Registering for income tax and value added tax (VAT)

Who should register?

You must register for income tax if you are:

A physical person whose gross annual income exceeds €19,500.
A legal entity (e.g. a company) registered in the Republic of Cyprus.

You must register for value added tax (VAT) if you are:

A physical or legal person registered in the Republic of Cyprus and the taxable transactions value of your goods and services carried out over the 12 preceding months – or which will be carried out within the next 30 days – exceeds or will exceed €15,600.
A physical or legal person making acquisitions in the Republic of Cyprus from other EU member states and:

- at the end of any one month, over the preceding period of a year, starting from the 1st of January, when the total value of acquisitions, exceeds the threshold of €10,251.61.
- whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe that the value of acquisitions over the next 30 days will exceed the threshold of €10,251.61.

How to register

To register at the tax department, submit form T.D. 2001 (Application for obtaining tax number) and, if needed, form T.D. 1101 (Additional application for VAT registration). The form(s) can be submitted at the same time either by hand at the closest Tax Department district offices, or by hand or post at the PSC Cyprus .

Form T.D. 2003 (Amendment of taxpayer’s data) is used if you are an already registered taxpayer who would like to modify your personal data. The form can be submitted by hand at the closest Tax Department district offices.

For VAT registration, an original of the application must be signed and accompanied by the following supporting documents: a copy of an official receipt/document, proving that the entity carries out taxable activities/transactions in the Republic of Cyprus (e.g. copy of a contract, copy of an invoice related to their activities/transactions).

For the following cases of tax registration, other than a signed original application form, some supporting documents may also be needed. Please note this is not a comprehensive list, but a summary of the most common documents asked for:

Cyprus citizen

- copy of Cyprus identity card

European citizen

- copy of Certificate of Registration from the Civil Registry and Migration Department

Non-European citizen

- copy of Residence Card from the Civil Registry and Migration Department

Legal entities – (companies)

- copy of the Certificate of Incorporation;
- copy of the Certificate of Registered Office;
- copy of the Certificate of Directors and Secretary;
- copy of the Certificate of Shareholders (where applicable).

Partnership

- copy of the Partnership Registration Certificate;
- form Φ.Π.Α. 102 (available only in the Greek language).

Provident Funds / Unions and Foundations

- certificate of registration;
- minutes of a recent general meeting signed by the Acting Board of Directors.

Business Name

- copy of Business Name Registration Certificate.

International Business Entities (companies registered in the Republic of Cyprus whose main business activities are conducted abroad)

- questionnaire for the registration (for VAT purposes) of international business entities (where applicable).

Physical and legal persons who are NOT registered in Cyprus

- identification (must be provided in the Greek language) from the competent authorities abroad (e.g. tax identification number / Identification Card / social insurance registration number. A physical person’s passport is not regarded as identification evidence and should not be attached);
- a signed letter from the person or the authorised representative of the company explaining the reasons for applying for registration with the Tax Department.

Your Tax Identification Code (TIC) will normally be issued within 1-3 working days and your VAT Registration Certificate is issued and sent by post within 8-12 days.

Your tax obligations

Delays in the submission of declarations and/or the payment of taxes are liable to accrue interest, fines and other charges, so have a careful read of your obligations.

Note: All tax payments due can be settled online through JCC Smart.

Legal entities (companies) must:

- issue invoices and receipts and keep accounts and records;
- prepare audited financial statements through an approved auditor;
- submit a declaration via TAXISnet by filling in Form T.D.4 (Company Income Tax Returns) 15 months after the end of the tax year (e.g. the income tax return for 2016 should be submitted by the 31^st March 2018), or by the date set by the Commissioner;
- submit a Temporary Tax Assessment in which the expected taxable profit of the company in the current tax year is estimated. The resulting tax (on the estimated profit) must be paid in two equal instalments on 31^st July and the 31^st December of the current tax year;
- submit a self-assessment by filling in Form I.R.158A (Self-assessment of companies and other bodies) and pay the resulting tax by 1^st August of the year following the tax year assessed.

Self-employed individuals whose annual turnover does NOT EXCEED €70,000 must:

- issue invoices and receipts and keep accounts and records;

- submit a declaration via TAXISnet by filling in Form T.D.1 (Declaration of income self-employed) by the 30^th September of the following year or the date set by the Commissioner;

- submit a Temporary Tax Assessment in which the expected taxable profit of the individual in the current tax year is estimated. The resulting tax (on the estimated profit) must be paid in two equal instalments by 31^st July and the 31^st December of the current tax year;

- submit a self-assessment by filling in Form I.R. 158A SE (Self-assessment for individuals) and pay the resulting tax by the 30^th June of the year following the tax year assessed or up to the date set by the Commissioner.

Self-employed individuals whose annual turnover exceeds €70,000 must:

- issue invoices and receipts and keep accounts and records;
- prepare audited financial statements through an approved auditor;
- submit a declaration via TAXISnet by filling in Form T.D.1 (Declaration of income – self-employed) 15 months after the end of the tax year (e.g. the income tax return for 2016 should be submitted by the 31^st March 2018), or by the date set by the Commissioner;
- submit a Temporary Tax Assessment in which the expected taxable profit of the company in the current tax year is estimated. The resulting tax (on the estimated profit) must be paid in two equal instalments on 31^st July and the 31^st December of the current tax year;
- submit a self-assessment by filling in Form I.R. 158A SE (Self-assessment for individuals) and pay the resulting tax by the 1^st August of the year following the tax year assessed.

Employees must:

- submit a declaration via TAXISnet by filling in Form TD 1Α (Declaration of income – employee) by 31^st July of the following year or the date set by the Commissioner;
- complete the “Tax computation for individuals” section on the declaration of income in order to calculate individual tax, which must be paid by the 30^th June of the year following the tax year assessed or by the date set by the Commissioner.

Employers must:

- submit a declaration via TAXISnet by filling in Form IR7 (Employer’s Declaration) by the 30th of April of the following tax year or the date set by the Commissioner;
- submit a “Monthly status of employer deductions” for the income tax and contributions withheld from employees and pay the tax withheld by the end of the month which follows the month for which the retention was made.

Entities registered for VAT purposes must:
- submit a VAT declaration via TAXISnet by filling in Form T.D. 1004 and pay the tax due by the 10th day of the second month following the end date of their tax declaration.