Cyprus tax residency: do you meet the 183-day test or the 60-day rule?
You are tax resident in Cyprus for a calendar year if you spend more than 183 days here, or at least 60 days and meet three more conditions. There is nothing to apply for: meet a test and you are resident. Tick the four conditions to see where you stand.
Spend more than this in Cyprus in a calendar year and you are tax resident on that alone.
In Cyprus in a calendar year from 2026 can be enough under the 60-day rule, if you also meet its three other conditions (all four, in the checklist).
Fee stamps for a certificate of tax residence, which the Tax Department issues only for a country Cyprus has a double tax treaty with.
Not sure? Check the open points
Every condition and open point is set out under the 60-day rule and, for counting days, under Counting days, below.
Tick each condition that is true for you that year.
You meet the 60-day rule
All four ticked, but a point is open
The 60-day rule does not apply
Not met on your ticks, but a point is open
All four conditions are met as the law words them, so for that year the rule makes you tax resident in Cyprus.
That holds only if your business, job or office runs to 31 December.
You ticked all four, but what you marked is a point neither the law nor the Tax Department has settled, and it could change the result for you:
It needs all four conditions in the same tax year, and you left these empty: 60 days in Cyprus; 183 days elsewhere; business, job or office; permanent home.
You are still tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Cyprus that year.
If you left a box empty only because of a point you marked, the answer is open rather than no:
- The law asks for a permanent home that you own or rent yourself. It does not say whether a home someone else owns or rents for you counts, or whether you must have it for the whole year.
- The Tax Department says your employer need not be Cypriot. It has not said whether, for this rule, working remotely from Cyprus for an employer with no presence here counts as being employed in Cyprus.
- The Tax Department's 2022 circular asks for an office held personally, in your own name on the companies register, until 31 December. Neither it nor the law says whether an unpaid or purely formal role is enough.
- The law defines a business but does not say how much activity counts as carrying one on in Cyprus, or whether only clients abroad is enough.
- If your only business, job or office ends before 31 December, the condition is not met. The law does not say what happens when one ends and another continues or starts in the same year.
- The law's four counting rules are for days in Cyprus. It does not say how days in another country are counted, so keep well under 183 there.
- Whether days in the British Bases count as days in Cyprus is not settled.
Put that point to a tax adviser before you rely on the rule.
This works on the law's wording and your own ticks. It does not settle the points the law leaves open, or which country prevails if another one also treats you as tax resident.
Which test makes you tax resident: 183 days or the 60-day rule?
Either one is enough. The 183-day test only counts days: more than 183 in Cyprus in a calendar year, so at least 184. The 60-day rule needs at least 60 days plus three more conditions, all in the same year (side by side below).
| Question | 183-day ruledays in Cyprus, nothing else | 60-day ruledays in Cyprus and three more conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Days in Cyprus in the calendar year | More than183days | At least60days |
| Days in any one other country | No condition | Not more than183days |
| A business, job or office | Not needed | Needed, not ending in the year |
| A permanent home in Cyprus | Not needed | Needed, owned or rented by you |
| Changed in 2026 | No | One condition removed |
A summary: each condition of the 60-day rule is in full in the checklist below.
Spending fewer than 184 days here? The four conditions, one by one: The 60-day rule
The detailssame tax obligations under either test · nothing to apply for · one calendar year at a time
Same tax obligations under either test. The Tax Department's 2022 presentation of its circular on the 60-day rule says that a person resident under the 60-day rule has the same tax obligations as one resident under the 183-day rule.
Tax Department, presentation of Circulars 1/2022, 4/2022 and 10/2022 (December 2022)
Nothing to apply for. The law defines who is resident and names no application, claim or certificate: if you meet a test, you are resident for that year. The Tax Department's guide to the 2025 return has you state on the return whether you were tax resident, by the two tests.
Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, consolidated text (CyLaw) · Tax Department, guide for the completion of the income tax return for individuals 2025
One calendar year at a time. Residence is decided for each tax year, which in Cyprus is the calendar year, 1 January to 31 December. Cyprus decides it for the whole year: the law has no rule that splits a year into a resident and a non-resident part.
What does the 60-day rule require, condition by condition?
All four, in the same tax year: at least 60 days in Cyprus, no more than 183 days in any one other country, a business or job in Cyprus or an office in a Cyprus tax-resident company or other person, and a permanent home here that you own or rent (details below). Watch the third: if your only business, job or office here ends before 31 December, the rule doesn't apply that year. Since 1 January 2026, being tax resident in another country no longer rules it out.
- You spend at least 60 days in Cyprus in the year.Counted over the calendar year by the law's four counting rules (how to count your days, below). In the rule since 2017.
- You spend no more than 183 days in any one other country in the year.How days there are counted is not settled (below). In the rule since 2017.
- At some point in the year you carry on a business in Cyprus, are employed in Cyprus, or hold an office in a Cyprus tax-resident company (or other person).One of the three is enough, but if your only one ends before 31 December, this condition is not met (how the Tax Department reads an office, in the details below). In the rule since 2017, the rule on ending too.
- You keep a permanent home in Cyprus that you own or rent yourself.The law does not define a permanent home (how the Tax Department reads it, in the details below). In the rule since 2017.
No longer a condition: that you are not tax resident in any other country. It applied from 2017 to 2025 and was removed from 1 January 2026.
Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, consolidated text (CyLaw) · Income Tax (Amending) (No. 4) Law 244(I)/2025, Official Gazette No. 5070 · Income Tax (Amending) Law 119(I)/2017, Official Gazette No. 4616
To see where your own answers leave you, tick them in the checker at the top: The 60-day checker
The detailsthe law's own words · how the Tax Department reads them · what the law leaves open · tax resident in another country too
In the law's own words. The definition in force from 1 January 2026, in translation:
(ii) an individual who does not stay in one other state for one or more periods which in total exceed one hundred and eighty-three (183) days within the same tax year, provided they cumulatively meet the following:
(aa) they stay in the Republic for at least sixty (60) days in the tax year;
(bb) they carry on any business in the Republic and/or are employed in the Republic and/or hold an office in a person tax resident in the Republic at any time during the tax year: Provided that an individual is not considered to meet subparagraph (bb) if, in that year, their carrying on of any business in the Republic and/or their employment in the Republic and/or their holding of an office in a person tax resident in the Republic is terminated;
(cc) they maintain a permanent home in the Republic which is owned or rented by the individual.
The 2017 text also required that the individual:
is not tax resident in any other state for the same tax year
Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, consolidated text (CyLaw) · Income Tax (Amending) (No. 4) Law 244(I)/2025, Official Gazette No. 5070 · Income Tax (Amending) Law 119(I)/2017, Official Gazette No. 4616
How the Tax Department reads them.
- In its 2026 presentation the Tax Department says your employer need not be Cypriot, and that the business, job or office must hold until 31 December of the tax year.
- Its 2022 circular reads a permanent home as one arranged for your permanent use and available to you at any time, continuously.
- The same circular counts an office only if you hold it personally, in your own name on the Registrar of Companies' register, until 31 December; the department's 2022 presentation adds that it cannot be delegated to a nominee.
- The circular was written before the 2026 change, and whether the department still applies it to years from 2026 is not settled.
- The department's own residency page words the third condition more loosely than the law, without the requirement that an office be in a Cyprus tax-resident company; the checklist follows the law.
Sources (4)
Tax Department, presentation on the 2026 reform for individuals (11 May 2026) · Tax Department, Circular 1/2022: tax residence under the 60-day rule (1 February 2022) · Tax Department, presentation of Circulars 1/2022, 4/2022 and 10/2022 (December 2022) · Tax Department, Tax Residency/Domicility
What the law leaves open.
