Cyprus — The 60-Day Rule for Tax Residency

Summary

Day threshold

At least 60 days in Cyprus

Window

Calendar year (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Extra conditions

Three, all required

Changed in 2026

"Not tax resident elsewhere" condition removed

Basis

Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, s. 2, as amended by Law 244(I)/2025

You can become a Cyprus tax resident by spending as few as 60 days in the country in a calendar year — far below the standard 183-day test — provided you meet three extra conditions: no more than 183 days in any other single country, a Cyprus business, job or directorship that is not terminated during the year, and a permanent home in Cyprus. The rule is aimed at internationally mobile people. Since 1 January 2026 it no longer requires you to be tax resident nowhere else; competing claims from another country are settled by the tax treaty.

Who it applies to

This route matters most if you are:

• A digital nomad, entrepreneur, or investor who splits the year across several countries without spending more than 183 days in any one of them.
• Someone who wants to base their tax affairs in Cyprus without committing to spending most of the year there.
• A director, consultant, or business owner who can establish a genuine Cyprus link (a company, a job, or an office) and maintain a home there.

It applies to individuals regardless of nationality — the rule turns on days, ties, and housing, not on your citizenship or visa.

The requirements — and why the rule exists

Under the definition of “resident of the Republic” in section 2 of the Income Tax Law, as replaced with effect from 1 January 2026, you qualify under the 60-day rule if, in the tax (calendar) year, you meet all of the following:

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

For tax years up to 2025 there was a further condition: that you were not tax resident in any other state. The 2026 reform removed it. Being claimed as resident by another country no longer shuts you out of the rule; where two countries both treat you as resident, the applicable double tax treaty decides.

Why it exists: the standard 183-day test excludes people who genuinely live nowhere in particular — those who spend a few months here and a few months there. Cyprus introduced the 60-day rule in 2017 to give such people a way to anchor their tax residency, provided they build a real connection to the country (a home plus a business, job, or office) rather than just passing through.

Counting the days

Cyprus counts days on a calendar-year total. The statutory rules for arrival and departure days are:

1. 1The day you arrive in Cyprus counts as a day in Cyprus.
2. 2The day you leave Cyprus counts as a day outside Cyprus.
3. 3Arriving and leaving on the same day counts as one day in Cyprus.
4. 4Leaving and returning on the same day counts as one day outside Cyprus.

Add up every qualifying day between 1 January and 31 December. Reaching 60 days in the year satisfies the day-count part of the test — but the other conditions still have to hold. And you are really running two counts at once: your Cyprus days (aiming for 60+) and your days in every other country (each must stay at or under 183). The free 60-day rule checker walks through the conditions, and the 183-day calculator totals days per country from your trip dates.

Bounded's Cyprus 60-day counter applies these four rules to your logged days: a departure day does not count toward the 60, and a day trip out of Cyprus and back counts as a day away.

What the non-dom status is actually worth

The 60-day rule is popular because of what it unlocks: Cyprus tax residency combined with non-domiciled status. Someone whose domicile of origin is outside Cyprus is treated as non-domiciled for Special Defence Contribution purposes unless they have been Cyprus tax resident for at least 17 of the last 20 years, and for such residents:

• Dividends and interest are free of the Special Defence Contribution — in practice no Cyprus SDC on most passive dividend and interest income (a GHS health contribution still applies, capped).
• Gains on securities are generally not taxed. Cyprus capital gains tax targets Cyprus real estate (including unlisted shares in companies that own it), so profits from selling most shares, bonds and similar securities are outside it — for every resident, not only non-doms.
• Employment incentives. First employment in Cyprus can qualify for a 50% income-tax exemption on remuneration above the statutory threshold, for an extended period.
• The clock runs for 17 years — after 17 years of Cyprus residence within a 20-year span you become deemed domiciled and the SDC exemptions fall away. Since 2026 the law offers deemed-domiciled individuals an optional alternative: a fixed SDC payment of €250,000 covering a five-year period (€50,000 a year, whatever the income), which can be elected for up to two periods.

