Cyprus property taxes

A person who buys or builds a new home, before anyone has lived in it, to use as their main and permanent residence in Cyprus can apply for VAT at 5% instead of 19%. The 5% applies to the first 130 sq m of buildable area, up to a value of €350,000. VAT on the rest of the price is at the standard 19% rate. Two limits decide whether the 5% applies at all:

• The total value of the transaction does not exceed €475,000.
• The total buildable area of the home does not exceed 190 sq m.

The Stamp Duty Laws of 1963 to 2025 were repealed by Law 239(I)/2025 from 1 January 2026, so a contract signed from that date pays no stamp duty. A document signed by at least one party by 31 December 2025 is still subject to stamp duty under the old law.

For those contracts, the duty is charged on the contract value. A contract stamped within 30 days of its first signature paid the duty alone. Under the old law, a document stamped more than six months after its first signature pays a penalty on top: where the duty is over €35, €70 plus €0.20 for each euro of duty above €35. Every document signed by 31 December 2025 is now past that point. The rates are:

• contracts with a value of up to €5,000 do not pay stamp duty;
• contracts between €5,001 and €170,000 pay €1.50 for every €1,000 or part of €1,000;
• contracts over €170,000 pay €2 for every €1,000 or part of €1,000, up to a maximum total stamp duty of €20,000.

Since 1 April 2026, a document signed by 31 December 2025 that still needs stamping goes through these steps. Anyone with a tax identification number and an active TFA account can follow them, whether or not they signed the document:

1. Submit the document through the Tax For All (TFA) portal.
2. Wait for the Tax Department to examine it.
3. Pay the duty it sets.
4. Take the original document to the district office of the Tax Department, where it is stamped.

Read more about Stamp Duty in Cyprus.

Transfer fees are paid when ownership is transferred. The buyer pays them to the Department of Lands and Surveys of the Ministry of the Interior at the transfer.

How the fee is assessed

On a sale, other than from a parent to a child, the fee is charged on the sale price. Where the Director of the department is not satisfied that the declared price is the market value at the date of the transfer declaration, or at the date of the contract of sale as the Director accepts it, he may charge the fee on the market value.

A buyer who disagrees with that first assessment still pays it and reserves his rights at once. He may then send the Director written representations within 45 days of the acceptance of the transfer declaration.

The fee the Director sets after his final valuation can be challenged in court under section 80 of the Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) Law, Cap. 224, and any balance is due within two months of notice of his decision, with or without an appeal.

Rates and exemptions

The rates are as follows:

• For the first €85,000, it is 3%.
• From €85,001 to €170,000, it is 5%.
• Over €170,000, it is 8%.

No transfer fee is charged when VAT is charged on the same sale of the same property, on a certificate from the VAT Department. Where the Director is not satisfied that the declared price on which VAT was charged is the market value at the date the sale was agreed, he may still charge the fee on the market value, less the fee that would have been due on the declared price.

Where the fee is charged, it is cut by 50%, except on property the seller acquired through a forced sale by a lender under Parts VI and VIA of the Transfer and Mortgage Law.

Read more about Transfer Fees in Cyprus.

To illustrate how the progressive rates and the 50% reduction apply, the following example breaks down the fees for a property valued at €250,000:

• First €85,000 at 3% = €2,550
• Next €85,000 (€85,001 to €170,000) at 5% = €4,250
• Remaining €80,000 (over €170,000) at 8% = €6,400
• Total Fee: €13,200
• After 50% Reduction: €6,600

Capital gains tax is a tax paid by the property seller on the profit from the sale. It is the profit that is taxed, not the whole amount.

To calculate the taxable amount, you deduct from the sale price the property's value on 1 January 1980, as fixed by the Department of Lands and Surveys, adjusted for inflation. The owner can choose its market value on 14 July 1974 instead. For a property acquired later, its original cost takes the place of that value, adjusted for inflation in the same way, as tax advisers such as PwC describe the calculation.

