In short
- VAT rates in 2026: 19% standard, 9%, 5% and 3% reduced, 0% on exports and on listed basic goods.
- A business with no establishment in Cyprus registers with no threshold. Late notice costs €85 a month.
- A VAT representative is appointed where the Tax Commissioner directs it, under Article 37 of the law.
- Returns are quarterly, due by the 10th day of the second month after the quarter. Late: €100.
In this guide
Which Cyprus VAT rate a non-EU seller charges
A seller from outside the EU charges the Cyprus VAT rate of what it sells. That is 19% on software, consulting and digital services, and a lower rate where the table lists the goods or the service. Cyprus has five rates in 2026: 19%, 9%, 5%, 3% and 0%. They are set by the VAT Law, 95(I) of 2000, and the tax reform of 2026 left them as they were.
| Rate | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 19%, standard | Goods and services not listed below, including software, consulting and digital services |
| 9%, reduced | Hotel accommodation, restaurants and catering, local passenger transport |
| 5%, reduced | Foodstuffs, medicines, and a new main home within set limits |
| 3%, reduced | Books, newspapers and magazines, tickets to first performances at the theatre, waste collection |
| 0%, zero rate | Exports, goods supplied to VAT-registered businesses in other EU member states, and the temporary lists of basic goods |
| Exempt | Financial services, medical care, education, postal services, the letting of homes |
Two decrees set a temporary zero rate. The first runs from 1 January to 31 December 2026 and covers baby milk, nappies, feminine hygiene products and listed fresh vegetables and fruit. The second runs to 31 May 2027: fresh, chilled and frozen meat and fish from 1 October 2026, and bread, milk, coffee, sugar and children's food from 12 October 2026.
Zero-rated and exempt are two different things. A business with zero-rated sales charges no VAT and still deducts the VAT on its costs. A business with exempt sales charges none and deducts none.
A company established in Cyprus registers once its turnover passes €15,600 in 12 months, and our page on VAT registration in Cyprus covers that case.
When a non-EU company owes Cyprus VAT
VAT follows the place where a sale is treated as made. For most cross-border sales that is the customer's country, wherever the seller is based. Four cases cover what companies from outside the EU usually sell into Cyprus.
| What the company sells | Who accounts for the VAT | Registration |
|---|---|---|
| Services to a business in Cyprus | The customer, under the reverse charge | None for the seller |
| Digital services to consumers in Cyprus | The seller, at 19% | The non-Union One Stop Shop, or a Cyprus VAT number |
| Goods sent from outside the EU to consumers, in consignments up to €150 | The seller, where it uses the import scheme | The import One Stop Shop, through an intermediary |
| Goods supplied and installed in Cyprus, work on land and buildings, events for the public | The seller | A Cyprus VAT number |
The reverse charge covers the common case of a consultancy or a software company abroad that invoices a Cyprus business. The invoice carries no Cyprus VAT, the customer accounts for the tax in its own return, and the supplier has nothing to file in Cyprus.
No threshold: registration before the first taxable sale
The €15,600 threshold is for businesses established in the Republic. A business with no establishment in Cyprus has none. It has to register when it makes taxable sales in Cyprus or will make them within 30 days. The Tax Department's guidance sets the moment earlier still: as soon as the business forms the intention to make such sales.
The same goes for the EU-wide threshold of €10,000 for sales to consumers. It is reserved for sellers established in one member state, and the European Commission states that suppliers established outside the EU cannot use it. A non-EU seller of digital services owes the VAT of the consumer's country from the first sale.
Late notification costs €85 for each month of delay. The Commissioner can also register the business back to the day the duty arose, and the VAT on sales made since that day is then due.
Does a non-EU company need a VAT representative in Cyprus?
Only where the Tax Commissioner directs it. Article 37 of the VAT Law lets the Commissioner direct a business to appoint a VAT representative where three things are true. The business has no establishment in Cyprus. It makes taxable sales or acquisitions there. And it is established in a country outside the EU that has no arrangement with Cyprus for mutual assistance in tax matters comparable to the one between member states.
