The Cyprus Tax Guide 2026
Ten pages: the reform in one table, the non-dom regime, the domicile test people get wrong, worked numbers and the honest country comparison. Free, instantly.
The comparison Greek-speaking movers actually agonise over. Same language, same sea, same food, and two tax systems that could hardly be less alike in how they treat an incoming resident.
Choose Greece if you want scale and variety: a mainland, thousands of islands, a deeper cultural life, better direct flight connections and a property market with far more of everything. Its non-dom regime is a flat €100,000 a year on all foreign income, which is superb for the genuinely wealthy and pointless for everyone else.
Choose Cyprus if the structure has to work at ordinary founder-level numbers. Corporate tax is 15% against 22%, dividends to a non-dom carry no Special Defence Contribution against Greece's 5%, there is no annual property tax and no inheritance tax, and the professional layer runs in English on a common law footing. No six-figure entry fee is required to access any of it.
The honest split: Greece is the better country to live in for most people and Cyprus is the better country to be taxed in for most people. Which matters more is not a question anyone else can answer for you.
| Cyprus | Greece | |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax | 15% | 22% |
| Tax on dividends to a resident | 0% for non-doms, GESY capped at €4,770 | 5% withholding |
| Non-dom regime | 0% SDC for 17 years, no entry fee | €100,000 flat on foreign income, plus €20,000 per family member |
| Top personal income rate | 35% above €72,000 | 44% above €60,000 |
| Gains on shares | Exempt | Taxed, with reliefs |
| Annual property tax | None since 2017 | ENFIA, annually |
| Inheritance tax | None since 2000 | Applies, by class and value |
| Residency by investment | €300,000 plus VAT | From €250,000, by location and property type |
| Language of the professional layer | English, common law system | Greek, civil law system |
Illustrative 2026 figures. Greece cut its mid-brackets for 2026 and moved the 44% threshold to €60,000. The two non-dom regimes are not comparable line for line: Greece charges a flat fee that replaces tax on foreign income entirely, while Cyprus exempts specific categories with no fee, so the better answer flips depending on the size and shape of your income.
Choose Greece if you want scale and variety: a mainland, thousands of islands, a deeper cultural life, better direct flight connections and a property market with far more of everything. Its non-dom regime is a flat €100,000 a year on all foreign income, which is superb for the genuinely wealthy and pointless for everyone else.
A mainland, a real domestic economy, thousands of islands and a property market with orders of magnitude more choice. Cyprus is one island roughly the size of a large county, and after a few years that is either cosy or confining.
€100,000 a year covering all foreign-sourced income is extraordinary value once foreign income runs into the millions, because the rate falls the more you earn. Below roughly a million of foreign income it stops making sense, and that is where most incoming founders actually sit.
Athens is a genuine European hub with direct flights almost everywhere. The cultural depth, the food scene and the sheer number of places to go are not things Cyprus competes with, and pretending otherwise would be silly.
15% corporate against 22%, and no Special Defence Contribution on a non-dom's dividends against a 5% Greek withholding. For a founder taking a few hundred thousand a year in distributions, that gap compounds quietly and needs no minimum wealth to access.
Cyprus abolished its national immovable property tax in 2017 and its inheritance tax in 2000. Greece charges ENFIA every year on property and taxes inheritance by class and value. Over a long hold, that is a structural difference rather than a rate difference.
Cyprus inherited a common law system and runs its courts, contracts and banking in English. For anyone arriving without Greek, the professional layer in Cyprus is simply easier to operate in than the Greek civil law system, notwithstanding that both countries speak Greek socially.
This is arithmetic, not preference. Greece's €100,000 is fixed regardless of income, so it only wins above the point where your Cyprus liability would exceed it. For most incoming founders and remote professionals that point is a long way above what they actually earn, and Cyprus wins comfortably. For someone with substantial passive foreign income, Greece can win outright.
Once the tax gap is smaller than you expected, the decision stops being financial. People who want a bigger country with more going on choose Greece and are usually right. People who want the structure to be simple and cheap choose Cyprus and are also usually right.
Ten pages: the reform in one table, the non-dom regime, the domicile test people get wrong, worked numbers and the honest country comparison. Free, instantly.
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Checked against primary legislation and official publications on 5 August 2026.
A comparison is only as current as its weakest side. Cyprus figures here are legislated and sourced above, but the other jurisdiction's rules move on their own timetable and headline rates rarely capture the whole position once local surcharges, social contributions and programme conditions are counted. Use this to frame the question, then take advice on both sides before acting. This page is general information, not tax, legal or immigration advice.