Industry · Real Estate Investors
Cyprus for buy-and-rent investors — SDC on rental abolished, 0% CGT on non-Cyprus-RE share sales
Built for landlords with EU portfolios — multi-unit residential, commercial property and short-term-rental businesses. The 2026 reform abolished SDC on rental income; share disposals of non-Cyprus-RE property OpCos are CGT-exempt; and Cyprus has no wealth or inheritance tax.
The Cyprus stack
Same three layers, applied to real estate investors
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
0%
SDC on rental income (from 1 Jan 2026)
0%
CGT on non-Cyprus-RE share disposals
None
Wealth / inheritance / gift tax
What you save
Worked example: 12-property landlord with €600k annual rental income
Buy-and-rent investor with 12 residential units across Spain, Germany and Cyprus, generating €600,000 of gross rental income, ~€150,000 of expenses, €450,000 net rental profit. Owner draws €250,000 of dividends per year. Compares the current personally-held / per-country-OpCo setup versus a Cyprus property HoldCo with owner relocated as non-dom.
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
€100,000+ / year
Over the 17-year non-dom window: ≈ €1.7m+ over 17 years, before any future portfolio rebalancing benefit from 0% Cyprus CGT on non-RE share disposals.
Today
- Net rental profit€450,000
- Source-country corporate tax (~30% blended)−€135,000
- Net for distribution€315,000
- Source-country WHT on outbound dividends (~10–15%)−€32,000
- Personal tax on €250k drawn (~30%)−€75,000
- Net to owner€208,000
After Cyprus
- Net rental profit€450,000
- Source-country corporate tax (OpCos remain local)−€135,000
- Net for distribution to Cyprus HoldCo€315,000
- Source-country WHT (EU PSD: 0%)€0
- Cyprus participation exemption: HoldCo tax€0
- Cyprus non-dom SDC on €250k drawn€0
- GESY 2.65% (capped at €180k)−€4,770
- Net to owner€310,230
Why Cyprus, specifically
Three things Cyprus does for real estate investors that nowhere else in the EU does at once.
Tax
SDC on rental income abolished from 2026
Legal
Common-law contracts in English
Banking & Ops
Mature mortgage market for Cyprus-resident landlords
“They speak my language and know Spanish tax exit rules inside out. The relocation went smoother than I ever imagined. 5 stars easily.”
How it works
Three steps from decision to operational.
Strategy session
We map your portfolio (count, location, value, mortgage status, current entity structure), advise on whether Cyprus is the right HoldCo jurisdiction. Honest written recommendation within 24h.
Cyprus HoldCo + personal residency
Cyprus property HoldCo incorporated. Personal residency (Pink/Yellow Slip) preparation started in parallel. Cyprus banking application initiated.
Portfolio restructuring
Existing property OpCos contributed / acquired into the Cyprus HoldCo via planned-restructuring filings in each source country. Cross-border tax coordination (exit-tax assessments where relevant). Treaty-relief forms filed.
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 real estate investors.
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 property HoldCo set-up
Incorporation, share-class design (single-investor / family / multi-LP), registered office, beneficial-owner register, tax & VAT registrations. Memorandum & Articles tailored to the portfolio scale (single-property / multi-OpCo group).
From €1,800 fixed
Investor relocation + non-dom
Pink Slip / Yellow Slip residency, 60-day rule structuring, non-dom certification, year-1 personal tax return locking in 0% SDC on rental-derived dividends.
From €1,400
Cross-border portfolio restructuring
Existing local-country property OpCos contributed / acquired into the Cyprus HoldCo. Treaty-relief filings in source countries to eliminate WHT on inbound dividends. EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive eligibility assessments.
Cyprus International Trust set-up
CIT settlement deed, asset-protection structuring against forced-heirship claims, trustee appointment (STEP-qualified), succession planning that uses Cyprus's 0%-inheritance-tax framework cleanly.
Cyprus structuring for real estate investors, 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
Was SDC on rental income really abolished?
Yes — under the 2026 tax reform (Law of 22 December 2025, Gazette 5070, in force 1 January 2026), SDC on rental income was abolished for Cyprus tax residents. Rental income now flows directly into PIT (for individuals) or corporate tax (for companies) without the previous 3% SDC layer on 75% of gross rental.
Does the 0% CGT exemption apply if I sell Cyprus property?
No. Cyprus does tax CGT on disposals of Cyprus real estate and on disposals of shares deriving value from Cyprus real estate (typically 5–20% depending on holding period). The 0% CGT exemption applies to share disposals of non-Cyprus real estate OpCos (e.g. German, French or Spanish property holdings), where Cyprus does not tax the gain. We structure the portfolio carefully when there's both Cyprus and non-Cyprus real estate.
What about VAT on rental income?
Residential rentals are VAT-exempt in Cyprus. Commercial rentals are subject to VAT at 19% (with input-VAT recovery on related expenses). Short-term holiday rentals (Airbnb-style under 30 days) are taxable as accommodation services at 9% reduced rate. Mixed portfolios need property-by-property VAT classification, which we configure in the chart of accounts.
Can I get a Cyprus mortgage as a Cyprus tax resident?
Yes. Cyprus banks (Bank of Cyprus, Hellenic, Eurobank, Astrobank) offer competitive mortgages to Cyprus tax residents at 60–70% LTV, 15–25 year terms, EUR-denominated. As a non-dom with a Cyprus Ltd or property HoldCo, banks are typically very accommodating. We provide the documentation pack lenders ask for.
6 more questions answered on the call. Book a slot →
Keep reading
Deeper guides for real estate investors
- Cyprus estate planning — no inheritance taxHow Cyprus's no-inheritance-tax framework works for inter-generational property transfer.→
- Cyprus holding company guideWhen a property HoldCo earns its keep, when it doesn't, and the substance that survives audit.→
- Non-dom status explained simplyThe 17-year window of 0% on dividends — how it applies to rental-derived dividends.→
- Cyprus corporate tax 2026The complete framework for corporate-held rental: 15% rate, deductions, group relief, treaty relief.→
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Page last reviewed April 2026. Estimates only — not legal, tax or financial advice.