Cyprus 60-day vs 183-day tax residency: which rule applies to me?

How does the 183-day test work and how are days counted?

The 183-day test is pure physical presence. You are a Cyprus tax resident for a tax year if your stays in Cyprus add up to more than 183 days in that year, and nothing else is required. The tax year is the calendar year, 1 January to 31 December. The counting rules are written into the law: the day you arrive counts as a day in Cyprus, the day you leave counts as a day outside Cyprus, arriving and leaving on the same day counts as one day in, and leaving and returning on the same day counts as one day out. Separate trips are added together.

What are the full conditions of the 60-day test?

The 60-day test has one gateway plus three conditions, and every one must be met in the same tax year. The gateway is that you must not stay in any one other state for more than 183 days in that year. Then you must spend at least 60 days in Cyprus; you must carry on a business in Cyprus, be employed in Cyprus, or hold an office in a company that is tax resident in Cyprus at some point during the year; and you must maintain a permanent home in Cyprus that you either own or rent. Fail any one of them and the test fails.

Which rule applies to me?

Take the days in order. If you were in Cyprus for more than 183 days, the 183-day test decides it and the 60-day conditions never come into play. If you were in Cyprus for 60 to 183 days, only the 60-day test can make you resident, so check the 183-day limit for any one other country first, then your Cyprus business, employment or directorship, then your permanent home. Under 60 days in Cyprus, neither test is open to you. And if you spent more than 183 days in one other country, the 60-day route is closed whatever your ties.

What happens if I fail a 60-day condition during the year?

The 60-day test is judged across the whole tax year, so a tie lost in October can cost you the year. The law states expressly that you do not meet the business condition if, during that year, your Cyprus business, your Cyprus employment or your office in a Cyprus tax resident company is terminated. Losing the home you rely on works the same way against the permanent-home condition. Days already spent in Cyprus do not rescue the position, so if a tie is going to end, put the replacement in place before it lapses.

Is tax residency the same as non-dom status, and what is the Cyprus 90-day rule?

They are separate tests. Tax residency is decided by days and ties under Income Tax Law 118(I)/2002. Non-dom status is decided under the Special Contribution for Defence Law 117(I)/2002, which deems you domiciled in Cyprus once you have been tax resident here for at least 17 of the 20 years before the tax year, so you can be tax resident and non-dom at the same time. Searches for a Cyprus 90-day rule usually mean something else again: either the exemption for salaried work performed abroad for more than 90 days, or the immigration limit on short visits. Neither decides tax residency.