Residency under the 60-day rule and non-dom status are separate determinations — the rule opens the door, but the non-dom conditions are assessed on their own.

Claiming it in practice

1. 1Register with the Cyprus Tax Department and obtain a Tax Identification Number.
2. 2Put the substance in place early in the year: the rental contract or purchase of a home, and the employment, business, or directorship of a Cyprus tax-resident company — and keep it running to year-end.
3. 3Log your days as you travel — Cyprus days toward the 60, and days in each other country against their 183-day ceilings.
4. 4After year-end (or during the year, for treaty purposes), request a Tax Residency Certificate, supported by travel records, the housing contract, and the employment or company documents.
5. 5File a Cyprus tax return as a resident and, if eligible, claim non-dom treatment for SDC purposes.

The evidentiary burden is the part people underestimate: the Tax Department can ask you to prove the 60 days and that no other country reached 184 days. Boarding passes, entry stamps, and a contemporaneous day log carry the application — see how tax residency certificates work for what authorities typically ask for.

Examples

Example 1 — qualifies under the 60-day rule

You spend 75 days in Cyprus, rent an apartment there all year, and are a director of a Cyprus company throughout the year. You have no more than 183 days in any other country. You meet every condition, so you are a Cyprus tax resident under the 60-day rule.

Example 2 — enough days, but no ties

You spend 90 days in Cyprus on holiday but have no Cyprus home, no job, no business, and no office there. You clear the day count, but fail the permanent-home and business/employment/office conditions — so you do not qualify under the 60-day rule.

Example 3 — too long in one other country

You meet every Cyprus condition, but you also spent 200 days in one other country. That breaks the 183-day ceiling on any other single state, so the 60-day rule is unavailable for that year.

Example 4 — claimed by another country, still eligible

In 2026 you meet every Cyprus condition and spend 150 days in Portugal, where you also keep a flat that makes you resident under Portuguese rules. Before 2026 that would have ruled out the 60-day rule. Now you are Cyprus resident under it, and the Cyprus–Portugal tax treaty decides which country has the primary claim.

Exceptions & edge cases

• The link ending mid-year. If your Cyprus business, employment, or office is terminated during the year, you do not meet that condition for the year, so the 60-day route fails for that year.
• The standard 183-day rule still applies. If you spend more than 183 days in Cyprus, you are tax resident regardless of the other conditions — the 60-day rule simply isn't needed.
• Non-dom status is separate. Being tax resident under the 60-day rule lets you claim non-domiciled benefits (such as exemption from the Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest), but non-dom status has its own conditions and is not automatic.
• Dual residence goes to the treaty. Another country may still treat you as resident under its own rules. That no longer disqualifies you in Cyprus, but it can mean the treaty tie-breaker assigns your treaty residence elsewhere.
• Earlier years. For 2025 and before, the extra condition that you were not tax resident in any other state still applies to those years.

Common misconceptions

• "60 days is all it takes." False — the day count is one of four conditions. Without the home, the Cyprus link and staying at or under 183 days in every other country, you don't qualify.
• "It gives me the non-dom tax breaks by itself." Residency and non-dom status are two different things; the rule opens the door to non-dom benefits but doesn't grant them automatically.
• "I must not be tax resident anywhere else." That was true up to 2025. From 2026 the condition is gone; the 183-day ceiling on any other single country remains.
• "The days can be spread anywhere in a rolling 12 months." The count is over the calendar year, 1 January to 31 December.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Gov.cy Tax For All — Φορολογική Μεταρρύθμιση 2026 (Tax Reform 2026: guides and FAQs for individuals)
• CyLaw — Law 244(I)/2025, Income Tax (Amending) (No. 4) Law 2025 (Gazette No. 5070, 31.12.2025), s. 2: new definition of "resident of the Republic"; s. 25: in force 1 January 2026
• CyLaw — Law 245(I)/2025, Special Defence Contribution (Amending) (No. 4) Law 2025: deemed domicile (17 of 20 years) and new s. 3D lump-sum option