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From Spain to Cyprus, without the myths.

A Cyprus company pays 15%, and with non-dom status you pay no tax on dividends. Cyprus isn't on Spain's blacklist, so the five-year rule for Spanish citizens doesn't follow you. The exit tax can, so have a Spanish tax adviser price it first.

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  • Fixed prices
  • Eligibility checked before you pay
  • One team for the Cyprus side
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Count what you keep.

Spain takes a quarter of the company's profit, then taxes the dividend on the savings scale. Move the slider to your own profit.

€200,000
In Spain
Corporate tax
−€50,000
Tax on dividends
−€40,500
You keep
€109,500
In Cyprus
Corporate tax
−€30,000
Health contribution (GeSY)
−€4,505
You keep
€165,495

More in your pocket+€55,995every year

More in your pocket +€55,995 every year

Spain: 25% corporate tax, then 27% on dividends, the savings-scale rate between €200,000 and €300,000. The scale runs from 19% to 30%. The wealth tax and the solidarity tax on large fortunes can come on top every year and aren't counted here.

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 Spain still asks of you.

Two common fears don't apply to Cyprus. The exit tax and the residence tests do. Settle these with a Spanish adviser before anything is filed.

  • No five-year rule

    Spain keeps taxing its citizens for five years after a move to a country on its blacklist. Cyprus isn't on that list, so your Spanish residence ends in the normal way.

  • Exit tax on your shares

    Spain taxes the gain on your shares as if you sold them when you leave, at up to 30%. It applies if you lived in Spain ten of the last fifteen years and your shares are worth over €4m, or over €1m for a stake above 25%.

  • Your S.L. counts at five times profit

    For the exit tax, Spain values an unlisted S.L. at its book value or five times its average profit over three years, whichever is higher. Average €200,000 of profit and it's worth €1m, right on the line for a stake above 25%.

  • Deferred for ten years, then gone

    For a move to Cyprus you can defer the tax by filing modelo 113 on time, and it lapses after ten years. It falls due if you sell or give away the shares, leave the EU or EEA, or fail to keep the form up to date.

  • Your family's home counts

    Spain presumes you're still resident while your spouse and minor children live there. Move in September while the family finishes the school year, and you spend a year proving you left. Move together if you can, or plan the gap with your adviser.

  • The company must be run from Cyprus

    A company is taxed where it's really run, so decisions taken in Málaga make a Cyprus company Spanish. While you live in Spain, rules that tax a foreign company's profit at home can also reach you. Real people and decisions in Cyprus protect you.

What Cyprus doesn't charge.

One 15% rate, dividends free of tax for 17 years with non-dom status, and no tax on what you own.

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 Spanish citizen you're an EU citizen, so you register with the Yellow Slip, which we file with you. No visa, no permit.
  • Running your own Cyprus company counts towards the 60-day rule, and it helps show Spain that the company is really run from Cyprus.
  • Under the tax treaty, once you live in Cyprus a later share sale is taxed only here, unless over half the company's value is Spanish property.
  • Cyprus has no wealth tax, so nothing is due each year on what you own. For a founder taxed in Spain on their wealth, that alone can decide the move.

The move, in sequence.

Every move runs at its own pace. Read the months as an order, not as dates.

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  1. First

    Value the S.L. and price the exit

    A Spanish tax adviser checks whether the exit tax reaches your shares and settles the structure with you. We can recommend one if you need it. Plan when your family moves too, because it decides when your Spanish residence ends.

  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 rent or buy the Cyprus home the 60-day rule needs and become a director of your Cyprus company.

  4. Month 3 to 6

    Move the running of the business

    Move pricing, hiring, suppliers and spending approvals to Cyprus, because that's where Spain looks to see who runs the company. Your adviser deals with the S.L.

  5. First filing season

    File the Spanish forms

    If the exit tax applies, your adviser files modelo 113 before its deadline to defer it. They also file the returns for foreign assets and crypto over €50,000 (modelo 720 and 721) for any year you were still resident.

  6. First filing seasonWe do this

    Tax residency and non-dom

    We register your Cyprus tax residency and non-dom status, then keep your day counts and Cyprus filings in order.

  7. Years 1 to 10

    Keep the deferral alive

    Keep the modelo 113 details current, including any new address. Before you sell the shares or move outside the EU or EEA, ask your adviser what it does to the deferred tax.

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 Spanish founders ask us.

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

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Only if you lived in Spain ten of the last fifteen years and your shares are worth over €4m in total, or over €1m for a stake above 25%. Spain values an unlisted S.L. at five times its average profit if that's higher than its book value. For a move to Cyprus you can defer the tax with modelo 113. It lapses after ten years if you keep the shares and stay in the EU or EEA.

No. Spain keeps taxing its citizens for five years only after a move to a country on its blacklist. Cyprus isn't on the current list. It was on an old 1991 list, which much Spanish advice still works from. Your residence ends in the normal way, and a Cyprus tax residency certificate is the proof Spain asks for.

When none of three tests applies. You spend no more than 183 days a year in Spain. Your main business and economic interests aren't there, directly or through companies. And your spouse and minor children don't live there, because Spain presumes you're resident while they do. You can prove otherwise, but the burden is on you.

No. A company is taxed where it's really run, so a Cyprus company managed from Spain pays Spanish corporate tax. While you live in Spain, rules that tax a foreign company's profit at home can also reach you if you and your family together own half or more. Real people and decisions in Cyprus are the defence.

It stays Spanish and keeps paying Spanish corporate tax after you leave. Its dividends to you bear up to 5% Spanish withholding, while a Cyprus holding company with 10% or more can receive them at 0%. Keeping it running can also keep your economic interests in Spain. And if your exit tax is deferred, selling the shares within ten years makes it payable. Plan the order with your adviser.

Not right now. While Spain's solidarity tax on large fortunes is in force, Madrid's 100% wealth tax relief doesn't apply. You only get relief for the difference between the two taxes, so the money is collected either way. Andalucía works the same way. Once your assets pass €2m you must also file a wealth tax return, even if nothing is due.

EU rules decide which country's system you belong to, and you're in one at a time. Your Spanish contributions still count towards your pension, so they aren't lost. If you're self-employed (autónomo) and really move your work, you leave the Spanish scheme and join Cyprus's. Ask Spain's social security office before you go, while you still have a Spanish address.

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, and no more than 183 days in any other country. Running your own Cyprus company can count as the business. You can visit Spain, as long as you keep clear of its three residence tests.

No. We build and run the Cyprus side. Settle the exit tax, modelo 113, the wealth tax and anything else in Spain with a Spanish 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

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Your move, one partner.

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

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