Wealth & Estate
Cyprus Non-Dom Tax Residency
Non-domiciled status, the 60-day and 183-day tests, and the resulting dividend position.
What we do
We put the Cyprus tax residency position in place, evidence it as the year runs, and file the non-domiciled claim. Non-domiciled status removes Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest. For a founder taking dividends that is usually worth more than any corporate decision, because it removes the charge on the extraction rather than on the profit.
Two separate positions have to be established and founders regularly secure one while assuming the other follows. Residency decides that Cyprus taxes your worldwide income. Domicile decides whether the defence contribution applies to it. We handle both, and we plan them before the tax year they are meant to apply to.
What you get
- Route selection between the 183 day and 60 day tests, modelled against the travel you actually intend
- Where the 60 day route applies, each of its four conditions established on terms that hold for the whole year, including the Cyprus tie structured through employment, a directorship or a business
- Registration with the Tax Department and your tax identification number
- The non-domiciled claim, evidenced on domicile of origin and residence history
- A day count record and the evidence file that supports it
- Treaty tie-breaker analysis on the Cyprus side, and the questions to put to an adviser where you are leaving
- Tax residency certificates and your annual personal tax return, including foreign income and dividends
- Modelling of the 17 of 20 year point, and of the paid extension against your projected dividends
How it works
Neither position is created retrospectively. Both are measured across a calendar year, so a move begun in September is a move for the following tax year, and the arrangements that evidence each condition have to be running while the year runs. A directorship terminated in October fails its condition for that whole year. A short let is not a permanent residence. We build each one to survive being looked at.
Since 1 January 2026 the 60 day route no longer bars you from being tax resident somewhere else, which opens it to people it previously excluded and makes the treaty position the thing to get right instead.
The health contribution stays. Non-domiciled status removes the defence contribution and not GESY, which runs at 2.65 percent on total income capped at 180,000 euro, so 4,770 a year at the ceiling. Every figure we give you already has it in, because a saving quoted without it is not a saving.
We advise on the Cyprus position. How the country you are leaving treats your departure belongs to an adviser there, and we set out what to ask them.
Working with us
Four steps, and the first one is a conversation
A call
Where you are tax resident now, how much time you can realistically spend in Cyprus, and what income the structure is meant to carry. No charge for it.
A proposal in writing
Fixed fees, not estimates, with the route the facts point to and the year it lands in stated plainly.
You accept
Engagement letter signed, then onboarding. Neither takes long.
You are registered, and the year is running
Tax Department registration done, non-domiciled status claimed, and the conditions and day count evidenced from the start of the year rather than argued at the end of it.
Common questions
What does non-domiciled status actually remove?
Special Defence Contribution on dividends and on interest, which is the charge that would otherwise fall on a Cyprus tax resident's investment and dividend income. It does not remove the health contribution, and it does not affect income taxed as employment or as trading profit.
How many days do I need to spend in Cyprus?
Either more than 183 days in the calendar year, or 60 days under the alternative test, which also needs a Cyprus tie in the form of a business, employment or a directorship here, plus a home available to you throughout the year. The 60 day route is why the personal and corporate sides are planned together rather than one after the other.
How long does the status last?
Until you have been Cyprus tax resident for 17 of the previous 20 years. From 2026 it can then be extended by two further five year periods at 250,000 euro each. That is a long horizon rather than an indefinite one, and whether the extension is worth taking is arithmetic we run at the start rather than in year fifteen.
What does the application involve?
Evidence rather than assertion: birth certificate, tax identification number, a residency history by country and period, your parents' details, and evidence of your presence and activity in Cyprus. We assemble it and file it.
Does my spouse qualify automatically?
No, because domicile is individual and each person is assessed on their own history. A spouse very often qualifies on the same facts, and it is a separate application either way. We prepare both together.
What follows
Once the personal position is set, the company's follows from it. Founder relocation covers the move itself, the permit and the employment side, and economic substance aligns where the company is directed with where you now are.
Your Cyprus return then runs annually alongside the company's, which sits with accounting and tax compliance.
| Residency routes | More than 183 days, or the 60-day rule on four conditions from 2026 |
|---|---|
| What non-dom removes | Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest |
| Dividend SDC if domiciled | 5 percent on profits earned from 1 January 2026 |
| What it does not remove | GESY at 2.65 percent, capped at 180,000 of total income |
| Duration | Until resident for 17 of the previous 20 tax years |
| Extension from 2026 | Two further five-year periods at 250,000 each |
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Find out whether Cyprus fits your plans
It starts with three questions: where your revenue comes from, what you own, and where you are tax resident. From there, the conversation is about what you are building and where you want to take it. After the call, you receive a written proposal covering the recommended structure, the implementation roadmap, and a fixed fee quote.