- A home provided by someone else, or for part of the year. The law asks for a permanent home that you own or rent yourself. It does not say whether a home someone else owns or rents for you counts, or whether you must have it for the whole year.
- Remote work for an employer abroad. The Tax Department says your employer need not be Cypriot. It has not said whether, for this rule, working remotely from Cyprus for an employer with no presence here counts as being employed in Cyprus.
- An unpaid or formal office. The Tax Department's 2022 circular asks for an office held personally, in your own name on the companies register, until 31 December. Neither it nor the law says whether an unpaid or purely formal role is enough.
- How much business is enough. The law defines a business but does not say how much activity counts as carrying one on in Cyprus, or whether only clients abroad is enough.
- One activity ending, another continuing. If your only business, job or office ends before 31 December, the condition is not met. The law does not say what happens when one ends and another continues or starts in the same year.
Two more concern how days are counted, in another country and in the British Bases: how to count your days, below.
Each is a point to take to a tax adviser before you rely on the rule.
Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, consolidated text (CyLaw) · Tax Department, presentation on the 2026 reform for individuals (11 May 2026) · Tax Department, Circular 1/2022: tax residence under the 60-day rule (1 February 2022)
Tax resident in another country too? From 2026, being tax resident in another country no longer stops the 60-day rule, so under it, two countries can both treat you as resident for the same year. If they do, look first at the tax treaty between the two countries, where there is one: a treaty Cyprus has brought into force applies over the Income Tax Law. What it says about someone resident in both depends on that treaty, so put it to an adviser.
Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, consolidated text (CyLaw) · Tax Department, presentation on Law 244(I)/2025 (March 2026)
How do you count your days in Cyprus?
The day you arrive counts as a day in Cyprus; the day you leave counts as a day outside it. In and out on the same day is one day in Cyprus; out and back on the same day is one day outside. These rules count your Cyprus days for both tests, but the law sets none for days in other countries (details below).
Need to show another country's tax authority that you are resident here? That is what the certificate is for: Certificate of tax residence
The detailsa worked example · days in another country · what proves your days · days in the British Bases
At the 60-day line. Arrive on 1 March and leave on 30 April: 1 March counts, 30 April does not, so that stay gives you 60 days in Cyprus, enough for the first condition on its own. A day trip abroad, leaving and coming back the same day, is a day outside Cyprus.
Days in another country. The four rules count days in Cyprus. For the 60-day rule's limit of 183 days in any one other country, the law does not say how those days are counted — by the same rules, that country's own, or calendar days — so keep well under 183 there.
What proves your days. For a certificate under the 60-day rule, the Tax Department's form asks for copies of your passport's entry and exit stamps, boarding passes and e-tickets. Keep them as you go.
Days in the British Bases. If you live or work in the British Sovereign Base Areas, Akrotiri or Dhekelia, whether those days count as days in Cyprus is not settled: ask an adviser how yours are counted.
How do you get a certificate of tax residence?
It is proof of your residence for another country's tax authority, usually needed when you have income in two countries; you are resident with or without one. The Tax Department issues it only for countries Cyprus has a double tax treaty with: you send the form to your district office by email or post and pay €80 in fee stamps when you collect it. Resident under the 183-day test? Ask your district office which form to use (details below).
Fee stamps for the certificate, paid at the cash counter when you collect it
The detailswho asks for it · how to apply · the papers it asks for · the form, and its out-of-date line · before the year is out
Who asks for it. The Tax Department says the certificate is most likely to be asked for by the tax authority of the country where you declare you are not resident. Some countries require their own form, drawn up by their authorities, to be filled in and stamped; the same fee-stamp process applies.
The countries Cyprus has a tax treaty with: Tax Department, double tax treaties
How to apply. Send the completed application form, with the papers below, to the Tax Department office of your district, by email or by post. The department contacts you when the certificate is ready; you pay the €80 fee stamp at the cash counter, hand it to the official and receive the certificate.
