Cyprus Tax Residence — 60-Day Rule: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

Cyprus has two ways to be tax resident. The usual one is more than 183 days in Cyprus in the calendar year. The 60-day rule is the second: you are resident if you spend at least 60 days in Cyprus in the year, do not spend more than 183 days in any other single country, work, run a business or hold a company office in Cyprus, and keep a home in Cyprus that you own or rent. All conditions must be met in the same tax year. The Cyprus Tax Department decides and issues the residence certificate.

Goal: At least 60 days in Cyprus in the tax year
Period: The calendar year, 1 January to 31 December
A day counts when: Arrival day counts as in Cyprus, departure day counts as out
Other day condition: No more than 183 days in any other single country
Law: Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002, article 2 (definitions)
Run by: Cyprus Tax Department, Ministry of Finance

Who it applies to

Business owners who run a Cyprus company but travel for most of the year.
Directors of Cyprus tax resident companies who live in several countries.
Remote workers and consultants with no country where they spend more than half the year.
People who moved to Cyprus late in the year and cannot reach 183 days.
People who need a Cyprus tax residence certificate to show to a bank or a foreign tax office.

The rule

The Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002 defines a resident in article 2. The first route is the 183-day rule: a person who stays in Cyprus for periods that add up to more than 183 days in the tax year is resident. The tax year is the calendar year. No other condition is needed for this route.

The second route is known as the 60-day rule. It applies to a person who does not reach 183 days in Cyprus. You are resident for the tax year if all of these are true together. You stay in Cyprus for at least 60 days. You do not stay in any other single state for more than 183 days in total. You carry on a business in Cyprus, or are employed in Cyprus, or hold an office in a company that is tax resident in Cyprus, at some time in the year. And you keep a permanent home in Cyprus that you own or rent.

The Cyprus tie must last. The Tax Department states that if you stop the business or the job ends during the year, you are no longer treated as resident for that year. The declaration form T.D. 126, in its 2022 edition, asks you to confirm that you intend to keep the business, job or office at least until 31 December of the tax year, and to tell the Tax Department if it ends during the year.

Until tax year 2025 there was one more condition: you could not be tax resident in any other state. The Income Tax (Amendment) Law 244(I)/2025, in force from 1 January 2026, removed that condition. The other conditions did not change. This means a person can now be resident in Cyprus under the 60-day rule and in another country under that country's law at the same time, and a tax treaty then decides between the two.

Days are counted with four fixed rules. The day you leave Cyprus is a day outside Cyprus. The day you arrive is a day in Cyprus. Arriving and leaving on the same day is one day in Cyprus. Leaving and coming back on the same day is one day outside Cyprus.

Why it exists

Cyprus wants to attract people who run real business from the island but travel too much to stay 183 days anywhere. Without the 60-day rule such people could end up resident in no country, or lose the link with the country where their company and home are. The rule asks for real ties in exchange for the low day count: a home, and work or a company office in Cyprus. The limit of 183 days in any other country keeps out people who clearly live somewhere else.

Counting the days

You count the days you are in Cyprus in one calendar year, using the Tax Department's rules for arrival and departure days. The goal is to reach at least 60. You also count your days in every other country, because none may be more than 183.

List each trip to Cyprus in the year with the arrival date and the departure date.
For each trip, count the arrival day and every day after it, but not the departure day. A trip that arrives and leaves on the same day counts as one day.
Add the trips. You need 60 days or more between 1 January and 31 December.
Count your days in each other country in the same year. If one country has more than 183 days, the rule is not met.
Check the other conditions for the same year: a home in Cyprus that you own or rent, and a business, job or company office in Cyprus that is still in place on 31 December.
Keep proof of entries and exits: passport stamps, boarding passes and tickets. The Tax Department asks for them with form T.D. 126.

