Industry
Independent professionals and boutique consultancies converting personal expertise into a company.
Consultants & Freelancers: short answer
Last reviewed
For an independent professional the company and the person are the same asset, so a Cyprus company only works alongside a genuine personal move. Where the individual relocates, the combination of a 15 percent corporate rate and non-domiciled status is what makes the arithmetic work.
| Corporate income tax | 15 percent from 1 January 2026 |
|---|---|
| Dividends to a non-domiciled Cyprus resident | No Special Defence Contribution, with GESY applying on a capped basis |
| Duration of non-dom status | 17 years |
| Routes to Cyprus tax residence | 183 days, or 60 days where the four conditions are met |
| Main exposure | A taxable presence in a country where the individual actually works |
| What the structure cannot do | Separate the business from where the person delivering it lives |
Most structures on this site separate something: the asset from the trade, the holding from the operation, the ownership from the management. A consultancy has nothing to separate.
There is no intellectual property that exists independently of the person, no inventory, no operation that continues if they stop. The client is buying the individual. That single fact governs everything about how this should be approached, and it is why the honest answer to "can I put my consultancy in Cyprus while living elsewhere" is usually no.
Where the individual works is where the work is performed, and that is ordinarily where a taxable presence arises. A Cyprus company invoicing clients while its only professional sits in Amsterdam describes an arrangement that does not match what is happening, and it is the pattern tax authorities are most practised at identifying.
So this page is written for the case that does work: an independent professional who relocates to Cyprus and runs the business from here.
For a consultant who does relocate, Cyprus is one of the strongest positions available in Europe, and the reason is the combination rather than any single rate.
At company level. Trading profit is taxed at 15 percent from 1 January 2026.
At extraction. Cyprus applies no withholding tax on dividends. An individual who is Cyprus tax resident and not domiciled here is outside the Special Defence Contribution on those dividends, with the General Healthcare System contribution applying on a capped basis. Status runs for 17 years.
That is the whole point. In most jurisdictions a consultant pays corporate tax and then pays again to get the money out. Here the second charge is largely absent for a non-domiciled resident, and the difference between the two systems is considerably larger than the gap between the headline corporate rates suggests.
Cyprus tax residence is available through the ordinary 183-day test or through the 60-day rule, which requires 60 days here, no more than 183 days in any other single country, a Cyprus business, employment or directorship maintained through the year, and a permanent home in Cyprus owned or rented.
The 2026 reform removed the further condition that the individual not be tax resident in any other state. For an independent professional who travels heavily and whose previous country may be slow to release them, that removal is a practical improvement rather than a technicality: it means the Cyprus position can be established without first winning an argument elsewhere.
Where two countries both claim residence, the treaty tie-breaker decides. The previous country's rules still have to be dealt with, and a professional leaving the UK, Germany or the Netherlands should read the relevant relocation playbook alongside this page.
The obligations are modest and they are real.
The company files annual returns with the Registrar and an income tax return with audited financial statements. VAT registration follows the ordinary thresholds and the place-of-supply rules for services, which for a consultancy billing business clients across the EU usually means the reverse charge applies. Payroll and social insurance run where a salary is taken.
Substance for a one-person consultancy is not elaborate. It is that the person genuinely lives and works here, that the company has premises and banking, and that decisions are taken and recorded in Cyprus. The requirement is proportionate to the business, which is the point most often misunderstood in both directions.
You can incorporate one, and for a consultancy it rarely achieves the intended result. The work is performed where you are, which is ordinarily where a taxable presence arises, so the structure and the personal move go together.
Corporate income tax at 15 percent on company profit, and on extraction no Special Defence Contribution on dividends where you are non-domiciled, with the General Healthcare System contribution applying on a capped basis. Salary taken is subject to personal income tax and social insurance.
Ordinarily a combination. Salary supports the residency position, builds a social insurance record and is deductible to the company; dividends carry the balance. The right split depends on the numbers and is worth modelling rather than assuming.
Not necessarily. The 60-day rule is an alternative route, requiring 60 days here, no more than 183 days in any other single country, a Cyprus business or directorship maintained through the year, and a permanent home here.
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Guide
A founder taking a salary from their own Cyprus company runs payroll like any employer: income tax withheld at source, social insurance from both employee and employer, and GESY. The salary supports the residency position and builds a contribution record that dividends do not.
Services
Incorporation of a Cyprus limited company, from name approval to tax registration.
Holding structures using the participation exemption and Cyprus treaty network.
Transfer of an existing foreign company into Cyprus without breaking legal continuity.
Management and control, governance and the evidence file that supports tax residency.
Bring the facts you have. We will map the structural options, what each one requires, and the point at which the trade-offs actually bite.
