News brief · Taxation

Cyprus: 60-day tax residency relaxed in 2026

Cyprus allows tax residency to be acquired with a very short presence, subject to strict cumulative conditions. It is an exceptional rule, not a shortcut, and it works alongside non-dom status rather than replacing it.

By Editorial team · on August 22, 2026

The sixty-day rule

Cypriot law provides two routes to tax residency. The general rule is based on presence of more than less than 183 days¹ during the calendar year.

The second route, known as the sixty-day rule, makes it possible to be a tax resident with a presence of only at least from 60 days², subject to cumulative conditions.

There are four conditions: not staying more than one hundred and eighty-three days in any other state, not being a tax resident of any other state, carrying on a business or holding a directorship in Cyprus, and having a permanent home there that is owned or rented.

They are cumulative: failing to meet a single one removes the benefit of the rule. It is this cumulative nature, and not the sixty-day duration, that makes it a demanding scheme.

What the rule offers, and what it does not settle

The point of the rule is to allow a highly mobile executive with no tax residency elsewhere to anchor their situation in Cyprus. It is aimed precisely at the profile that would otherwise not reach the residency threshold anywhere.

It works alongside Cypriot non-dom status, which exempts passive income — dividends and interest — from the special defence contribution. This status applies for 17 years³ of tax residency.

The exemption is not total, however: a contribution to the health system remains due on passive income, at a rate of 2.65%⁴, up to an annual cap.

The income tax schedule, applicable to earned income, ranges from 0%⁵ to 35%⁶. Gains on the disposal of securities, on the other hand, are not taxed, at a rate of 0%⁷.

We do not publish details of the announced relaxations of the sixty-day rule or their date of entry into force: we were unable to verify them in an up-to-date official Cypriot source. The condition of having no tax residency elsewhere, in particular, must be confirmed with the Tax Department.

What France counters with

Cypriot tax residency does not remove the need to examine one's situation under French law. Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (code général des impôts) looks at the household, the principal place of stay, professional activity and the centre of economic interests.

An executive who kept their family home in France would remain domiciled there, and the France–Cyprus tax treaty would then have to decide between the two residencies according to its own criteria — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality.

The practical point is that sixty days of presence in Cyprus, combined with a family that has stayed in France, do not stand up to this examination. The Cypriot rule is only of interest to those who genuinely have no ties anywhere else.

Check the four cumulative conditions, not just the length of presence.
Document the permanent home in Cyprus, owned or rented for the whole year.
Establish the role or business carried on in Cyprus with documents: contract, corporate mandate, invoicing.
Make sure you are not a tax resident of any other state, the hardest condition to meet.
Apply for the Cypriot tax residency certificate: without it, no treaty can be invoked.

What remains uncertain

Cyprus's tax reform has also raised corporate income tax to 15%⁸, from 12.5%⁹ previously, as a result of the global minimum tax.

This increase does not affect non-dom status for individuals, but it changes the equation for an executive who receives their income through a Cypriot company: it is the combined cost that counts, not the personal rate in isolation.

Non-dom status itself is time-limited: it ends at the end of the prescribed period, or earlier if the person acquires a Cypriot domicile of origin. A very long-term project must take this deadline into account.

The practical conclusion can be summed up in one sentence: Cyprus offers one of the most favourable frameworks in the European Union for passive income, provided you actually live there and have no ties anywhere else. Minimal-presence arrangements that do not sever French ties are fragile.

Please note

General information, as of the date shown. A draft reform is not a rule in force: check the conditions with the authorities or a professional before deciding. Terms of use and disclaimers

