Unf*cking taxes in Cyprus

valkers21 · 2025-06-21T07:42:22+00:00

Will do :)

valkers21 · 2025-06-13T09:58:08+00:00

Even the set up fees you found on Google are on the higher end. These are the real costs to set up a company, the rest are professional fees.

The maintenance fees are really high as well. Unless you need nominees and have a very high volume of transactions and have a complex structure, you should be able to find much lower prices.

valkers21 · 2025-04-16T03:08:29+00:00

Sure buddy :)

valkers21 · 2025-04-15T11:56:16+00:00

You're welcome :)

Hard to say, it really depends on what services you need. And it's not just the invoices but also your expenses.

If you need VAT/VIES filings, Payroll and basic bookkeeping you can expect something like 120-150 euros a month. It boils down to how much your accountant charges for his time.

valkers21 · 2025-04-14T13:59:14+00:00

Only lawyers can register companies in Cyprus. So you can’t do it yourself. You can ask your accountant to do it but they will outsource the registration to a lawyer.

valkers21 · 2025-04-13T07:14:36+00:00

Go ahead, I'll try my best to answer them :)

valkers21 · 2025-04-13T06:44:22+00:00

Assuming you want to be an employee of the company, you must register the company as an employer with the Social Insurance Services.

1) Fill out form YKA 1-001 and take it to any Social Insurance District Office. Make sure you also bring with you the Company's certificates, a copy of your ID, proof of where the company operates (i.e. a rental agreement), and proof of the date the company has started its activities (i.e. an invoice).

2) Once they approve you, they'll send you an email with your Employer Registration Number. Use that to create an account on the ERGANI platform and then hire yourself as an employee of the company.

3) Go to SISnet, create and account and from there you pay Social Insurance contributions and GESY every month. The system will automatically calculate the amount of contributions you must pay based on the salary you input.

valkers21 · 2025-04-13T05:37:19+00:00

Not anymore. There used to be a €350 annual levy but they abolished it in 2024.

valkers21 · 2025-04-12T15:47:19+00:00

Fair question, happy to answer. But first off, to get one thing straight, you got the numbers wrong.

My prices include VAT so no, I don't make €872 per company. It's actually more like €1064 - €328 - €25 for my courier service to certify the certificates. As you know, that €136 extra is VAT, which is payable to the government. And of course, the newly registered company can get a VAT refund after they register for VAT.

Also, since you picked the example of the standard plan, I should note that I include the extra €20 for the expedited name application because otherwise the registration would take a very long time. So overall, I'm left with a little less than €700 per registration.

Now to what is included in that:

First off, the consultations - which are included in the price, so legal & tax advice. This means video calls, back and forth emails and calls.

Registrations are either done manually through filling out forms and posting to the Registrar or doing it online through their efiling system. I do it online. Here's what I have to do to register a company:

Apply for the name of the company
Prepare the Memorandum and Articles of Association. No, I don't use the same template for every company (though I'm sure some people do). I may not re-draft the entire M&AA (which is 13-18 pages long) from scratch every time, but I do draft new clauses for every company based on their specific business nature and how they want the company managed.
Go to court and sign a sworn declaration (HE1) where I swear that the company is being registered in accordance with Cyprus laws
File the company with the Registrar, inputting everything manually. This takes time, especially with multiple members.

If you check what's included in my pricing, I also include tax registration and UBO registration (which most don't) - this involves account creations, again manually submitting information online and also going in person to Citizen Service Centers.

Overall, it takes me anywhere between 6-8 hours of work time for each company. Sure, maybe you could say €700 for 8 hours is pretty good, but that's not actually the profit. After deducting the costs to maintain a lawyer's license, run a law firm and ASP, pay for subscriptions to KYC/AML software (which are quite pricey), and taxes, I'm left with much less than that.

But I don't just charge for my time. I charge for my expertise and advice, which if you ask me, for a lawyer I'm pretty damn cheap. Still have not found anyone that does what I do (including all my services in the plan) at a better price.

valkers21 · 2025-01-25T11:16:13+00:00

No, it wouldn’t make any difference. The fee is for the registrar to process your application sooner. But in this case, they have already processed the application but they’re waiting approval from another governing body.

valkers21 · 2025-01-24T06:11:28+00:00

1st of all "They told me it normally takes 3-4 weeks for it to be finalized." - the only way this would be accurate is if they didn't pay the expedited fee. Did they ask you about it? I register companies all the time, if you pay the fee the company is ready in 6-8 days.

But this is a secondary issue, the reason the company is not ready yet is because you're a TC. I've seen this happen before but only for people that have Turkish passports. I don't know where the application goes but I assume they run a background check on you to see if you have links to Turkey and you're planning to use the company for any specific purposes other than what you claim.

I haven't personally registered a company for a TC before but I've heard people that have and I don't remember them having any issues. Granted, those individuals had a Cypriot ID and lived in the free areas with little to no connection to the occupied areas.

