Leaving the UK

What is the Cyprus non-dom regime?

Answered by Jordan Onraet-Wells, Founder & Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA). Published 18 July 2026. Last reviewed 18 July 2026.

The short answer

The Cyprus non-dom regime lets a Cyprus tax resident who is not domiciled in Cyprus receive dividends and interest free of the Special Defence Contribution (SDC) for up to 17 years. In practice the main charge on that income is the 2.65% General Healthcare System (GHS) levy, which applies only to the first 180,000 euros of income a year, capping it at roughly 4,770 euros. The 2026 Cyprus tax reform kept the regime intact and added a paid extension of up to two further five-year periods at 250,000 euros each. Most UK arrivals qualify as non-doms by default because their domicile of origin is outside Cyprus.

Cyprus tax residency plus non-Cyprus domicile removes SDC on dividends, interest and rental income for up to 17 years.
The GHS levy of 2.65% still applies, but only on the first 180,000 euros of income a year, a maximum of roughly 4,770 euros.
Cyprus tax residency comes via the standard 183-day route or the 60-day route, which has four conditions from 1 January 2026.
The 2026 reform added an optional extension: two five-year periods at an irrevocable lump sum of 250,000 euros each, up to 27 years in total.
Employment and pension income are not covered; they are taxed under the normal Cyprus income tax bands.
The regime only helps once you have validly broken UK residence; until then the UK can still tax your worldwide income.

How the regime works

Tax residency alone is not enough: you must also be non-domiciled in Cyprus, which most UK leavers are automatically because their domicile of origin is elsewhere. Non-dom status switches off SDC, the tax that normally bites on the passive income of Cyprus-domiciled residents, so dividends and interest carry no Cyprus tax beyond the capped GHS levy. Residency comes from spending more than 183 days in Cyprus in a calendar year, or from the 60-day route: at least 60 days in Cyprus, no more than 183 days in any other single country, a permanent Cyprus home, and a Cyprus business, employment or directorship that continues through the year. A pre-2026 condition that you must not be tax resident anywhere else was removed, so older five-condition guides are out of date.

What the 2026 reform changed

The reform in force from 1 January 2026 left the non-dom benefit in place while modernising the wider system, including the income tax bands and the SDC rules for Cyprus-domiciled residents. It also created a paid extension for those with a foreign domicile of origin: two consecutive five-year extensions at a lump sum of 250,000 euros per period, irrevocable once paid, taking the maximum window to 27 years.

The UK side matters just as much

The regime only delivers once you have left the UK properly. You must break UK residence under the Statutory Residence Test, usually with split-year treatment, or the UK can still tax the same dividends. UK-source income such as rent, and gains on UK residential property, stay UK-taxable after you leave. Our Moving to Cyprus guide covers the full exit, from split-year treatment to form P85 and the UK-Cyprus treaty.

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Sources and further reading

This is general information for the 2026/27 UK tax year, not personal tax advice; speak to a Chartered Tax Adviser about your own position.

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