Guide
Cyprus non-dom: the taxes and contributions you still pay
Updated
The commonest and most expensive misreading of Cyprus non-dom status is treating it as a general exemption. It is one tax, and only one.
What non-dom status actually removes
Special Defence Contribution, and nothing else. SDC is charged on dividends, interest and, until recently, rent, and it is charged on individuals who are both Cyprus tax resident and domiciled in Cyprus. A Cyprus tax resident who is not domiciled here falls outside it.
What continues regardless
- General Healthcare System (GESY) contributions
- Non-dom status does not touch them. The Tax Department confirms that after SDC on rents was abolished, rental income continues to be taxed with income tax and a GESY contribution, and that corporate tenants still withhold GESY when paying rent. Contributions are capped on an annual income ceiling. We publish no rate here, because we could not read the Health Insurance Organisation's rate table at source: get the current rate and ceiling from the Health Insurance Organisation.
- Income tax
- Employment, business, pension and rental income are taxed on the personal scales. From the 2026 tax year the tax-free band is €22,000, then 20% to €32,000, 25% to €42,000, 30% to €72,000 and 35% above.
- Capital gains tax
- Cyprus capital gains tax applies to disposals of Cyprus-situated immovable property and shares in companies holding it. Domicile is irrelevant to it.
- Social insurance
- Employment and self-employment attract social insurance contributions in the normal way.
Three 2026 changes that shift the arithmetic
- SDC on dividends to individuals fell from 17% to 5% for profits earned after 1 January 2026. The saving from non-dom status on dividend income is roughly a third of what it was.
- SDC on rental income was abolished from 1 January 2026, so on rents non-dom status is now worth nothing at all: everyone is in the same position.
- Deemed distribution of profits was abolished for years from 2026 onwards, although a 70% deemed distribution still applies to profits of the 2024 and 2025 tax years at the end of the two-year period.
All three come from the Special Defence Contribution amending law in force from 1 January 2026, as summarised by the Tax Department (reform presentation, 6 March 2026) and the Ministry of Finance (tax incentives, 15 January 2026).
If you are choosing Cyprus over another jurisdiction on the strength of non-dom status, price it after the 2026 changes, not before. The calculator uses the current rates.