Your new-resident tax exemption.
Answer six questions about your move and your job. See which of the 50%, 20% and 25% income tax exemptions could apply, and what each would save you a year.
- 2026 tax bands
- Rules checked continuously
- Free, no sign-up
Gross, before any deductions.
Or when it started, if you're already working here.
Years in a row you weren't tax resident in Cyprus, up to the start.
Saves the most: the 50% exemption
- Yearly pay
- €70,000.00
- Exempt from income tax
- €35,000.00
- Income tax without it
- €10,524.43
- Income tax with it
- €1,016.29
You can only claim one exemption, so pick the one that saves most.
- The 50% exemptionMay qualify
Half your pay free of income tax when it's over €55,000 a year. Up to 17 years, once in a lifetime.
Saves €9,508.14 a year in income tax.
- The 20% exemptionMay qualify
A fifth of your pay free of income tax, up to €8,550 a year, for 7 years from the year after you start.
Saves €2,565.00 a year in income tax.
- The 25% exemptionDoesn't fit
For people coming back to Cyprus. A quarter of your income free of income tax, up to €25,000 a year, for up to 7 years (some sources say 6).
- You must have been tax resident in Cyprus at some point before your years away.
An estimate, not tax advice. It takes Social Insurance and GeSY off your pay as an employee, then applies the exemption and the income tax bands. It leaves out other income, deductions and benefits in kind. The conditions are summarised: each exemption has details this can't check, such as what counts as a first job. The Tax Department decides.
The three exemptions.
Each takes part of your employment income out of income tax. You can claim only one at a time, and none of them changes Social Insurance or GeSY.
- 01Social Insurance and GeSY come off your gross pay first, as on any payslip.
- 02The exempt part of your pay comes off next: a share of it, up to the exemption's cap.
- 03Income tax is charged on what's left with the 2026 bands. The saving is the tax without the exemption less the tax with it.
| Pay a year | Over €55,000 |
|---|---|
| Years in a row outside Cyprus before10 for jobs started by 29 June 2023 | 15 |
| First job in Cyprus, started after | 1 January 2022 |
| Lasts | 17 years |
| Cap a year | €8,550 |
|---|---|
| Years in a row outside Cyprus before | 3 |
| First job in Cyprus, started after | 26 July 2022 |
| Worked abroad for a foreign employer before | Needed |
| Lasts | 7 years |
| Income a year | Over €30,000 |
|---|---|
| Cap a year | €25,000 |
| Years in a row outside Cyprus beforeAnd tax resident in Cyprus at some point before that | 7 |
| Full-time work abroad for a foreign employerWith a degree; all 84 without one | 36 of 84 months |
| Work starts | 2025 to 2030 |
| LastsSome sources say 6 | Up to 7 years |
Conditions checked continuously against PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, KPMG Cyprus and the Tax Department.
Exemptions, answered.
Setting a salary for a move? Ask us on WhatsApp.
Read next
- The 50% employment exemptionWho qualifies, and what to check before you set a salary.
- Cyprus tax benefits for foreignersNon-dom, the exemptions and more, in one place.
- Salary calculatorGross to net pay, and what the hire costs the employer.
- Tax residency day counterCount your days for the 60-day and 183-day rules.
- The 2026 Cyprus tax reformThe new bands, and what else changed.
- Relocation checklistThe steps of your move, in order.
Moving to Cyprus?
We set up your company and register your tax residency, Yellow Slip or Pink Slip with you. Or book a call and plan the move first.