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Leave Switzerland's wealth tax behind.

Switzerland doesn't tax you for leaving, and Zug taxes company profit at just 11.8%. Cyprus wins on dividends and on the yearly wealth tax. The catch is your Swiss company. Run it from abroad and Switzerland taxes its growth in value.

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The gap opens at the dividend.

Zug taxes company profit less than Cyprus does. The difference comes when you take the money out. Move the slider to your own profit.

€200,000
In Switzerland
Corporate tax
−€23,600
Tax on dividends
−€38,808
You keep
€137,592
In Cyprus
Corporate tax
−€30,000
Health contribution (GeSY)
−€4,505
You keep
€165,495

More in your pocket+€27,903every year

More in your pocket +€27,903 every year

Switzerland, modelled on canton Zug: 11.8% total tax on company profit, as the canton states it, then 22% on dividends. That 22% is our own arithmetic for a holding of 10% or more, with 70% of the dividend taxed federally and 50% in Zug, and it leaves out the yearly wealth tax.

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 Switzerland still charges.

Switzerland lets you go. Your company and your pension are another matter. Settle these with a Swiss adviser before you move.

  • No exit tax on you

    Your Swiss tax ends on the day you leave, and your shares aren't treated as sold. Gains on private shares are already tax-free in Switzerland, so Cyprus adds nothing there. Restructuring your shares just before you leave can still be taxed as income.

  • Your company's growth in value

    Run your GmbH or AG from Cyprus and Switzerland taxes it on its hidden reserves, the growth in value it never paid tax on. That includes goodwill that was never in the accounts, often the largest part for a founder-run company. Get it valued first.

  • Run from Switzerland, taxed in Switzerland

    A company is taxed where it's really run. A Cyprus company run from Switzerland pays Swiss tax on all its profit, from the first franc. So you can't stay in Zug and invoice through Cyprus. You and the decisions both have to move.

  • Up to 15% on dividends from the old company

    Keep the Swiss company and up to 15% of every dividend to you stays in Switzerland, for good. Wind it up and the payout is taxed as income, not as a tax-free gain, with 35% withheld that you can reclaim down to 15%.

  • Voluntary AHV is closed to you

    You can't pay into the Swiss state pension (AHV) voluntarily from Cyprus, because Cyprus is in the EU. What you've built up stays yours. Your pension fund (Pensionskasse) needs Swiss advice of its own before you go.

  • A full year's rate on a short year

    Your Swiss tax ends on the day you leave, but your last part-year is taxed at the rate for a full year's income. A short, well-paid final year costs more than you'd expect.

Where Cyprus pulls ahead.

No yearly tax on what your shares are worth, and no tax on dividends for 17 years with non-dom status.

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.
  • Switzerland isn't in the EU, but Swiss citizens have the same free movement as EU citizens. You register your residence with the Yellow Slip, the registration certificate for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens staying in Cyprus more than three months. We file it with you, and no lawyer is needed.
  • Running your own Cyprus company can count towards the 60-day rule. Done for real, it also shows that the company is run from Cyprus.
  • Under the tax treaty between Switzerland and Cyprus, interest and royalties are taxed only where you live. Cyprus takes no tax at source on dividends, interest or royalties.
  • A Swiss online shop deals with the EU from outside, with customs and import VAT. A Cyprus company sells inside the EU, with one VAT return for consumer sales.

Your move, step by step.

The timings depend on your case. Start with the company you already have.

Book a free call
  1. First

    Work out the Swiss side

    A Swiss tax adviser works out what moving costs your company, plans the timing of any wind-up and asks for your AHV record. Your pension fund gets its own advice. 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 file your Yellow Slip with you to register your residence. You rent or buy the Cyprus home the 60-day rule needs.

  4. Month 2 to 4

    Deregister at your commune

    Deregister in person and collect your certificate of origin (Heimatschein). Move your health insurance to Cyprus. Deregistering only records the move. Your life has to really be in Cyprus.

  5. Month 3 to 6

    Run the company from Cyprus

    Take the company's decisions in Cyprus and record them here, while your Swiss adviser winds down or restructures the Swiss company.

  6. From month 12We 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.

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 Swiss founders want to know.

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

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Not personally. Your Swiss tax simply ends on the day you leave, and your shares aren't treated as sold. Your company is different. If you run it from Cyprus, Switzerland taxes its hidden reserves, the growth in value it never paid tax on, including goodwill that never appeared in the accounts.

On the day you leave, once you've really moved. You deregister in person at your commune, but that only records the move. Your last part-year is taxed at the rate for a full year's income, so a short, well-paid final year costs more than it looks.

Not at company level. Zug taxes company profit at 11.8% in total, below Cyprus's 15%. The gap opens when you take the money out. With non-dom status you pay only the 2.65% health contribution on dividends, while a Swiss shareholder pays income tax on part of every dividend. A company in the city of Zürich pays about 19.6%, so there Cyprus is cheaper at both levels.

It depends on your canton, your commune and what your shares are worth, and it's due every year, whether the company pays out or not. In Zug, a single founder with CHF 4 million of net assets has a basic cantonal tax of about CHF 5,805 a year, after an allowance of CHF 204,000. A married couple's allowance is CHF 408,000. The canton, commune and church then each charge their own multiple of that figure. Cyprus has no wealth tax.

You have three options, and each costs something. Run it from Cyprus and Switzerland taxes its hidden reserves. Keep real management in Switzerland and up to 15% of every dividend to you stays there. Wind it up and the payout is taxed as income, with the company's hidden reserves taxed too. Whether a wind-up happens before or after you leave changes the bill, so plan the timing with your Swiss adviser first.

Your AHV stays yours, but you can't keep paying in voluntarily, because Cyprus is in the EU. Your years in both countries count together under EU rules. You no longer need Swiss health insurance, because you insure in Cyprus. Your pension fund is a separate question. Get Swiss advice on it before you go.

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.

For most founders, nothing changes. Zug and Zürich don't tax what your spouse and children inherit, and Cyprus has no inheritance tax. The difference shows if you leave money to siblings, an unmarried partner in Zürich or someone unrelated. Swiss tax on that can be high, and in Cyprus there's none.

No. We build and run the Cyprus side. For your company's hidden reserves, your pension fund and anything else on the Swiss side, talk to a Swiss 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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