Cyprus tax residency: the 60-day rule and what it does not buy
What makes you a Cyprus tax resident, what it changes, and which taxes it leaves exactly where they were.
Last verified 2026-10-22Next review 2027-01-223 official sources
Whether Cyprus works for you depends on how you earnTalk it through
Cyprus tax residency is decided by the Income Tax Law and by nothing else. Not by your permit, not by where your company is registered, not by how long you have owned a house here. Either you pass one of two tests in the calendar year, or you do not.
The 183-day test
You are Cyprus tax resident if you are in Cyprus for one or more periods totalling more than 183 days in the tax year, which is the calendar year. Since 2026 the day-counting rules are in the statute rather than in practice notes:
- The day of arrival counts as a day in Cyprus.
- The day of departure counts as a day outside Cyprus.
- Arriving and leaving on the same day is one day in Cyprus.
- Leaving and returning on the same day is one day outside Cyprus.
The 60-day rule, and the four conditions
The 60-day test is the one that matters to people who travel. It opens with a limit rather than a condition: you must not stay in any one other state for periods totalling more than 183 days in the same tax year. If that holds, you are resident when all three of these are also true:
- You stay in Cyprus at least 60 days in the tax year.
- You carry on a business in Cyprus, and/or are employed in Cyprus, and/or hold an office in a person tax resident in Cyprus, at any time in the year. The condition is not met if that business, employment or office is terminated during the year.
- You maintain a permanent residence in Cyprus that you own or rent.
One condition was deleted for 2026. Until 2025 you also had to not be tax resident in any other state. The replaced definition contains no such requirement, which means Cyprus no longer makes its own residency conditional on another country's conclusion.
A reading we are careful about: the 183-day limit is written per other state. Read plainly, 150 days in each of two other countries would be fine. We have not found a Tax Department circular confirming that, and a dual-residence fight with another country is decided by that country's law and the treaty, not by this sentence. Do not build a travel plan on the plain reading without advice.
What residency changes
A Cyprus tax resident is taxed on worldwide income, on these bands from tax year 2026:
| Taxable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| up to EUR 22,000 | 0% |
| EUR 22,001 to 32,000 | 20% |
| EUR 32,001 to 42,000 | 25% |
| EUR 42,001 to 72,000 | 30% |
| over EUR 72,000 | 35% |
The tax-free band rose from EUR 19,500 to EUR 22,000 for 2026. Posts quoting EUR 22,500 are wrong.
Dividends and, from 2026, all interest income of individuals are exempt from income tax, which is why those bands are not what a founder's bill is made of. Gains on securities other than Cyprus property-related shares are also exempt.
What residency does not remove
- The health contribution. It follows residency, so a resident pays 2.65% on dividends, interest and rent, capped once income reaches EUR 180,000.
- Capital gains tax. 20% on gains from Cyprus immovable property and from shares in companies holding it, with the look-through threshold falling from 50% to 20% in 2026.
- Crypto. A flat 8% on disposals from 2026, kept separate from other income, with losses usable only against crypto gains of the same year.
- Social insurance. 8.8% for an employee up to a ceiling, 16.6% for a self-employed person.
- Your old country. Many countries look at where your home and family are and some charge exit taxes. US citizens are taxed on worldwide income wherever they live.
Residency, domicile and the permit are three different things
Residency is days and conditions. Domicile is where you belong in the common-law sense, and it is what decides whether the Special Defence Contribution reaches your dividends. A residence permit is immigration law and touches neither. People who treat the three as one thing are usually about to be surprised by exactly one of them.
In this section
- Cyprus GeSY contributions: the 2.65% that survives everythingThe one Cyprus charge on dividends that non-dom status does not touch, and how big it actually gets.
- Cyprus dividend withholding tax: 0%, with three exceptionsDividends out of Cyprus and dividends into your hands, with every rate that applies to each.
- Cyprus social insurance self employed: 16.6% plus 4%The contribution rates a self-employed person pays in Cyprus, and the arithmetic against incorporating instead.
- Cyprus capital gains tax property: 20%, and only on Cyprus landWhat the 20% actually applies to, what it never applies to, and the 2026 change that widened it.
- Cyprus tax residency certificate: EUR 80, form TD126The one document your old country will ask for, what it costs, and the form problem nobody mentions.
Common questions
- What are the four conditions of the Cyprus 60-day rule?
- You must not stay in any one other state for more than 183 days in the tax year. Then: at least 60 days in Cyprus; a business, employment or office in a Cyprus tax-resident person at any time in the year, not terminated during it; and a permanent home in Cyprus you own or rent.
- Did the 60-day rule change in 2026?
- Yes. The old condition that you must not be tax resident in any other state was removed by Law 244(I)/2025. The replaced definition no longer contains it.
- Is the 183-day limit a total for all other countries?
- The statute says 183 days in one other state, not 183 days abroad in total. On a plain reading you could spend 150 days in each of two other countries and still qualify, though we have not seen a Tax Department circular confirming that reading, so we flag it.
- How are days counted?
- The statute now says it: the day you arrive counts as a day in Cyprus, the day you leave counts as a day outside, arriving and leaving on the same day is one day in, and leaving and returning on the same day is one day out.
Whether Cyprus works for you depends on how you earn
Where you live is only half of it. We can walk through your position with you, including the cases where Cyprus tax residency does not give the result people expect. This is general information, not tax advice for your circumstances.
Sources
Every legal, fee and procedural statement on this page is taken from the sources below and was checked on 2026-10-22. Where they change, this page changes.
- Tax Department: Tax Residency / Domicility (gov.cy) — The 183-day and 60-day rules and non-dom status
- Law 244(I)/2025 amending the Income Tax Law, Official Gazette No. 5070 of 31 December 2025 (cylaw.org) — 15% corporate tax, the 2026 60-day rule, personal tax bands and the 8% crypto rate, from 1 January 2026
- Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, consolidated text (cylaw.org) — Tax residency (section 2), dividend exemption (section 8(20)), IP Box (section 9(1)(κ)) and rates
Related
This page is general information about Cyprus rules as published by the authorities named above. It is not legal or tax advice for your circumstances, and immigration outcomes depend on your nationality, documents and individual case. See our legal and tax information disclaimer.