Industry · Consultants & Freelancers
Cyprus for consultants and freelancers — the cleanest single-founder structure in the EU
Built for independent consultants, fractional CTOs / CMOs, senior developers, designers and specialists at €100k–€500k/yr. Lean Cyprus Ltd, €22k nil-rate band, 50% expat exemption on your own salary if you're new to Cyprus, 0% non-dom dividends.
The Cyprus stack
Same three layers, applied to consultants & freelancers
Cyprus Ltd
Corporate income tax (2026)
15%
+ IP Box
Qualifying-IP effective rate
~3%
+ Non-dom founder
SDC on dividends, 17–27 yrs
0%
All-in for the founder
≈3% on profit · 0% on draw
15%
Corporate tax
€22k
PIT nil-rate band (2026)
50%
Expat exemption (if eligible)
What you save
Worked example: €220,000 fractional CTO, currently French sole-trader
Independent fractional CTO at €220,000 of revenue, ~€20,000 of expenses, €200,000 net. Currently a French micro-entreprise / SASU. Compares the French treatment versus Cyprus Ltd with founder relocated as non-dom (with €60k salary using the 50% expat exemption + dividend draw).
Illustrative figures based on the Cyprus 2026 framework. Your actual outcome depends on home country, structure, family situation and substance — modelled on the call.
Annual net saving
€60,000+ / year
Over the 17-year non-dom window: ≈ €1m total — before reinvestment compounding.
Today
- Profit before tax (French SASU)€200,000
- French corporate tax + URSSAF on owner salary (~40% blended)−€80,000
- Net for dividends€120,000
- French PFU on €100k dividends (30%)−€30,000
- Net to consultant€90,000
After Cyprus
- Profit before tax€200,000
- Salary €60k (50% expat exemption, deducted at Ltd)−€60,000
- Cyprus corporate tax (15% × €140,000)−€21,000
- Net for dividends€119,000
- PIT on €60k salary (50% exempt; bands on €30k = ~€2,000)−€2,000
- Cyprus non-dom SDC on €119k dividends€0
- GESY 2.65% on income−€4,770
- Net to consultant€151,230
Why Cyprus, specifically
Three things Cyprus does for consultants & freelancers that nowhere else in the EU does at once.
Tax
15% corporate tax on consulting profit
Legal
Common-law consulting MSAs
Banking & Ops
Banking + Stripe + Wise in 30 days
How it works
Three steps from decision to operational.
Strategy call
We map your client base, current structure, scale (€100k vs €500k revenue makes a difference) and target outcome. Honest answer on whether a Cyprus Ltd is right for your scale or if remaining sole-trader is fine. Written scope within 24h.
Cyprus Ltd live
Incorporation in 5–10 business days. Tax & VAT registrations. UBO filed. Banking application started in parallel.
Banking + Stripe / Wise
Cyprus banking opens. Wise Business + Revolut Business as supplemental rails. Stripe / Adyen onboarded if you bill via platforms.
Total realistic timeline: 2–3 months from decision to fully operational, with most of that being your own travel and apartment-hunting rather than the legal work.
vs the alternatives
Why Cyprus over Malta, Estonia, the UAE and Portugal — for consultants & freelancers.
vs Malta. Malta's 6/7 refund mechanism produces a similar net rate (~5%) but only crystallises on dividend distribution and after a 12-month refund cycle, with banking that is materially harder to onboard. Cyprus is a flat 15% headline with the IP Box adding genuine ~3% effective for qualifying software income — simpler to defend, faster to bank.
vs Estonia. Estonia's deferred-tax regime is elegant for purely retained-profit businesses but levies 22% on every distribution — meaning when you draw cash, you pay. Cyprus non-dom dividends are 0% for 17–27 years. For founders who actually want to take money out, Cyprus wins.
vs UAE. The UAE's 9% corporate rate and 0% personal tax are attractive — but it is non-EU, GDPR-foreign and increasingly procurement-blocked by EU enterprise customers over Schrems II. Cyprus gives you the EU passport, native GDPR status and common-law contracts in English — without giving up much on the tax side.
vs Portugal. Portugal's NHR closed to new applicants in 2024. Its IFICI successor is narrow and excludes most pure digital-revenue businesses. Cyprus's non-dom is statutory law with bipartisan stability, recently strengthened (not weakened) by the 2026 reform with the 27-year extension election.
