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Cyprus rental income tax 2026: a plain-English guide for landlords

General information, not tax advice. The tax on your rent depends on your residence, the type of property, how you let it and your other income. Always check your own situation with a licensed professional before you file or plan around these rules.

1. Rent is taxed under normal income tax

If you own and let property personally, your rent is added to your other income (salary, pension, business profit) and taxed under the personal income tax bands. From 1 January 2026:

The €22,000 tax-free amount covers your total chargeable income, not each source separately. So if your salary already uses it up, your taxable rent starts at your top band. Try our Cyprus income tax calculator 2026, which includes rent and the 20% deduction.

2. What you can deduct

• 20% of gross rent from buildings. It replaces actual repair and maintenance costs, so no receipts are needed. It does not apply to rent from land.
• Loan interest: interest on a loan used to buy the rented property is deductible in full.
• Capital (wear and tear) allowance on the building: a yearly percentage of what the building cost you. Land is excluded, so split the price between land and building. Standard rates are 3% for flats and commercial buildings and 4% for industrial, agricultural and hotel buildings. Different rates can apply to second-hand buildings, so ask an adviser to set up the schedule.
• Accelerated allowances (to 2030): 7% on spending that improves a building's energy efficiency (for example insulation), and 20% on solar net-billing systems and batteries.
• GHS contributions you pay on the rent can also be deducted, within the overall limit for contributions (together with social insurance and life insurance, one fifth of your chargeable income).

3. Special Defence Contribution (SDC): abolished on rent from 2026

Up to 31 December 2025, Cyprus-domiciled residents also paid SDC of 3% on 75% of gross rent (an effective 2.25%). The 2026 tax reform abolished SDC on rental income from 1 January 2026, for everyone. Rent for 2025 and earlier still follows the old rules.

4. GHS (General Health System) contribution: 2.65%

• Individual landlords pay 2.65% on rental income, whether or not they are Cyprus tax resident and whatever their domicile.
• It is generally charged on gross rent (the 20% deduction and interest do not reduce it).
• All your income (salary, pension, rent, dividends, interest) shares one €180,000 yearly cap for GHS.
• If your tenant is a company or partnership, the tenant normally withholds the 2.65% and pays it over. If your tenant is an individual, you pay it yourself through self-assessment, twice a year (by 30 June and 31 December).
• Companies that own property do not pay GHS on rent.

5. Worked example (resident landlord, 2026)

Andreas is Cyprus tax resident and earns a salary of €30,000. He lets a newly built flat for €1,500 a month. The building part of the price was €150,000 (land excluded), and he pays €3,000 a year of interest on the loan he took to buy it.

For simplicity this ignores the deduction for social insurance and GHS contributions, which would lower the tax slightly. Under the 2025 rules the same rent would also have carried SDC of €405 if Andreas were Cyprus-domiciled.

Rent only, below the tax-free amount: a non-resident who lets a Cyprus flat for €12,000 a year and has no other Cyprus income has taxable rent of at most €9,600 after the 20% deduction, so no Cyprus income tax. GHS of €318 (2.65%) is still due, and a Cyprus tax return must still be filed.

6. Non-residents and non-doms

• Non-residents pay Cyprus income tax on Cyprus-source rent, with the same bands and deductions, and GHS of 2.65% on it. They must file a Cyprus tax return for any year with Cyprus taxable income.
• Your home country may also tax the rent. A double tax treaty usually gives credit for Cyprus tax, so check the rules where you live.
• Non-doms: before 2026, non-domiciled residents were exempt from SDC on rent. As SDC on rent no longer exists, non-dom status makes no difference to rent from 2026. It still matters for dividends and interest (see our moving to Cyprus guide).

7. Tax returns and payments

• Who files: from tax year 2026, every Cyprus tax resident aged 25 to 70 must file a tax return, even with no income. Anyone else with taxable income, including non-residents with Cyprus rent, must file too.
• How and when: returns from tax year 2026 are filed on the Tax Department's Tax For All portal. The deadline is normally 31 July of the following year (31 July 2027 for 2026), though the government can extend it.
• Provisional tax: income tax on rent is not withheld, so landlords generally estimate their tax for the year and pay it in two equal instalments, by 31 July and 31 December of the same year. If your estimate is below 75% of the final figure, an extra 10% charge can apply on the difference.
• Rent by traceable payment: from 2026, rent for property in Cyprus must be paid by bank transfer, card, another recognised electronic method or bank cheque, not cash.
• Stamp duty on rental agreements ended with the abolition of the Stamp Duty Law from 1 January 2026.

8. Letting through a company

• A Cyprus company pays 15% corporate income tax (from 2026) on its rental profit, after deducting allowable expenses, interest and capital allowances. It pays no GHS on rent.
• Taking the profit out costs extra: dividends to Cyprus-domiciled residents carry 5% SDC (on profits from 2026) and 2.65% GHS. Non-doms pay no SDC on dividends.
• Companies also have running costs: the €350 annual levy, audited accounts every year and an annual return. Putting property you already own into a company can trigger transfer fees and capital gains tax. Get advice before you choose. See our Cyprus company setup guide.

9. Short-term lets (Airbnb, Booking) and VAT

• Self-catering accommodation (a furnished villa, house or apartment let to tourists) must be registered with the Deputy Ministry of Tourism before you advertise or operate it.
• Under Tax Department Circular 10/2023, income is treated as business income if all of these apply: the property is (or should be) registered with the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, you are (or should be) VAT-registered and charge 9% VAT, and lets are short-term, recurring and usually to different guests each time. You are then taxed on actual profit (receipts less expenses, interest and capital allowances, including any manager's fee) instead of using the 20% deduction. Individuals pay GHS on that profit through self-assessment every six months.
• If you instead let the whole property for a fixed rent to a manager who sublets it, the normal rental rules above apply.
• VAT: VAT registration is required once taxable supplies exceed €15,600 in 12 months. Long-term residential lets are exempt from VAT. Letting commercial property to a VAT-registered business is generally subject to 19% VAT unless the landlord opts out (an irrevocable choice).

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Related guides

See also Cyprus property taxes 2026 (transfer fees, VAT and capital gains), the Cyprus income tax calculator 2026, the moving to Cyprus guide, the Cyprus company setup guide and Cyprus crypto taxes 2026, or go back to the Cyprus Tax Connect homepage.

Sources

• Tax Department – Individual income tax return (who must file from 2026, Tax For All, deadlines)
• Government of Cyprus – Tax Reform 2026 (in Greek)
• CyLaw – Assessment and Collection of Taxes Law, section 5 (filing obligation, in Greek)
• Health Insurance Organisation – GHS contribution rates and €180,000 cap
• KPMG Cyprus – Main provisions of the tax reform (SDC on rent abolished, rent payment methods)
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries – Cyprus rental income (reviewed August 2026)
• PwC – Cyprus individual tax administration and provisional tax (reviewed August 2026)
• PwC – Cyprus tax depreciation, energy-efficiency allowances (reviewed August 2026)
• Grant Thornton Cyprus – Tax Facts 2026 (deductions, wear and tear rates, VAT on leases)
• Deloitte Cyprus – Tax treatment of rental income (GHS on gross rent)
• PwC Cyprus – Tax Department Circular 10/2023 on self-catering (Airbnb) income
• RSM Cyprus – Overview of Cypriot real estate taxation 2026

Last reviewed 19 October 2026.