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From Hungary to Cyprus, for the right reasons.

Hungary's 9% beats Cyprus's 15% for the company, so the gain is in what you keep as a shareholder with non-dom status. Hungarian citizenship alone keeps you tax resident, so the move is built around the tax treaty.

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  • Fixed prices
  • Eligibility checked before you pay
  • One team for the Cyprus side
Olvassa el magyarul

Where the difference really is.

The company pays less in Hungary. You, the shareholder, pay more. Set the slider to your own profit.

€200,000
In Hungary
Corporate tax
−€18,000
Tax on dividends
−€27,300
You keep
€154,700
In Cyprus
Corporate tax
−€30,000
Health contribution (GeSY)
−€4,505
You keep
€165,495

More in your pocket+€10,795every year

More in your pocket +€10,795 every year

Hungary: 9% corporate tax, then 15% personal income tax on dividends. The 13% social contribution tax (szocho) also applies until your income reaches 24 times the minimum wage, HUF 7,747,200 in 2026. The comparison leaves it out.

Headline rates for a founder who takes the profit out as dividends and has become Cyprus tax resident with non-dom status. Your own figures will differ. This is an illustration, not tax advice.

What Hungary holds on to.

Hungary claims its citizens wherever they live, and it taxes a company that moves out. Settle these with a Hungarian tax adviser before anything is filed.

  • Citizenship keeps you resident

    Hungary treats its citizens as tax resident wherever they live, even after years abroad. Only dual citizens with no registered Hungarian address are left out. What moves you out is the tax treaty, once Cyprus counts you as resident too.

  • Keep the flat, keep the home

    The treaty first asks where your permanent home is. Hungary says a stay abroad doesn't change it, even a long one. Keep the Budapest flat and that question goes Hungary's way. Give it up, or truly move your family and your life.

  • Moving the company is taxed

    If your Hungarian company moves its management to Cyprus, Hungary taxes the gap between its assets' market value and their book value, at 9%. In some cases you can pay in five instalments. A new Cyprus company formed alongside isn't caught.

  • The company must be run from Cyprus

    A foreign company run from Hungary pays Hungarian tax on all its profit. Hold board meetings, take decisions and sign contracts in Cyprus, and keep records that show it.

  • A Cyprus company can end KIVA

    KIVA, the 10% small business tax that replaces corporate tax and szocho, ends by law once your company owns a controlled foreign company. A Cyprus subsidiary can count. It also ends above 200 staff or HUF 12 billion of revenue. Check before you form anything.

  • Szocho stops, and the year splits

    Once you're insured in Cyprus and hold the certificate to prove it, you pay no Hungarian szocho. Hungary also accepts a change of residence mid-year. After that date, your foreign income isn't taxed in Hungary at all.

What Cyprus does better.

The difference sits with you, not the company. With non-dom status, your dividends are free of tax for 17 years.

Corporate tax
15%
One flat rate, with no local surcharges.
Tax on dividends
0%
As a non-dom, for up to 17 years.
Days a year for tax residency
60
Under the 60-day rule, with a home and a business here.
Wealth or inheritance tax
0
Cyprus has neither.
  • As a Hungarian citizen you're an EU citizen, so you don't need a visa. You register with the Yellow Slip, and we file it with you.
  • Since 2026 the 60-day rule no longer asks you to prove you're resident nowhere else. You meet the Cyprus test and let the treaty decide.
  • The 60-day rule needs a Cyprus business or job held all year, so time the company and your departure together.
  • With the IP Box, qualifying income pays an effective 3%. It's the one route below Hungary's 9%, and it needs a real move.

How you get there.

Your KIVA position and how fast your Hungarian ties come apart set the pace.

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  1. Month 0

    Check KIVA and the exit charge

    Your Hungarian tax adviser checks whether you're on KIVA and whether a Cyprus company would end it. If your company's management is moving, they price the exit charge. We can recommend an adviser if you need one.

