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.
Talk to a specialist SDC saved today, and what it costs when the 17-year clock runs out.
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How this calculator works
- Domicile test. An individual is domiciled in Cyprus for Special Defence Contribution purposes in either of two cases. One is a domicile of origin in Cyprus under the Wills and Succession Law (with certain exceptions). The other is tax residence in Cyprus for at least 17 out of the 20 tax years immediately prior to the tax year of assessment.
- Source: Ministry of Finance, tax incentives, published 15 January 2026. This calculator models the 17-in-20 limb only. If your domicile of origin is Cypriot, non-dom status is not available to you and the calculator does not apply.
- Dividends. SDC is withheld on dividends received by individuals at 5% from profits earned after 1 January 2026, and at 17% on profits earned before that date (gov.cy).
- The Tax Department's own worked example pays 17% on a 2027 dividend out of 2025 profits, and 5% on one out of 2026 profits. Source: Tax Department reform presentation.
- Interest. Interest income received by individuals is subject to SDC at 17%. Certain savings certificates, government and listed corporate bonds carry 3% instead of 17% (gov.cy).
- A person with total annual income including interest up to €12,000 is entitled to a refund of SDC withheld on interest in excess of 3%. Neither the refund nor the 3% category is modelled: enter only ordinary interest.
- Rental income is deliberately absent. SDC on rental income was abolished from 1 January 2026. Rents are now taxed with income tax and a General Healthcare System contribution only. Source: Tax Department FAQs, 11 May 2026. Any calculator still charging SDC on Cyprus rent is out of date.
- General Healthcare System (GESY) contributions are not modelled, and they do not go away with non-dom status. The Tax Department confirms GESY still applies to rental income after SDC was removed, and that corporate tenants continue to withhold it.
- We could not read the Health Insurance Organisation's published contribution rates and annual income ceiling at source today, so we publish no rate. Get the current rate and cap from the Health Insurance Organisation before relying on a net figure.
- Income tax is separate and is not calculated here. Dividends and interest of Cyprus tax residents are exempt from income tax, but everything else is not.
- The personal scales changed for 2026. The tax-free band rose from €19,500 to €22,000, with 20% to €32,000, 25% to €42,000, 30% to €72,000 and 35% above that (businessincyprus.gov.cy).
- Anti-avoidance provisions apply to the domicile rules. Domicile status is retained until the completion of 20 tax years, not necessarily consecutive, in which the individual is not a Cyprus tax resident. Leaving for a few years does not reset the clock.
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. Sources: the Tax Department's summary (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.