Cyprus Non-Dom Status & the 60-Day Rule Explained (2026)

What is Cyprus Non-Dom status?

Non-dom status depends on domicile and residence history, not nationality alone. The deemed-domicile test refers to residence in at least 17 of the preceding 20 years. Eligible individuals may use the conditional Article 3D extension mechanism for two five-year periods at €250,000 per period; it is not automatic.

For resident domiciled individuals, the 5% SDC treatment concerns relevant dividends from profits earned from 2026; older profits require transitional analysis. Non-dom relief is a separate personal-status question. Outgoing dividends are not universally free of withholding: defensive rules can apply to specified recipients in blacklisted or low-tax jurisdictions.

The 60-day tax-residency rule

The current 60-day route requires at least 60 days in Cyprus, a permanent home and the relevant business, employment or office-holding conditions. The foreign day-count condition concerns more than 183 days in one other state, not 183 days exactly. Check the full statutory conditions, cessation rules and any dual-residence treaty position.

How Non-Dom pairs with the IP Box for founders

Model company and shareholder separately. With €100,000 qualifying net IP income, full nexus and no other adjustments, corporate tax is €3,000. If the €97,000 dividend is fully subject to 2.65% GHS within an unused ceiling and exempt from SDC, GHS is €2,570.50: an illustrative combined €5,570.50, not a universal 5% rate.

The GHS healthcare contribution

Relevant dividends may attract 2.65% GHS, subject to the individual’s circumstances and the aggregate €180,000 annual income ceiling. €4,770 is the dividend-only illustration at that rate, not a universal maximum for every contribution category or an automatic extra charge. Healthcare entitlement requires its own conditions.

Who Cyprus Non-Dom suits

The regime fits people whose income is heavily weighted towards dividends, interest, or IP-driven company profits, and who have the flexibility to spend at least 60 days a year in Cyprus while keeping a home there.

Typical candidates include software and SaaS founders, technology entrepreneurs, investors and traders living off portfolio income, and internationally mobile professionals who can base a company in Cyprus. If most of your income is a local salary earned elsewhere, the benefits are smaller.

It is less suited to people who cannot maintain genuine Cyprus ties or a permanent home, or who need to spend most of the year in another single country. The rules reward a real, if lightweight, connection to Cyprus.

• Founders extracting profit as dividends
• IP-heavy businesses that qualify for the IP Box
• Investors and traders living on investment income
• Mobile professionals able to keep a Cyprus base

Caveats and things to confirm

Assess tax residence, actual management, functions and any permanent-establishment or treaty issues on the facts. Formal incorporation and a registered address do not settle these questions.