The papers it asks for. For foreign nationals the Tax Department lists a copy of what it calls the “yellow slip”, a copy of your passport or ID card, a copy of a title deed or tenancy agreement, a certificate of enrolment if you have children studying in Cyprus, a copy of a vehicle ownership certificate if you have one, a utility bill from the last six months, your employment contract and a Social Insurance account statement. The 60-day form asks in addition for proof of your days, the title deed or tenancy agreement of your home and an employment contract in force on 31 December of the year. The department's 2022 circular on the 60-day rule asks for a certified translation into Greek or English of any document in another language.
Tax Department, certificate of tax residence · Tax Department, Form T.F.126 (2022) · Tax Department, Circular 1/2022: tax residence under the 60-day rule (1 February 2022)
The form, and its out-of-date line. The form the certificate page links for individuals, T.F.126 (2022), is a declaration under the 60-day rule, in Greek: you declare, for the year, your days in Cyprus and in any other country, your home, and your business, job or office and that you intend to keep it at least until 31 December, and you undertake to tell the Tax Department and return the certificate if that does not happen. It still has you declare that you are not, and do not intend to become, tax resident in another country — a condition the law dropped from 2026. How the department treats that line on an application for 2026 or later is not settled: ask your district office.
Tax Department, Form T.F.126 (2022) · Income Tax (Amending) (No. 4) Law 244(I)/2025, Official Gazette No. 5070
Before the year is out. Under the 183-day rule, a 2017 circular lets you apply during the year, before you reach 183 days: you must be registered with the Tax Department with a tax identification number, the certificate states where it will be presented, and you declare that you intend to stay more than 183 days that year and undertake to tell the department if you do not become resident. Under the 60-day rule, the department's 2022 circular allows a certificate before your 60 days in some cases, with evidence of your business, job or office and your home, and a reason for needing it early shown to the Tax Commissioner's satisfaction. Whether the department still uses either circular for years from 2026 is not settled: ask your district office.
Tax Department, Circular 2017/8: certificate of tax residence during the same tax year (10 March 2017) · Tax Department, Circular 1/2022: tax residence under the 60-day rule (1 February 2022)
Is tax residency the same as a residence permit?
No. Tax residence comes from the 183-day or the 60-day rule, and neither rule refers to a permit. Registration certificates for EU citizens and residence permits for non-EU citizens are a separate matter, handled by the Migration Department. Being tax resident means Cyprus taxes your income from Cyprus and abroad, subject to the law's exemptions and other rules (details below).
Domicile and the defence contribution: Non-dom
The detailswhat residence changes, and where it is covered · if you are not tax resident · your company's residence is a separate question
What residence changes. As a resident you are taxed on the kinds of income the Income Tax Law lists, from Cyprus and abroad, subject to its exemptions and other rules.
- What you pay once resident: Income tax
- Taking a job here after years abroad: New-resident exemptions
- Dividends and interest: Non-dom
If you are not tax resident. Cyprus then taxes the kinds of income the law lists for non-residents — for example profits of a permanent establishment in Cyprus, and pay for an office or salaried work exercised in Cyprus — which the Tax Department describes as income within Cyprus, subject to the law's other rules and any double tax treaty.
Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, consolidated text (CyLaw) · Tax Department, presentation on the 2026 reform for individuals (11 May 2026)
Your company's residence is a separate question. A company is tax resident in Cyprus if it is managed and controlled here, or if it is incorporated here (unless a double tax treaty provides otherwise). Your own residence is tested on your own days and conditions: holding an office in a Cyprus tax-resident company can count towards the 60-day rule, but only if you keep it to 31 December and meet the rule's other conditions.
- What the company pays: Company tax
Have your days and ties looked at before you rely on them
Whether you are resident can turn on points the law leaves open: your days abroad, your home here, the business, job or office you keep until December. A licensed adviser can look at your case before you count on either test.
- Tell us your situation — a few questions.
- The founder reads it and passes it on only to a licensed adviser.
- The rest is between you and the adviser. There is no obligation.