In short
- Yearly financial statements under IFRS for every company, with or without activity.
- Audit by default. Review for turnover under €300,000 and assets under €500,000, two years running.
- Annual return HE32: filed within 28 days of its date for €20. Filed late: up to €150.
- Income tax return TD4: 30 November 2026 for 2024, 31 March 2027 for 2025.
In this guide
Records and books: what a Cyprus company must keep
The accounting requirements of a Cyprus company come from two laws. The Assessment and Collection of Taxes Law obliges every person with income from profits to keep accounting books and records. Under the Companies Law, Cap. 113, a licensed auditor audits the accounts prepared from them. Both apply to a company owned from abroad and to a company with no activity in the year.
The directors answer for the books. Section 141 of the Companies Law asks for books that explain every transaction and show the financial position of the company at any time. They record three things, each backed by its contracts and invoices:
- All money received and spent, and what each sum was for
- All sales and purchases
- The assets and the liabilities of the company
The books stay at the registered office or at another place the directors choose. A company can keep them outside Cyprus when accounts that show its position are sent to Cyprus at intervals of six months or less. Records are kept for six years. Since the 2026 tax reform the six years run from the day the tax return for the year is filed.
A director who takes no reasonable steps to have proper books kept commits an offence. The Companies Law punishes it with a fine of up to €1,708, up to a year in prison, or both. On the page about accounting services in Cyprus we show how one accountant keeps these books month by month.
Financial statements: IFRS, signatures, the general meeting
Each year the directors prepare a complete set of financial statements under IFRS, the International Financial Reporting Standards: a profit and loss account, a balance sheet and notes. Two directors sign them, or the sole director where the company has one. The auditors' report goes with the statements. So does a management report, which small and medium-sized companies leave out.
The board approves the statements and presents them to the shareholders at the annual general meeting. The first meeting takes place within 18 months of incorporation. After that the company holds one in every calendar year, with no more than 15 months between two meetings. Every shareholder can have a copy of the statements, free of charge, from 21 days before the meeting.
A company with subsidiaries also prepares consolidated statements. Small and medium-sized groups are exempt, and so is a company whose ultimate holding company publishes consolidated IFRS statements.
Audit or review: which one your company needs
An audit is the default for a company of any size. A review engagement is the one relief, and it is for small companies.
| Question | Audit | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Who takes it | Every company outside the review test | A company with net turnover under €300,000 and total assets under €500,000, both for two consecutive years |
| Financial years | All | Those that begin on or after 6 February 2026. Before that the turnover limit was €200,000 |
| Who signs | An auditor licensed in Cyprus | An auditor licensed in Cyprus, under the standard ISRE 2400 |
| What the company prepares | Full IFRS financial statements | The same full IFRS financial statements |
Allow two months or more for the audit. The auditor works from every incoming and outgoing invoice of the year, the contracts and the statements of every bank account.
Yearly filings: what a Cyprus company files, and where
| Filing | Where | When | If it is late |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual return, form HE32, with the financial statements | Registrar of Companies | Within 28 days of the company's annual return date | €50 and €1 a day, up to €150 |
| Income tax return, form TD4, with the audited or reviewed accounts | Tax Department | 2024: 30 November 2026. 2025: 31 March 2027. 2026: 31 January 2028 | €250, or €500 where turnover or assets exceed €1 million |
| Provisional tax, two instalments | Tax Department | 31 July and 31 December of the tax year | 5% of the tax, a further 5% after two months, interest of 3.5% a year |
| Confirmation of the beneficial owners | Register of beneficial owners (UBO register) | Between 1 October and 31 December | €100 and €50 a day, up to €5,000 |
| VAT return, for a company registered for VAT | Tax Department | The 10th day of the second month after each quarter | €100, and 10% of the VAT paid late |
| Employer's return and PAYE, for a company with staff | Tax Department | Each month, by the end of the following month | 1% a month and interest |
Every date of 2026 and 2027 is in the Cyprus tax calendar.
