The modified nexus approach limits the exemption to qualifying assets developed in-house. How to distinguish functional IP from marketing intangibles that no longer qualify.
- Compressed annual return cycle
- No statutory minimum share capital for Ltd
- What is Cyprus's Non-Dom regime and does it still work?
The structural detail companies must re-test in 2026 is that Cyprus's two signature preferential regimes were not adjusted alongside the headline rate increase. The IP Box regime exempts 80% of qualifying intellectual property profit — patents and in-house-developed software, not marketing intangibles or brand value — under the OECD BEPS Action 5 modified nexus approach; because that 80% exemption is calculated against the new 15% rate rather than the old 12.5%, the effective rate on qualifying IP income moved from roughly 2.5% to roughly 3%, not zero change. Separately, the Non-Dom regime continues to exempt qualifying new tax residents from SDC on dividends and interest for up to 17 years, regardless of the 2026 rate reform. Existing structures built around either regime need a line-by-line re-test against the new baseline, not an assumption that "unchanged regime" means "unchanged outcome."
What a company pays in Cyprus. Every figure below is published on the Cyprus country page.
| Cyprus | |
|---|---|
| Official language | Greek (Turkish also official; English widely used in business and law) |
| Legal forms | Ltd (private) · Plc (public) |
| Employer social security | ~15.4% of gross salary (8.8% Social Insurance + 2.9% GESY + 2.0% Social Cohesion Fund + 1.2% Redundancy Fund + 0.5% HRDA, 2026) — Social Insurance capped at €68,904/year insurable earnings |
| Dividend tax (SDC) | 5% for domiciled tax residents on post-2026 profit (down from 17%; pre-2026 retained profit stays at 17% if distributed by 31 Dec 2031) · 0% for Non-Dom residents (up to 17 years) |
| Minimum share capital | Ltd: none statutory (€1,000 nominal common practice) · Plc: €25,629 |
What makes it complex in Cyprus
- Compressed annual return cycle — — the HE32 annual return with audited accounts is due within 28 days of the AGM, distinct from the TD4 corporate tax return deadline of 31 January of the second year following year-end (from the 2026 filing year).
- No statutory minimum share capital for Ltd — — formation moves fast on paper, but full operational readiness (bank account, tax registration) still runs 4–8 weeks beyond the 2–7 working day Registrar approval.
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%.
Compressed annual return cycle is one of the points HTLC Network handles for clients operating in Cyprus, within a single engagement that covers every other country they operate in — executed locally, governed centrally.
In Cyprus the scope is: Statutory accounts under IFRS as adopted by the EU (mandatory for all Cyprus companies regardless of size), VAT returns, and corporate tax filings, including IP Box qualifying-profit calculations where relevant.
See Accounting & Tax Compliance in Cyprus for the full scope, or the Cyprus country page for the statutory framework across every service.
Figures as published on the HTLC Network country pages, reviewed September 2026 and collected from public sources. They are not a substitute for advice on a specific case and should be verified before being relied on.