What is the Cyprus 60-day rule?

The four requirements

You qualify under the 60-day rule if, within one calendar year (1 January – 31 December), you do not meet the 183-day test but meet all four of these conditions:

1. 1You spend at least 60 days in Cyprus.
2. 2You do not spend more than 183 days in total in any other single country.
3. 3You carry on a business in Cyprus, are employed in Cyprus, or hold an office (for example a directorship) in a Cyprus tax-resident company at any time in the year — and that business, job or office is not terminated during the year.
4. 4You maintain a permanent home in Cyprus that you own or rent.

Until tax year 2025 there was a fifth condition: you could not be tax resident in any other country. The 2026 tax reform (Law 244(I)/2025, in force from 1 January 2026) removed it. If another country also treats you as resident, you are now resident in both, and a tax treaty's tie-breaker decides which one counts for treaty purposes.

The 60 days is a floor, not the whole test — hitting the day count alone does nothing without the other three conditions. Days are counted the statutory way: the day you arrive counts as a day in Cyprus, the day you leave counts as a day outside, arriving and leaving on the same day counts as one day in, and leaving and returning on the same day counts as one day out. The full rule page covers worked examples and edge cases.

Who it's designed for

The standard 183-day test excludes people who genuinely live nowhere in particular — nomads, consultants, and founders who split the year across many countries and can end up tax resident nowhere. Cyprus introduced the 60-day rule in 2017 for them: it offers a way to anchor tax residency somewhere, in exchange for building real substance in Cyprus — a home plus a business, job, or office, not just a stamp in the passport.

How it differs from the 183-day rule

• The 183-day rule is automatic: spend more than 183 days in Cyprus and you are tax resident, no other conditions asked.
• The 60-day rule is conditional: a much lower day threshold, but only if no other single country gets more than 183 of your days and you maintain the Cyprus home and work link.
• Both lead to the same status — Cyprus tax resident — and both open the door to the non-dom regime if you are not Cyprus-domiciled: no Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest. You become deemed domiciled once you have been resident for 17 of the 20 years before the tax year. From 2026, someone deemed domiciled this way who has no Cyprus domicile of origin can apply (by 30 June of the first year) to pay a flat €250,000 contribution covering five consecutive tax years (€50,000 a year) in place of the contribution on their actual income.

Proving it: the part people underestimate

Be ready to prove both sides of the test — your 60+ days in Cyprus and that no other country reached 184 days. That means keeping travel records for the whole year, across every country. The free 183-day calculator totals your days per country from trip dates, and the same evidence backs up a request for a tax residency certificate.

Sources

• Income Tax (Amending) (No. 4) Law of 2025, N. 244(I)/2025, Official Gazette No. 5070 (31 December 2025) — definition of “resident of the Republic”
• Income Tax (Amending) Law of 2017, N. 119(I)/2017, Official Gazette No. 4616 (28 July 2017) — original 60-day rule, in force from 1 January 2017
• Special Defence Contribution (Amending) (No. 4) Law of 2025, N. 245(I)/2025 — deemed domicile and the €250,000 five-year election (art. 3D)
• Cyprus Tax Department (Tax For All) — Tax Reform 2026: guides and FAQs for individuals