Annual return (HE32): what it is, its date, fee and late filing penalty
The annual return is the yearly statement of the company to the Registrar of Companies. It says where the registered office is, where the registers are kept, who the directors, the secretary and the shareholders are and what the share capital is. A private company files it as form HE32(I), and through the Registrar's e-filing system alone. The financial statements of the previous financial year go with it, certified by a director and the secretary.
The first return is made up to the day after 18 months from incorporation. Each later one falls a year after the last, and the Registrar takes no second return dated in the same calendar year. The company files within 28 days and pays €20. It can move the date by up to three months, and no further than 31 December, when it notifies the Registrar before the date arrives.
The return has to match the register. A change of director, secretary, registered office or shareholders goes to the Registrar on its own form first.
A late return costs €20 more and a late charge: €50 on the first day and €1 for each further day, up to €150, for returns dated 2021 or later. In the Registrar's own example a return due on 30 March and filed on 31 December carries the full €150. A company that goes on without filing can be struck off the register.
The €350 annual levy is no longer paid. It was abolished from 2024, and only unpaid levies of earlier years remain due.
We do this for you Accounting in Cyprus from €290 a month
Tax return and provisional tax: how the two work
Each return covers one tax year, which is the calendar year. Returns for tax years up to and including 2025 are filed through TAXISnet, and returns from tax year 2026 through Tax For All, the Tax Department's portal. A company that trades with related companies files a summary table of those transactions by the same date.
Provisional tax is corporate tax paid in advance on the profit the company expects for the current year, in two equal instalments. The company can revise the estimate until 31 December. Where it turns out lower than 75% of the final profit, the Tax Department adds 10% of the tax that was underpaid.
The rate is 12.5% for tax years up to and including 2025 and 15% from 2026. From tax year 2026 the balance of the tax is due on the same day as the return. For 2025 it was due on 1 August 2026. How the taxable profit is worked out is in the guide to the Cyprus corporate tax rate.
VAT and payroll: filings that depend on the business
A company registers for VAT once its taxable turnover of the last twelve months passes €15,600, or will pass it within thirty days. It notifies the Tax Department within 30 days, and each month of delay costs €85. A company that sells services to businesses in other EU member states registers from the first sale and files a VIES statement each month, by the 15th. See VAT registration in Cyprus.
A company with staff registers as an employer, files an employer's return each month and pays the income tax withheld and the health contributions by the end of the following month. The yearly employer's return is due by 31 March. The one for 2025 was moved to 30 November 2026. See payroll services in Cyprus.
Worked example: first filings of a company formed on 2 March 2026
The company closes its first accounts on 31 December 2026 and expects a taxable profit for the year. Its first two years carry eight dates.
| Date | What the company does |
|---|---|
| By 1 May 2026 | Applies for its tax number, within 60 days of incorporation |
| By 31 May 2026 | Enters its beneficial owners in the register, within 90 days |
| 1 October to 31 December 2026 | Confirms the beneficial owners, as in every calendar year |
| By 31 December 2026 | Declares its provisional tax for 2026 and pays it |
| During 2027 | Prepares the financial statements for 2026 and has them audited or reviewed |
| By 2 September 2027 | Holds its first annual general meeting, within 18 months |
| By 1 October 2027 | Files its first annual return, made up to 3 September 2027 |
| By 31 January 2028 | Files the income tax return for 2026 and pays the balance of the tax |
VAT returns and the employer's returns join the list from the quarter and the month in which the company registers for them. What the filings cost is in the guide to Cyprus company formation cost.
Five filing mistakes and what each one costs
| Mistake | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Annual return not filed | €20 more and a late charge of up to €150, then the risk of strike-off |
| Provisional tax not declared, or declared too low | 10% of the tax underpaid when the estimate is under 75% of the final profit, and interest of 3.5% a year |
| Personal expenses paid through the company | Tax on the benefit for the director, and a correction of the VAT |
| Services to EU businesses with the wrong VAT treatment | The VAT assessed on those sales, plus 10% of it as additional tax |
| Tax return late because the audit ran over | €250 for the late return, €500 for a company with turnover or assets above €1 million |
One of our accountants keeps the books of your Cyprus company all year, prepares the file for the auditor and files each return on its date.
