Company Formation & Entity Setup in Cyprus

Ltd and Plc incorporation, Registrar of Companies filing, and post-formation tax, VAT and social insurance registration.

Cyprus Reviewed September 2026

Currency

EUR

Legal forms

Ltd (private) · Plc (public)

Minimum share capital

Ltd: none statutory (€1,000 nominal common practice) · Plc: €25,629

Registration body

Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver (Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism)

Formation timeline

2–7 working days for Registrar approval; 4–8 weeks to full operational readiness including bank account and tax registration

Corporate tax rate

15% standard (raised from 12.5% on 1 January 2026) · ~3% effective on qualifying IP profit under the IP Box regime

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How company formation works in Cyprus

Cyprus applies a 15% standard corporate income tax rate as of 1 January 2026 (up from 12.5%, unchanged since 2013), alongside a 19% standard VAT rate and employer social contributions of roughly 15.4% of gross salary across Social Insurance, GESY (the national health system), the Social Cohesion Fund, the Redundancy Fund and HRDA. A private limited company (Ltd) has no statutory minimum share capital — €1,000 nominal is common market practice — while a public company (Plc) requires €25,629. Special Defence Contribution (SDC) on dividends paid to domiciled tax residents fell from 17% to 5% for profit earned from 2026 onward, though pre-2026 retained profit distributed on or before 31 December 2031 remains taxed at the old 17% rate.

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Matched to your business objective

Ltd (private)

Liability

Limited to company assets

Min. capital

Ltd: none statutory (€1,000 nominal common practice) · Plc: €25,629

The standard vehicle for an operating subsidiary of a foreign company — the default choice for most market-entry engagements in Cyprus.

Plc (public)

Liability

Limited to company assets

Min. capital

Ltd: none statutory (€1,000 nominal common practice) · Plc: €25,629

Used for larger operations, more formal governance needs, or entities seeking to raise capital publicly.

Branch

Liability

None separate — the foreign parent company bears full liability

Min. capital

None — no separate capital requirement

Useful for testing the Cyprus market before committing to a subsidiary, or for keeping a single legal entity across borders. Creates a taxable presence — profits are generally taxed in Cyprus.

Representative office

Liability

N/A — not a registered legal entity in most cases

Min. capital

None

For market research and liaison activity only — cannot sign contracts, invoice, or trade locally in most jurisdictions.

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What it takes to register, and how long

Formation runs through the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver (Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism), typically taking 2–7 working days for Registrar approval; 4–8 weeks to full operational readiness including bank account and tax registration.

Headline rate increase, preferential regimes untouched — — 12.5% → 15% CIT from 1 January 2026 for OECD Pillar Two alignment, but the IP Box (80% exemption, modified nexus, BEPS-compliant) and Non-Dom SDC exemption were not reduced or restricted
IP Box qualifying-asset test — — only functional/technical IP (in-house software, patents and patent applications) qualifies for the 80% exemption; marketing intangibles and brand value do not, so structuring must be assessed asset by asset
Dividend tax transition window — — domiciled residents pay 5% SDC on post-2026 profit but 17% on pre-2026 retained profit distributed up to 31 December 2031, requiring profit-year tracking for distribution planning
Universal audit requirement — — every registered Cyprus company must have audited financial statements, even if dormant; small companies (turnover below €200,000, rising to €300,000 from 6 February 2026) may opt for a lighter ISRE 2400 review instead

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Frequently asked questions

Did the Cyprus corporate tax rate really change in 2026?

Yes. The standard corporate income tax rate rose from 12.5% — unchanged since 2013 — to 15% effective 1 January 2026, as part of a wider reform aligning Cyprus with the OECD's global minimum tax under Pillar Two.

Does the IP Box regime still apply after the 2026 reform?

Yes, unchanged in structure: 80% of qualifying intellectual property profit remains exempt under the BEPS Action 5 modified nexus approach. Because that exemption is now calculated against the higher 15% headline rate, the effective tax rate on qualifying IP profit moved from approximately 2.5% to approximately 3%.

What is Cyprus's Non-Dom regime and does it still work?

Qualifying new tax residents who are not domiciled in Cyprus are exempt from Special Defence Contribution on dividend and interest income for up to 17 years. This exemption was not altered by the 2026 corporate tax reform; domiciled residents, by contrast, now pay 5% SDC on dividends from post-2026 profit, down from 17%.

Is a statutory audit really mandatory for every Cyprus company?

Yes. Every registered private or public company must have audited annual financial statements, including companies that never traded. Small companies — turnover below €200,000, rising to €300,000 from 6 February 2026, and gross assets below €500,000, for two consecutive years — may opt for a lighter ISRE 2400 review engagement instead of a full audit.

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Companies already using Cyprus for IP or holding structures should re-test each qualifying asset against the IP Box rules under the new 15% headline rate, since the 2026 reform changed the baseline against which the 80% exemption is measured — the regime is unchanged, but what it now saves is not.

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