Recent Tax reform has brought may positive long-awaited changes affecting companies and individuals. Let’s delve in the most substantial ones.
Changes affecting companies:
- Abolition of deemed dividend distribution rule for profits from 2026 onward.
Under the old Cyprus tax regime, if a Cyprus tax-resident company earned profits but did not distribute them as dividends within two years of the end of the tax year, a portion of those undistributed profits—generally 70%—was “deemed” to have been distributed to the shareholders. That deemed distribution was then taxed at the Special Defence Contribution (SDC) rate of 17 % at the shareholder level—even if no actual dividend was paid.
This mechanism often created a tax cost that didn’t reflect commercial reality, especially for companies retaining profits for reinvestment, working capital or business growth.
- Reduction of Special Defence Contribution tax applicable to passive income (dividends) of Cyprus domiciled tax residents to 5%. From 2026 SDC tax is paid only on actual dividend distributions. Non-domiciled individuals and non-residents are exempt. Previously this tax was 17%.
- Increase of corporate tax rate to 15% on profits from 2026 onward.
This is a least awaited yet inevitable change bringing Cyprus in line with global minimum tax reform, known as Pillar Two, that had been initiated by OECD and subsequently endorsed by the EU in December 2022. As per global minimum tax rule the corporate tax of 15% was meant to bind only large-scale multinational enterprises, however Cyprus chose to increase corporate tax for all its legal entities regardless of company size, industry, or turnover.
Personal income tax changes:
Changes of personal income tax scale. The annual tax-free threshold was raised from €19,500 to €22,000.
| Taxable Annual Income (€) | Tax Rate (%) |
| 0 – 22,000 | 0% |
| 22,001 – 32,000 | 20% |
| 32,001 – 42,000 | 25% |
| 42,001 – 72,000 | 30% |
| Over 72,000 | 35% |
Mandatory tax filing for all Cyprus tax residents above 25 years old, even if 0 taxable income is accumulated.
General application:
- Abolition of stamp duty. This duty was a huge financial and time-consuming burden for legal entities and individuals. From now on no need to rush to the tax officer to pay stamp duty for contracts executed after 1 January 2026. Signatures on the contracts will constitute full validity and legality of the documents and cannot be rejected by Cyprus courts as evidence. New rule applies to all the documents as such: contracts of sale for any subject matter for any value, loan agreements, rental agreements, employment contracts requested by migration, personal and corporate guarantees.
- Abolition of Special Defense Contribution tax on rental income. From 2026 property owners who wish to rent it out will pay only income tax on received rentals. Prior to these changes, there was a 3% tax on 75% of gross rental income.
- Restrictions on cash payments for property rentals. From July 2026 rent payments above 500 euro must be made by bank transfer or other recognized electronic methods. This means landlords cannot legally accept large cash rental payments, and tenants cannot legally pay them in cash either. The goal is to make rental income fully traceable to the tax authorities.