What we actually do
The full scope, fixed-fee, signed before any payment.
One licensed Cyprus lawyer accountable end-to-end. No hand-offs, no hourly billing, no surprise disbursements. Each scope is signed in writing within 24 hours of the call.
Cyprus single-founder Ltd set-up
Lean incorporation tailored for a single founder consultant: registered office, beneficial-owner register, tax & VAT registrations. Memorandum & Articles drafted with future-flexibility for adding partners or selling.
From €1,400 fixed
Founder relocation + non-dom
Pink Slip (non-EU) / Yellow Slip (EU), 60-day rule structuring, non-dom certification, year-1 personal tax return locking in 0% SDC on dividends.
From €1,400
50% expat exemption activation
Compliant employment contract from your own Cyprus Ltd to yourself if eligible (over €55k base, not Cyprus tax resident for 15 of the prior 17 years). Year-1 tax filings activate the exemption for 17 years.
Client MSA / SOW papering
Cyprus-law MSAs, SOWs, IP-assignment, NDA / confidentiality clauses, restrictive covenants where appropriate. EU-compliant DPAs for any data-handling engagements.
Cyprus structuring for consultants & freelancers, done properly.
A 30-minute call with a licensed Cyprus lawyer. Honest answer on whether Cyprus fits your specific situation, written scope and fixed-fee quote within 24 hours. No obligation, no follow-up loops.
A few questions we hear most
Is a Cyprus Ltd worth it for a €100k consultant?
Honestly — not always. At €100k revenue with simple expenses, the running cost (€7–€10k/yr) eats a meaningful share of the tax saving. The break-even is typically around €120–€150k of net consulting profit, depending on home country. Below that, simpler arrangements (e.g. continued sole-trader status with personal Cyprus residency only) often win. We're honest on the first call — if it's not worth it, we say so.
What's the optimal salary / dividend split?
For a consultant new to Cyprus eligible for the 50% expat exemption: pay yourself €60–€90k base (claim the 50% exemption, drop into a low PIT effective rate), then dividend the rest at 0% non-dom. For someone already Cyprus-resident not eligible for the 50% exemption: a smaller salary (€22–€30k, into the nil-rate / 20% band) plus larger dividend draw is typically optimal. We model both for your specific situation.
Do I need physical office space?
For a single-founder consulting Ltd, a virtual / serviced office (which we provide as part of the registered-office service) is usually sufficient. If you bring senior staff under the 50% expat exemption, real office space becomes preferable to defend substance — but for a solo consultant, no.
Can I keep some clients invoicing my old entity in transition?
For a clean transition, yes — for 60–90 days. Beyond that you risk dual-residency disputes ("is this person really tax-resident in Cyprus or still here?"). We recommend novating all live engagements within 90 days of the move and pinning a transition cut-off date in writing.
6 more questions answered on the call. Book a slot →
Keep reading
Deeper guides for consultants & freelancers
- Cyprus for freelancers & solo founders — full 2026 guideLong-form guide covering sole-trader vs Cyprus Ltd, when each makes sense, and the break-even economics.→
- The 50% expat salary exemptionHow to apply it to your own salary as a consultant, and the eligibility tests in 2026.→
- Non-dom status explained simplyThe 17-year window of 0% on dividends — what it is, who qualifies, what changed in 2026.→
- The 60-day rule in practiceStay mobile, hold Cyprus tax residency — the 2026-updated rule with three conditions.→
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Page last reviewed April 2026. Estimates only — not legal, tax or financial advice.