 and reconcile it with the FS5 payments.
6. Pay any shortfall with an FS5.
7. Give each employee their FS3 and file the FS7 with the FS3s by 15 February 2027.
8. Keep copies with your payroll records.

If your payslips are in Malta Calculator, steps 4 and 5 are done for you: the year-end screen builds every FS3 and the FS7 from your payslips and shows the FS5 reconciliation month by month. New to payroll? Start with how to run payroll in Malta.