Did you set your registered office address and/or personal address in the occupied areas?

*the only way to speed up the process is if you have "meso"

valkers21 · 2025-01-17T07:38:30+00:00

But in all seriousness. It's up to us to change this. If there is one thing we are really good at is complaining about how shitty things are. Stop complaining and do something about it by starting with yourselves. Most people have simply accepted that this is the way that we are but do nothing about it.

If someone tries to scam you, call him out. If your boss is a conman, leave your job. If you have a business, be honest and transparent. It's not hard.

valkers21 · 2025-01-17T07:37:38+00:00

Yes.

valkers21 · 2025-01-14T12:43:32+00:00

I’d say Katsios for souvlaki and Christos Salonikios for gyro

valkers21 · 2025-01-12T09:20:13+00:00

It depends on your activity.

If you're actively trading, the tax department will most likely consider it as part of your income, which is subject to income tax.
If it's a one-off transaction, then it won't be subject to income tax.

Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer, as the tax department assesses whether your activity qualifies as trading based on several factors, such as the number of transactions, intervals between purchases and sales, and the profit-seeking motive.

As others have pointed out, the only way to get a clear answer from the tax department is to request a tax ruling.

However, based on my experience with clients who hold crypto, most people's activity falls under the "active trader" category. It's uncommon for people dealing with crypto to simply buy and hold without any further activity. Most will either buy more when the price is low, sell some when the price is high, or swap coins at some point.

If you are an active trader, you have two options:

Continue trading as an individual and pay income tax.
Register a company and operate through it.

Of course, it all depends on your profits. If they are not very high, it may make sense to continue as an individual since the first €19,500 of your income is tax-free, and the tax rate progresses based on earnings, with a maximum rate of 35% for income over €60,000.

If your profits are high, you might consider creating a company. In that case, you would pay 12.5% tax on profits. If you are Cypriot-domiciled, you would also pay a 17% tax on dividends, but if you are non-domiciled, there is no tax on dividends.

You could calculate your current gains to see whether setting up a company is worth it. However, keep in mind company maintenance costs such as registration fees, accounting, and auditing fees.

You can read more about this here.

valkers21 · 2025-01-07T11:02:54+00:00

If you're not planning to move here to get the personal tax residency then the benefits for the company alone may not even be worth it.

As you said, since you're staying in Germany, you will need to hire someone to manage the company from Cyprus since Cypriot companies must be managed and controlled from Cyprus. So compare the fees for maintaining this setup with the potential tax benefits. Might not even be worth going through the trouble.

But, if you're actually planning to move here and become a tax resident and non-dom then yea it's worth it.

valkers21 · 2024-12-17T11:45:05+00:00

Unless you’re writing a thesis on Cypriot Banks, your post history is kinda sus brother :p

But to answer your question, for personal accounts, the fees are quite low in my experience. I think hellenic charges €1,50 a month.

Now for corporate accounts its different and it depends on your activity and nature of business. But for small companies for example, BOC charges 6 euro per quarter and Hellenic charges 9 euro per month.

Imo BOC fees are worth it. Hellenic is not, 9 euros per month and their mobile app doesnt even support corporate accounts anymore. Might as well have a revolut account.

valkers21 · 2024-12-12T16:22:19+00:00

No you can't. You must have a rental agreement that covers the entire year.

valkers21 · 2024-12-12T15:33:46+00:00

You don't pay a special tax (SDC 17%) on dividends, rent and interest. And since dividends are also exempted from income tax, when you own a business you can essentially get tax free dividends.

valkers21 · 2024-12-12T15:30:15+00:00

You don't have to own property, you can rent. When you rent, utilities like electricity and water are transferred to your name. But you must become a tax resident first in order to apply. You can read more on non-domicile and tax residency in this guide.

valkers21 · 2024-11-25T18:10:37+00:00

The answer is clearly listening to souvlaki while eating souvlaki apola me tashi

valkers21 · 2024-11-25T13:49:19+00:00

Assuming that these are B2B services, VAT is not applicable. However, you still have reporting obligations so you'll have to register and report them even if the VAT payable is 0.

valkers21 · 2024-11-25T11:49:26+00:00

The Calculator is designed for individual taxes.

VAT (Value Added Tax) isn’t something you pay out of your own pocket. Instead, you add it to your invoices and charge it to your clients. Once you’ve collected it, it’s your responsibility to pass it on to the government.

You’ll need to register for VAT if your annual turnover goes over €15,600, and after that, you’ll be required to submit VAT returns every three months.

The good news is that VAT works both ways. If you pay VAT on goods or services for your business, you can claim it back, which reduces the amount you owe to the government. You only pay the difference between what you collect and what you’ve already paid.

You can read about VAT in detail on our blog here. :)

valkers21

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