The Cyprus 60-day tax residency rule explained

This page explains the general rules as published by the Cyprus authorities on the date shown. Rates, thresholds and procedures change, and your position depends on facts we do not know. Before you act, confirm the figures with the Tax Department or the Department of Lands and Surveys and take advice from a lawyer registered with the Cyprus Bar Association or a licensed accountant.

How Cyprus decides who is tax resident#

Your tax residence in Cyprus is decided year by year under the definition of "resident in the Republic" in section 2 of the Income Tax Law, N. 118(I)/2002.¹ For an individual the Law offers two routes, and meeting either one is enough.¹

The 183-day rule needs nothing else: the count of days decides it.¹ The 60-day rule covers people who divide their year between several countries and do not spend more than 183 days in any one of them.¹ It looks at where you spend your time, where you work and where you have a home.

The conditions of the 60-day rule#

All four conditions must be met in the same tax year.¹

1. Time in Cyprus. You stay in the Republic for at least 60 days in the tax year.¹
2. No other 183-day state. You do not stay in any one other state for periods that together exceed 183 days in that year.¹
3. Work link. At any time in the year you carry on a business in Cyprus, are employed in Cyprus, or hold an office with a person who is tax resident in Cyprus, such as a directorship of a Cyprus-resident company.¹
4. Permanent home. You maintain a permanent residence in Cyprus that you own or rent.¹

The Law also fixes how days are counted.¹ The day you leave Cyprus counts as a day outside Cyprus, and the day you arrive counts as a day in Cyprus.¹ Arriving and leaving on the same day counts as one day in Cyprus; leaving and returning on the same day counts as one day outside.¹

Non-domicile status and what it covers#

Tax residence and domicile are separate questions. The Special Contribution for the Defence of the Republic Law, N. 117(I)/2002, applies its defence contribution to individuals who are resident in Cyprus under the Income Tax Law and domiciled in Cyprus.² A resident who is not domiciled in Cyprus, often called "non-dom", falls outside that definition.² The contribution is charged on dividends and on interest, among other income.²

The Law treats you as domiciled in Cyprus if you have a domicile of origin in Cyprus, with exceptions for people who have held a domicile of choice abroad or lived outside Cyprus for long periods.² Whatever your domicile of origin, you are deemed domiciled once you have been tax resident in Cyprus for at least 17 of the 20 years before the tax year.² Once deemed domiciled, you keep that status until you have been non-resident for 20 years.²

Non-domicile status does not change your income tax position. Income tax is charged under the Income Tax Law, and the two Laws have different tests.¹² How your own income is taxed is a question for a licensed accountant.

What owning or renting a home in Cyprus changes#

For the 183-day rule, a home in Cyprus makes no legal difference: only the days count.¹ For the 60-day rule it is one of the four conditions.¹ The Law asks for a permanent residence in Cyprus that is owned or rented by you.¹

Three points follow from the wording:

• Ownership is not required. A rented home meets the condition in the same way as one you own.¹
• The residence must be maintained in the year you claim, and a holiday booking or a hotel stay is not a permanent residence in the ordinary meaning of the words.
• Owning a home does not make you resident by itself. Without the days, the work link and the 183-day limit elsewhere, the 60-day rule is not met.¹

Buying a home is a separate legal process with its own rules for buyers from outside the European Union, explained on our can foreigners buy property in Cyprus page. Costs of buying, such as transfer fees and VAT, are on our costs of buying property in Cyprus page.

Changes to the Law and when they apply#

The Income Tax Law has been amended many times.¹ The consolidated text on CyLaw lists the amending laws, including several enacted in 2025, such as Law 219(I)/2025 and Law 244(I)/2025.¹ The definition of "resident in the Republic" quoted on this page, with both the 183-day and the 60-day tests, is the one in that consolidated text, retrieved on 30 October 2026.¹

The defence contribution Law was also amended in 2025, including by an amending law numbered (No. 4) of 2025, and the deemed-domicile rule above is from its consolidated text on the same date.² We report a change to these rules only once it is enacted law with a stated start date; proposals are not covered here. When a new amendment changes the residence or domicile tests, this page is updated and the change is dated.

Records worth keeping#

Neither test is claimed once and then forgotten. Each tax year stands on its own, so the evidence for it should be kept year by year.¹

As general practice, people who rely on the second test keep:

• a day-by-day record of their travel, with boarding passes or passport stamps, showing days in Cyprus and in every other state;
• evidence of the work link, such as an employment contract, the company's registration and director records, or business accounts;
• the title deed, sale contract or tenancy agreement for the Cyprus home, with proof that it was kept for the whole year;
• any certificate of tax residence issued by the Tax Department for an earlier year.

What the Tax Department asks for depends on the case. A licensed accountant can tell you what to keep for your own position. For the wider rules on moving to Cyprus from outside the EU, including travel within the Schengen area as it develops, see our Cyprus Schengen tracker.