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No exit tax. No treaty either.

Turkey takes 25% from a company, then 15% of the dividend. A Cyprus company pays 15%, and with non-dom status you pay no tax on dividends. Leaving costs nothing, but with no tax treaty, the Cyprus side must stand on its own.

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  • Fixed prices
  • Eligibility checked before you pay
  • One team for the Cyprus side
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What you keep, year after year.

A Turkish company pays 25%, then the owner loses 15% of the dividend before their own income tax. Move the slider to your own profit.

€200,000
In Turkey
Corporate tax
−€50,000
Tax on dividends
−€22,500
You keep
€127,500
In Cyprus
Corporate tax
−€30,000
Health contribution (GeSY)
−€4,505
You keep
€165,495

More in your pocket+€37,995every year

More in your pocket +€37,995 every year

Turkey: 25% corporate tax, then 15% dividend withholding, raised from 10% on 22 December 2024, so 36.25% of profit in all. Above a threshold, half the dividend then goes on your income tax return, so the real figure can be higher.

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 to settle before you go.

Turkey charges no exit tax. What costs money is a missed deadline, a company still run from Turkey, or a plan that assumes a treaty.

  • No exit tax

    Turkey doesn't tax your shares or your company when you leave. The small fixed fee paid when you leave the country on a Turkish passport is a travel charge, not a tax on gains.

  • No tax treaty with Cyprus

    Turkey's 93 tax treaties don't include the Republic of Cyprus. So Turkey takes its full tax off dividends, interest and royalties paid to Cyprus, and nothing decides between the two countries if both claim you or your company. Don't build on a treaty that doesn't exist.

  • File 15 days before you fly

    If you leave during the year, your final income tax return is due in the 15 days before you depart, not the following March. Book the filing before you book the flight.

  • The business has to leave too

    Turkish citizens abroad for a business headquartered in Turkey stay taxable there on worldwide income. And a Cyprus company really run from Turkey pays Turkish tax on all its profit. Move the business, and take its decisions in Cyprus.

  • 15% doesn't settle the CFC question

    Turkey's CFC rules tax a foreign company's profit when Turkish residents control half or more, a quarter or more of its income is interest, dividends, rent or royalties, and its tax is under 10% of its accounting profit. A Cyprus holding company with mostly tax-free income can fall under 10%.

  • No social security agreement

    Turkey's social security agreements don't include the Republic of Cyprus, so insurance years in the two countries don't add up. Your Turkish record freezes and a Cyprus one starts from zero. Ask the social security office (SGK) in writing before you go.

Why Cyprus still works.

One flat rate with no minimum tax under it, and no inheritance tax, where Turkey's reaches 10% and its gift tax 30%.

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.
  • Turkey isn't in the EU, so you need the Pink Slip, the temporary residence permit for non-EU citizens, not the Yellow Slip. We check which route fits you and file it with you, and bring in a lawyer for complex cases.
  • Directing your own Cyprus company can count towards the 60-day rule. With no treaty, nothing settles a competing Turkish claim, so end your Turkish residence cleanly.
  • An online shop with a Cyprus company registers for the EU's import VAT scheme directly. A Turkish seller must use an EU intermediary, who shares liability for the VAT.
  • Euro revenue takes the lira out of your pricing. In Turkey, residents mostly can't price contracts with each other in foreign currency.

Your move, step by step.

Turkey's calendar sets the pace. The six-month test runs by calendar year, and the final return is due before you fly.

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  1. First

    Plan the year you leave

    A Turkish tax adviser plans your departure year and the Turkish company's future, and asks SGK in writing about your record. We can recommend one if you need it. You ask your bank how it handles payments to Cyprus.

  2. Month 1We do this

    Form the Cyprus company

    We register it with tax, VAT and VIES, and your books open the day you order. You send the capital through your bank, which reports it within 30 days.

  3. Month 1 to 3We do this

    Apply for your Pink Slip

    Turkey isn't in the EU, so you need the Pink Slip to live in Cyprus. We check which route fits you, prepare the application and file it with you, and bring in a lawyer where the case is complex.

  4. Month 3 to 6

    A home and the decisions

    Rent or buy the Cyprus home the 60-day rule needs. Take and record the company's decisions in Cyprus from the first board meeting, so the business is run from here.

  5. Before you fly

    File the final Turkish return

    Your Turkish adviser files your last return in the 15 days before you leave, and helps you keep, close or restructure the Turkish company.

  6. From month 12We do this

    Tax residency and non-dom

    After your first full calendar year, we register your Cyprus tax residency and non-dom status, then keep the board records, day counts and 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.

Questions Turkish founders ask.

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

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No. Turkey has no exit tax for people or companies, so your shares aren't taxed when you move. The small fixed fee paid when you leave the country on a Turkish passport is a travel charge. What you must not miss is the deadline. If you leave during the year, your final income tax return is due in the 15 days before you go, not the following March.

When your legal home is no longer in Turkey and you don't stay more than six months in a calendar year. Short trips out don't break the six months. The count runs by calendar year, so leaving in July after six months in Turkey still leaves you resident that year. Plan from January, and ask your tax office in writing how it wants your file closed.

No. Turkey has tax treaties with 93 countries, including Greece and Malta, but not the Republic of Cyprus. So Turkey takes its full tax off dividends, interest and royalties paid to Cyprus, and nothing decides between the two countries if both claim you or your company. The move still works. It runs on two sets of national rules, so how you set it up matters more.

Not without Turkish tax. Turkey taxes a company on all its profit if it's really managed from Turkey, wherever it's registered. Registering in Cyprus only fixes the address on paper. With no treaty, nothing resolves the double claim, so take and record the real decisions in Cyprus, and sign the contracts there.

It stays in Turkey, because a Turkish company can't move to Cyprus. You can keep it, close it or restructure it. Kept, it pays 25% with a 10% minimum tax, and its dividends to a Cyprus parent lose 15%, with no treaty to cut that. Closing still takes 15% of what's paid out. Restructuring needs a Turkish adviser before anything is signed. Most founders start fresh in Cyprus.

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. Directing your own Cyprus company can count as the business. Cyprus no longer rules you out if Turkey also claims you, but with no treaty, end your Turkish residence cleanly.

Your Turkish record freezes where it is. There is no social security agreement between Turkey and Cyprus, so insurance years in the two countries don't add up, and your Cyprus record starts from zero. Before you go, ask SGK in writing whether you can pay for years abroad, and whether you still owe premiums as a partner in a Turkish company.

Yes. Turkish residents can send capital abroad freely to set up a company, with no permission needed. Your bank reports each transfer to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Ministry of Trade within 30 days, so keep the paperwork consistent. Ask your own bank in advance how it handles payments to and from Cyprus.

Maybe not yet. Software, design and R&D income earned in a technology development zone is tax-free in Turkey until the end of 2028, and zero beats 15%. Cyprus is the longer-lasting answer. The technopark exemption depends on your activity, your location and a date, and it doesn't fix currency risk or access to the EU market.

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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