The representative acts for the business in all VAT matters and is personally liable with it: the law treats the obligations as resting on both, jointly and severally. A business that appoints no one after a direction can be asked for a guarantee for the VAT it owes or may come to owe. A business that has received no direction may appoint a representative by choice, with the Commissioner's agreement.
The application itself is filed on paper at a district office, so a company abroad works through an agent in Cyprus in any case. We act as that agent and, where the Commissioner directs it, as the VAT representative.
We do this for you VAT registration in Cyprus for €350
How a non-EU company registers for Cyprus VAT
- Register the company in the Tax Registry through the Tax For All portal. A foreign company that is not on the Cyprus companies register uploads its certificate of incorporation and the certificates of its registered office, directors, secretary and shareholders. It adds identity documents of the directors and of the officer who applies, a recent photograph of that officer and a letter that explains why it registers.
- Complete form T.D.1101, the application for registration in the VAT Register. Where the tax number has not arrived yet, quote the reference of the Tax For All application, which starts with REG.
- File the form on paper at the district office of the Tax Department, with evidence of the activity: invoices issued, agreements or correspondence.
- Answer the officer's questions. The certificate of registration is not sent by post: you print it from Tax For All.
- If you supply businesses in other EU member states, apply on form TFA 01 to file VIES statements. VIES is the EU system through which member states exchange VAT numbers and sales figures.
A Cyprus VAT number consists of the letters CY, eight digits and a letter. All registrations run on calendar quarters, and the first return covers the quarter in which the registration date falls.
The non-Union One Stop Shop (OSS): one return in place of a Cyprus registration
A company from outside the EU that sells services to consumers can use the non-Union scheme of the One Stop Shop. It registers in one member state of its choice and files one return a quarter for its sales to consumers in all 27 member states. Through that return it pays the VAT of each country. Those sales then need no Cyprus VAT number.
- Returns: by the end of the month after each calendar quarter, which means 30 April, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January. A return is due for a quarter with no sales as well.
- Registration in Cyprus: online, on the Tax Department's One Stop Shop platform.
- Late return: €100. Late payment: 10% of the VAT, and interest.
- Goods: the import scheme covers consignments worth up to €150 and has monthly returns. A seller from outside the EU appoints an intermediary to use it.
After registration: returns, payment and penalties
| Duty | Due | Charge when late |
|---|---|---|
| VAT return | By the 10th day of the second month after the quarter | €100 |
| VAT payment | The same day | 10% of the VAT, and interest of 3.5% a year in 2026 |
| VIES statement | Monthly, by the 15th of the following month | €50 |
| Registration | Before the first taxable sale | €85 for each month of delay |
| Reverse charge on purchases | In the return of the period | €200 a period, up to €4,000 |
The return for October to December 2026 is due by 10 February 2027. Returns and payments are made in Tax For All, and a quarter with no sales still needs a return.
Input VAT works as for any registered business: the VAT on costs is deducted in the return, and an excess is refunded or carried forward. A refund that takes the Tax Department more than four months is paid with interest. VAT paid before registration can be claimed in the first return, on goods bought in the three years before and still held, and on services received in the six months before.
The Commissioner can assess VAT for a period up to six years after it ends. Keep the invoices and the proof of where each customer is for that time. The dates of a Cyprus company's other filings are in the guide to the Cyprus tax calendar.
A Cyprus company in place of a foreign registration
A founder from outside the EU can also sell through a company in Cyprus. Such a company is established in the Republic, so the €15,600 threshold applies to it. It can use the Union scheme of the One Stop Shop, and its number is in VIES for customers in other member states.
We register a Cyprus company for VAT for €350 and for VIES for €149, both before VAT, and file the returns as part of accounting in Cyprus from €290 a month. Company formation in Cyprus starts at €1,699.
The guides on Cyprus accounting requirements and on how to register a company in Cyprus cover what comes with the company.
