Tax Residency and Non-Dom

Two rules, one definition

Whether Cyprus is your tax home is a matter of counting

A professional moving to Cyprus, a founder splitting the year between countries, and a retiree weighing a permanent move are asking the same question: am I resident in the Republic within the definition in section 2 of the Income Tax Law.

The definition answers it in one of two ways. Presence of more than 183 days in the tax year makes you resident on its own. Failing that, the 60-day rule makes you resident if five conditions are all met in the same year: at least 60 days in Cyprus, no more than 183 days in any other single state, no tax residency elsewhere, work or an office in Cyprus that has not ceased by year end, and a permanent home here, owned or rented.

Residency is what opens the door. What most people are actually after is on the other side of it: the non-dom exemption, which keeps a resident who is not domiciled in Cyprus outside the special defence contribution on dividends and interest, for up to 17 years.

183 days decides alone. 60 days asks four more questions

The tax year is the calendar year, and presence is counted by day. The day you arrive in Cyprus counts as a day in Cyprus, and the day you depart counts as a day outside it. Arriving and departing on the same day counts as one day in; departing and returning on the same day counts as one day out.

The 183-day rule needs nothing else. Spend more than 183 days of the year in Cyprus and you are resident, whatever your home, work or ties elsewhere.

The 60-day rule exists for people whose year is spread across countries. All five conditions must hold in the same tax year: at least 60 days in Cyprus; not more than 183 days in aggregate in any other single state; no tax residency in any other state; a business carried on in Cyprus, or employment in Cyprus, or an office in a company tax resident in Cyprus, provided the activity has not ceased by the end of the year; and a permanent residential property in Cyprus, owned or rented.

The condition people miss is the third. If another state treats you as its tax resident for the same year, the 60-day rule is not available, however many days you spend here. That question is answered by the other state's law, and it is the first thing the report checks.

Resident, but not domiciled, and what that is worth

The special defence contribution is the Cyprus tax on dividends, interest and rents. Since 2015 it applies only to individuals who are both resident and domiciled in Cyprus. A resident who is not domiciled here, the non-dom, receives dividends and interest outside that tax altogether, which is the exemption the regime is known for.

Domicile for this purpose is taken from the Wills and Succession Law. Broadly, you are treated as domiciled in Cyprus if your domicile of origin is here, subject to exceptions for those who have taken and kept a domicile of choice abroad, or once you have been Cyprus tax resident for at least 17 of the 20 tax years before the year in question. The second limb is the clock: it is why the exemption is often described as lasting 17 years.

The exemption concerns the special defence contribution. Income tax and General Healthcare System contributions have their own rules, and both are covered in the report.

A Cypriot domicile of origin does not always mean the exemption is lost: the exceptions turn on domicile of choice and on the years spent abroad, and they are decided on the facts of a life, not on a form. Where that is your case, the checker says so rather than guessing.

Where this comes from

The residency rules are taken from the definition of resident in the Republic in section 2 of the Income Tax Law of 2002, Law 118(I)/2002, as amended, which contains both the 183-day rule and the 60-day rule and the day-counting provisions.

The non-dom rules are taken from the Special Defence Contribution Law of 2002, Law 117(I)/2002, as amended in 2015, which confines the contribution to individuals resident and domiciled in the Republic and defines domicile by reference to the Wills and Succession Law, with the 17 out of 20 years rule.

Checked against the consolidated texts on 17 August 2026. Tax law is amended often and rates are deliberately not stated on this page; the position should be confirmed before it is relied on, which is what the report is for.