An EU member state with a 15% rate, exempt share disposals and nothing withheld on the way out — for groups that need a company inside Europe.
Cyprus is an EU member state whose company law descends from the English Companies Act, and whose company slots neatly into European structures. Corporate tax rose to 15% on 1 January 2026 — and the same reform cut the tax on dividends to 5% and abolished the deemed-distribution rules that used to complicate holding companies.
The appeal was never the headline rate. Gains on the sale of shares are exempt, foreign dividends are usually exempt, nothing is withheld on payments out to non-residents, and the EU directives apply. The condition is management and control on the island: real directors, real board meetings, decisions actually taken in Cyprus. We build the company that way, or we say so plainly if it will not stand up.
Cyprus is an island republic in the eastern Mediterranean, an EU member since 2004 and in the eurozone since 2008. Its company law descends from the English Companies Act, business is done in English, and the island has a deep bench of accountants, auditors and lawyers — which is how it became the standard European holding jurisdiction for groups trading with Asia, the Gulf and eastern Europe.
One vehicle does almost all of the work. The questions that decide whether it works are residence and substance.
The standard vehicle: a Ltd with at least one shareholder and one director, a registered office, a secretary and a name approved by the Registrar of Companies. Incorporation normally takes one to two weeks once the name is cleared and due diligence is complete.
A Cyprus company is tax-resident where it is managed and controlled. In practice that means a majority of Cyprus-resident directors, board meetings held on the island and decisions minuted there. Without it the company is not entitled to the treaties or the exemptions — and its counterparties’ tax authorities will say so.
Audited financial statements every year, a corporate tax return by 31 January of the second year following, provisional tax in July and December, VAT registration once turnover passes €15,600, and an annual return to the Registrar. Banks look closely at where the business actually sits.
Cyprus is usually the European layer of a group whose operating company sits in Hong Kong or Dubai. We keep the whole chain consistent.
Name approval, incorporation with the Registrar of Companies, registered office and your corporate documents.
Cyprus-resident directors, board meetings and the records that support tax residence.
Bookkeeping, audited financial statements, the corporate tax return and provisional payments.
VAT registration, VIES returns and the reporting that comes with trading inside the EU.
Cyprus and EU bank and payment accounts, with the substance file the compliance team expects.
Groups needing an EU holding or trading company, founders invoicing European clients, structures pairing Europe with Hong Kong or Dubai.
A short call to recommend the structure, jurisdiction and bank for your case — fees quoted per case.