Other spending made wholly and only to earn the gain after 1 January 1980, such as additions and improvements, is deductible too, adjusted for inflation, where it was not already deducted for income tax. The CGT rate is 20%.

Lifetime allowances

An individual can set a lifetime allowance against the gain: €30,000 in general, or €150,000 on the sale of a main home they used only as their own residence for a total of at least five years. A person gets one of the two, whichever is higher, so the total cannot exceed €150,000.

For the main home, the share of the gain from land above one and a half decares is taxed. On a second or later sale of a main home, the main home allowance needs a total of at least 10 years in which the owner used it only as their own residence. No main home allowance applies once a year has passed since the owner stopped living there.

What CGT is charged on

Property on which CGT is paid is:

• immovable property in the Republic,
• shares in companies that own immovable property in the Republic,
• shares in companies that participate in a company or companies that own immovable property in the Republic (upon conditions)
• agreements to sell property in the Republic.

Filing and payment

The seller files a return and pays the tax within one month of the disposal, and in any case before the transfer. Signing a sale agreement already counts as a disposal. Where the agreement sets payment in instalments, the tax is paid with interest in proportion to each instalment.

Read more about Capital Gains Tax in Cyprus.

Before buying, a buyer can check the property with these documents:

• Copy of the title deeds: €10.
• Search certificate from the Department of Lands and Surveys: the version that shows encumbrances and prohibitions costs €15 for one district or €30 for all districts. The simple version costs €10 or €20. A person who is not the owner must show they are an interested person under Article 51A of the Immovable Property Law, Cap. 224.

For more details, please read our Buying property guide.

To sell property in Cyprus, the transfer at the District Land Office needs these certificates, among other documents:

• Tax clearance certificate, form N313, completed and stamped by the Tax Department, for immovable property tax, capital gains tax and the 0.4% levy for the Central Agency for Equal Distribution of Burdens
• Certificate that municipal taxes are paid, from the municipality or community council where the property is
• Certificate that sewerage fees are paid, from the District Local Government Organisation
• Certificate that water supply fees are paid, from the District Local Government Organisation or the community council, or a certificate that the property is outside the water supply area

For an apartment, the buyer can ask the seller for a statement from the management committee that the communal fees are paid. The Land Office does not require it.

You will agree on the relevant fee beforehand with your:

• Lawyer
• Property evaluator
• Real estate agent (the buyer does not pay the real estate agent; the seller does).

Owners pay local taxes and fees, and a sale needs a certificate that each is paid. The amounts are set locally, so ask the authority that collects them:

• Municipal or community taxes: paid to the municipality or community council where the property is.
• Sewerage and water supply fees: paid to the District Local Government Organisation, or for water to the community council in some areas.

A property management company oversees, manages, and maintains a property on behalf of the owner. Such services are helpful because they include handling tenant problems and complaints and taking care of compliance with legal and safety regulations.

Property maintenance fees depend on the type and size of the property and the services included. If you rent out the property, a typical arrangement is for the maintenance fee to be 10% of the rental value.

Where other laws set requirements for the business, the council asks for the documents that prove them, as long as it published those requirements at least one month before the application. Examples:

• a certificate of suitability from the Cyprus Fire Service;
• a certificate of suitability from the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services;
• for restaurants, cafes, bars and other catering and entertainment premises, an operating licence from the Deputy Ministry of Tourism;
• a health certificate from the municipal or community council.

Catering premises

Inside a municipality, premises larger than 50 sq m used as a restaurant, cafe, bar, snack bar or similar place serving food or drink need a licence under article 55 of the Municipalities Law in place of the general one. So do premises used for shows or public events, and amusement arcades, whatever their size.

The council grants it only once the applicant shows the building permit and certificates from the municipal engineer, the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services, the Fire Service and the municipal health service. A tenant shows the lease too. The licence runs for a set period of up to three years.

Every restaurant, cafe, bar or snack bar, whatever its size, needs an operating licence from the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, valid for three years. A hotel or other tourist accommodation needs one too.