  2. Month 1We do this

    Form the Cyprus company

    We register it with tax, VAT and VIES. Your books open the day you order.

  3. Month 1 to 3We do this

    Yellow Slip and a home

    We apply for your Yellow Slip with you. You take a Cyprus home and join Cyprus social insurance, so you get the certificate that ends szocho.

  4. Month 3 to 6

    Move the management

    Hold board meetings, decide and sign contracts in Cyprus. Your Hungarian adviser winds down your permanent home in Hungary, with dates and documents.

  5. Change of residence

    Set a real date

    Income before the date is Hungarian. Foreign income after it is outside Hungarian tax. Pick a date your paperwork supports, not one chosen later.

  6. The next springWe do this

    Returns on both sides

    Your adviser files the Hungarian return for the split year. We prepare your first Cyprus corporate return and register your tax residency and non-dom status.

The Cyprus side, done for you.

Fixed prices, excl. VAT, agreed before you start. Government fees are charged at cost, on top of our fee, once your application is approved.

What Hungarian founders ask first.

Still unsure? Talk to a person on WhatsApp, or book a free call below.

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Yes, for the company. Hungary charges 9%, the lowest rate in the EU, and Cyprus charges 15% from 2026, not the 12.5% many Hungarian articles still quote. Hungary's local business tax is charged on turnover, not profit, so it's due even in a thin year. If only the company's tax matters to you, stay in Hungary.

Moving yourself doesn't trigger Hungary's exit charge, which is a company tax. It applies when a company moves its management abroad, at 9% on the gap between its assets' market value and book value. A new Cyprus company formed alongside isn't caught. The bigger issue is that, as a citizen, you stay Hungarian resident until the treaty says otherwise.

Not by moving alone. Hungary counts its citizens as resident wherever they live, unless they're dual citizens with no registered Hungarian address. Once Cyprus counts you as resident too, the tax treaty decides. It looks first at where your permanent home is, then at where your life is centred. Hungary accepts a change mid-year, so set a date your paperwork supports.

You can, but it works against you. Hungary says your permanent home doesn't change during a stay abroad, even a long one. Keep the flat as a home you return to and the treaty's first test goes Hungary's way. Rent it out on a short lease, keep the family there and call Cyprus a trial, and nothing has changed.

Rarely on the rate. Their low-tax test is measured against Hungary's own 9%, and Cyprus at 15% is above it. What still matters is where the real work and decisions happen, and reliefs such as the IP Box that push the tax actually paid far below 15%. And if your Hungarian company is on KIVA, owning a controlled foreign company ends KIVA.

13%, but only until your income from work plus dividends and similar income reaches 24 times the minimum wage, HUF 7,747,200 for 2026. Above that, each extra forint of dividend costs 15%, not 28%. Once you're insured in Cyprus and hold the certificate, no szocho is due. Cyprus health cover costs 2.65% of income up to €180,000.

No. Under the 60-day rule you can be Cyprus tax resident with 60 days a year here, a home you rent or own, a business or job in Cyprus held all year, and no more than 183 days in any other country. Since 2026 you don't have to prove you're resident nowhere else, which matters because Hungary keeps claiming its citizens.

Maybe. KIVA charges 10% on a base made mostly of payouts and wages, with szocho already inside it. A payroll-heavy company on KIVA would swap that for 15% corporate tax plus Cyprus employer contributions on the same wages, and lose KIVA once it owns a controlled foreign company. Price the KIVA position before you plan a move.

No. We build and run the Cyprus side. Settle the exit charge, your residency and anything else in Hungary with a Hungarian tax adviser. We can recommend one if you need it.

Plan your move with us.

Tell us what you own and when you'd like to move. We'll tell you what applies, what it costs, and what to do first.

  • Which rules at home affect you
  • The order to do things in
  • A fixed price for the Cyprus side

30 minutes, by video, free

Moving from somewhere else?

All countries

Your move, one partner.

We form your company, apply for your residency with you and keep your books.

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What can we help with?

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