Sources and verification dates

1.
Cyprus: annual presence below which the general residency rule does not apply : 183 days
« According to Article 2 (“Definitions”) of the Income Tax Law of 2002 (Ν. 118(I)/2002), a natural person (individual) is considered a tax resident of Cyprus if they meet the criteria set out either under the 183-day rule or the 60-day rule. 183-day rule — An individual is considered to reside in Cyprus if they stay in Cyprus for one or more periods exceeding 183 days in total during a tax year. — Tax Department (Ministry of Finance), « Tax Residency/Domicility ». »
gov.cyVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
2.
Cyprus: minimum annual presence under the so-called sixty-day rule : 60 days
« 60-day rule — An individual may be considered a tax resident of Cyprus even if they have not completed 183 days in Cyprus, provided that they meet all of the following conditions: They remain in Cyprus for at least 60 days during the tax year. They do not reside for more than 183 days during the year in another country. They carry on any business in Cyprus and/or are employed in Cyprus, whether as an employee and/or office holder. They maintain a permanent residence in Cyprus which they own or rent. — Tax Department, « Tax Residency/Domicility » (Income Tax Law N. 118(I)/2002, art. 2). »
gov.cyVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
3.
Cyprus: period of tax residency after which a person is deemed domiciled : 17 years
« Furthermore, irrespective of the individual’s domicile of origin, any individual who has been a Cyprus tax resident for income tax purposes for at least 17 out of the last 20 years immediately before the tax year is deemed to acquire a domicile in Cyprus. […] Tax Consequences — Any individual who either: does not have a domicile in Cyprus (non-domiciled), or is not a Cyprus tax resident (non-resident) is not subject to Special Defence Contribution (SDC) on: rental income*; interest income; dividend income. — Tax Department, « Tax Residency/Domicility » (Special Defence Contribution Law N. 117(I)/2002). »
gov.cyVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
4.
Cyprus: rate of the healthcare system contribution on passive income, at full effect : 2.65%
« Income earners (e.g. rent, interest, dividends) 1,70% 2,65% On their income »
gesy.org.cyVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
5.
Cyprus: rate of the first income tax bracket : 0%
« DECLARATION FOR CLAIMING TAX DEDUCTIONS FOR THE TAX YEAR 2026 - Income Tax (By virtue of the Income Tax Law No.118(I) of 2002, as amended) — PART C. TAX COMPUTATION — Chargeable Income / Tax Rates : From 0 to 22.000 @ 0% ; From 22.001 to 32.000 @ 20 % ; From 32.001 to 42.000 @ 25 % ; From 42.001 to 72.000 @ 30 % ; From 72.001 @ 35 % — Tax Department, formulaire IR59 2026. »
gov.cyVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
6.
Cyprus: top marginal income tax rate : 35%
« PART C. TAX COMPUTATION — Chargeable Income / Tax Rates : From 0 to 22.000 @ 0% ; […] From 42.001 to 72.000 @ 30 % ; From 72.001 @ 35 % — Tax Department, formulaire IR59 2026 (Income Tax Law No.118(I) of 2002, as amended). »
gov.cyVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
7.
Cyprus: taxation of profits from the disposal of securities : 0%
« Tax wholly exempted income of: Profit from the sale of securities ; Dividends paid which are tax deductible from the paying co. ; Profits of a Permanent Establishment under certain criteria ; Gains relating to foreign exchange differences (forex) […] — Ministry of Finance, « Tax Incentives » (15 janvier 2026). »
gov.cyVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
8.
Cyprus: corporate income tax rate resulting from the tax reform : 15%
« Φόρος πραγματικών μερισμάτων από 17% σε 5% · Κατάργηση λογιζόμενης διανομής μερισμάτων · Εταιρικός φόρος από 12,5% σε 15% · Κατάργηση τελών χαρτοσήμων · Stock Options: ειδικός συντελεστής 8% έως €1εκ./10ετία · Κρυπτοστοιχεία: αυτοτελής φορολόγηση 8% στο καθαρό κέρδος — Portail officiel de la Réforme fiscale 2026 (gov.cy/taxreform), « Avantages fiscaux pour les entreprises » (lois publiées au Journal officiel le 31 décembre 2025, en vigueur au 1er janvier 2026). »
gov.cyVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
9.
Cyprus: former corporate income tax rate, before the tax reform : 12.5%
« Φόρος πραγματικών μερισμάτων από 17% σε 5% · Κατάργηση λογιζόμενης διανομής μερισμάτων · Εταιρικός φόρος από 12,5% σε 15% · Κατάργηση τελών χαρτοσήμων · Stock Options: ειδικός συντελεστής 8% έως €1εκ./10ετία · Κρυπτοστοιχεία: αυτοτελής φορολόγηση 8% στο καθαρό κέρδος — Portail officiel de la Réforme fiscale 2026 (gov.cy/taxreform), « Avantages fiscaux pour les entreprises » (lois publiées au Journal officiel le 31 décembre 2025, en vigueur au 1er janvier 2026). »
gov.cyHistorical value, applicable until January 1, 2026