How Countr counts it. Countr treats this rule as a goal to reach, not a limit. It counts a day in Cyprus when the day ends there, which means you are in Cyprus at midnight. So your arrival day counts and your departure day does not, as in the official rules. One case differs: if you arrive and leave on the same day, the Tax Department counts one day in Cyprus and Countr counts none. A night the app cannot prove is not counted, so missing evidence makes the count smaller, never bigger. Countr tracks only the 60 days. It does not check that you stayed under 183 days in every other country, or that you have a home and a business, job or office in Cyprus.

Track Cyprus Tax Residence — 60-Day Rule on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

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Examples

A director who travels all year

Maya is a director and owner of a Cyprus company for all of 2026 and rents a flat in Limassol on a yearly lease. In 2026 she counts 64 days in Cyprus, 150 days in the United Kingdom and 151 days spread over six other countries. She has at least 60 days in Cyprus, no other country has more than 183 days, she holds an office in a Cyprus tax resident company and she rents a home. She meets the 60-day rule for 2026.

Enough days in Cyprus, too many in Germany

Jonas spends 80 days in Cyprus in 2026, owns a flat in Paphos and is employed by a Cyprus company. He spends 190 days of the same year in Germany, where his family lives. He has more than 60 days in Cyprus, but he stayed more than 183 days in one other state. The 60-day rule is not met, and he is not Cyprus tax resident for 2026 under either route.

Short working weeks

Dina flies to Larnaca every month on a Monday morning and leaves on the Friday of the same week. For the week of Monday 2 March 2026 she counts 2, 3, 4 and 5 March. Friday 6 March is her departure day and counts as a day outside Cyprus. Each trip gives 4 days, so twelve trips give 48 days, not 60. She needs three more trips of the same length, or longer stays, to reach the goal.

Exceptions

A person with more than 183 days in Cyprus is resident under the main rule and does not need the 60-day conditions.
If your business, job or company office in Cyprus ends during the tax year, the 60-day route is lost for that year.
The condition of not being tax resident in any other state applied up to tax year 2025 and no longer applies from 1 January 2026.
When another country also treats you as resident, the tax treaty between that country and Cyprus decides your residence for treaty purposes.
Tax residence and domicile are separate in Cyprus: being resident under this rule does not decide whether you are domiciled in Cyprus for the Special Defence Contribution.

Common misconceptions

“Sixty days in Cyprus is all I need.”: The 60 days are one condition out of several. You also need a home in Cyprus, a business, job or company office there, and no more than 183 days in any other single country.
“The other 305 days can be spent anywhere.”: Not in one place. If you stay more than 183 days in any single other state in the year, the rule is not met.
“My departure day counts as a day in Cyprus.”: The Tax Department counts the day of departure as a day outside Cyprus. Only the arrival day and the full days after it count.
“I can use a hotel or a friend's flat as my home.”: The rule asks for a permanent home that you own or rent, and form T.D. 126 asks for the title deed or the rental contract.

Questions and answers

Does the day I arrive in Cyprus count toward the 60 days?

Yes. The day of arrival counts as a day in Cyprus, and the day of departure counts as a day outside. If you arrive and leave on the same day, it is one day in Cyprus.

Do the 60 days have to be in a row?

No. The law speaks of a period or periods that add up to at least 60 days in the tax year, so separate trips are added together.

What happens if I only reach 59 days?

The 60-day rule is not met for that year, so you are not Cyprus tax resident for that year. The goal is a minimum, so plan a margin of a few days in case one stamp or ticket is missing.

Can I be tax resident in another country and still use the 60-day rule?

For tax years from 2026, yes: the condition that you are not tax resident in any other state was removed. If both countries treat you as resident, the tax treaty between them decides which one comes first.

Is being a director of a Cyprus company enough for the work condition?

Holding an office in a company that is tax resident in Cyprus is one of the three ways to meet the condition. The office must be in place during the year and not end before 31 December.

How do I get a Cyprus tax residence certificate under this rule?

You file the declaration form T.D. 126 with the Tax Department. You attach proof of your days in and out of Cyprus, your title deed or rental contract, and proof of your business, job or office.

Sources

Other rules for Cyprus

Cyprus Citizenship — Time Away in the Last Year 90 days away in any 12 months

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This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.