Capital gains tax calculator Cyprus: property and lifetime exemptions

Cyprus charges 20% of the chargeable gain on the disposal of Cyprus immovable property and of shares or interests whose value derives from Cyprus immovable property (section 4 of the Capital Gains Tax Law 52/1980). The rate is applied to the gain, that is the proceeds less the acquisition cost, the allowable expenditure and the disposal costs, not to the value of the property. Ordinary portfolio securities are outside the charge.

Shares listed on a regulated market of a recognised stock exchange are exempt outright under section 5(3). Shares listed on a non-regulated market are exempt while the year's aggregate disposal value stays within EUR 50,000 from 1 January 2026 (section 5(3A)). Unlisted shares are charged at 20% only when the company is property-rich: its property directly includes Cyprus immovable property, or at least 20% of the share value (50% through 2025) derives from it.

Every individual may claim, once in a lifetime, a general exemption on property gains, a larger amount on agricultural land for a farmer, or a main-residence exemption. The amounts are €17,086 general and €85,430 main residence through 31 December 2025, and €30,000 general, €50,000 agricultural and €150,000 main residence from 1 January 2026 (Law 242(I)/2025). Only one of the general/agricultural and main-residence exemptions may be used, whichever is greater, and any unused amount carries to a later disposal.

Charge and rate: Cyprus imposes capital gains tax at 20% on the chargeable gain from the disposal of property (Capital Gains Tax Law 52/1980 section 4). 'Property' is defined in section 2 as Cyprus immovable property, shares of companies whose property includes Cyprus immovable property, shares of companies that directly or indirectly participate in companies holding Cyprus immovable property where at least 20% of the market value of the shares derives from the market value of that Cyprus immovable property (liabilities disregarded), and an agreement to sell Cyprus property. The section 4 rate is charged ON THE GAIN, not on the value of the property: proceeds less the acquisition cost, the inflation-adjusted capital expenditure and the allowable disposal costs (sections 6 and 9). The charge applies regardless of the tax residence of the person (Tax Department). Sources: https://www.gov.cy/mof-tax/documents/kefalaioychika-kerdi/genikes-plirofories-gia-ta-kefalaioychika-kerdi/ and https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/enop/non-ind/1980_1_52/full.html

Property-rich shares: the percentage test in section 2(iii) sits at 20% for this year. Shares of a company whose property directly includes Cyprus immovable property are within section 2(ii) and need no percentage test. The test is applied to each disposal; liabilities are disregarded in measuring whether the Cyprus immovable property reaches the threshold. Law 242(I)/2025 section 2 lowered the indirect threshold from 50% to 20% with effect from 1 January 2026; a sale on 31 December 2025 tests 50% and a sale on 1 January 2026 tests 20%. Source: https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/arith/2025_1_242.pdf

Listed shares: no tax is charged on the gain from the disposal of shares listed on a regulated market of a recognised stock exchange (section 5(3), as amended by Law 242(I)/2025 section 3(c)). Shares listed on a NON-regulated market of a recognised stock exchange are exempt where the aggregate value of all such disposals in the same calendar year does not cumulatively exceed EUR 50,000; once the cumulative value exceeds that amount, tax is charged on the gain of each disposal from the date the cumulative value crossed it (section 5(3A), inserted by Law 242(I)/2025 section 3(d)). Shares the person held on 31 December 2025 which were listed on a non-regulated market on that date remain exempt whatever the transaction value. The rule reaches a disposal only where the shares are within the section 2 property definition, that is the company is property-rich. Sources: https://www.gov.cy/mof-tax/documents/kefalaioychika-kerdi/genikes-plirofories-gia-ta-kefalaioychika-kerdi/ and https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/arith/2025_1_242.pdf

Lifetime exemptions (sections 5(1) and 5(2)): every individual, not a company, may claim these once in a lifetime. For this year the amounts are: general disposal of property EUR 30,000, agricultural land disposed of by a person whose main occupation is farming EUR 50,000, and a qualifying main residence EUR 150,000. A person is entitled to ONE of the general/agricultural exemption and the main-residence exemption, whichever is greater, and the maximum lifetime relief is EUR 150,000. The relief is lifetime and cumulative: an earlier claim reduces the amount available later, and any unused balance is transferred to a later disposal. These are fixed statutory amounts and are not re-valued annually. Source: https://www.gov.cy/mof-tax/documents/kefalaioychika-kerdi/genikes-plirofories-gia-ta-kefalaioychika-kerdi/

Main residence conditions (section 5(2)): the owner must have used the dwelling exclusively for the owner's own occupation for a total period of at least five years, or at least ten years where it is not the first disposal of a main residence; the residence must stand on land of not more than 1.5 decares (1,500 square metres); no exemption is given where the disposal takes place at least one year after occupation ended; and where the gain exceeds the exempt amount, tax is charged on the excess and on the proportion of the gain attributable to any land beyond 1.5 decares. A debt-restructuring disposal of a main residence is separately exempt for disposals to 31 December 2030 (section 5(4)(a)) where the proceeds do not exceed the year's cap: EUR 350,000 for disposals through 31 December 2025 and EUR 450,000 from 1 January 2026 (Law 242(I)/2025 section 3(e): https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/arith/2025_1_242.pdf); that targeted relief is not generalised here. Sources: https://www.gov.cy/mof-tax/documents/kefalaioychika-kerdi/genikes-plirofories-gia-ta-kefalaioychika-kerdi/ and https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/enop/non-ind/1980_1_52/full.html

Losses: a loss from a property disposal is computed in the same way as a gain (section 7(1)); it is set off against the gain from a simultaneous disposal of other property, and any unused amount is carried forward and set off against the gain from a later property disposal until the loss is exhausted, with no time limit (section 7(2)). Losses of one spouse are not set against the other's gains. Source: https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/enop/non-ind/1980_1_52/full.html

Gain computation and allowable expenditure: the gain is the disposal proceeds (the amount declared by the parties) less the acquisition cost, less capital expenditure on the property, each adjusted for inflation by the retail price index over the period of ownership (the indexation allowance), less the disposal costs (transfer fees, advertising, valuation, disposal expenses, loan interest for the acquisition, legal fees, and commission to a licensed agent). No indexation is applied to the disposal costs. Property acquired before 1 January 1980 is deemed to have been acquired at its 1 January 1980 Land Registry value. This calculator does not apply the indexation allowance (no Cyprus retail price index series is held in /data) and it does not apply the pre-1980 deemed valuation, so it computes an un-indexed gain; enter the 1 January 1980 Land Registry value as the purchase price for pre-1980 property. Source: https://www.gov.cy/mof-tax/documents/kefalaioychika-kerdi/genikes-plirofories-gia-ta-kefalaioychika-kerdi/

Filing and payment: the disposer must give the Director a declaration for EACH disposal within one month of the disposal and in any event before the property is transferred, and pay the tax (section 12(1)). An annual CGT return is not the model here. Source: https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/enop/non-ind/1980_1_52/full.html

Crypto: from 1 January 2026 gains from disposals of crypto assets are subject to income tax at the flat rate of 8% (Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 4) Law 244(I)/2025, article 20E and section 25, effective 1 January 2026: https://www.cylaw.org/nomoi/arith/2025_1_244.pdf). A disposal includes a sale, a gift, an exchange of one crypto asset for another and the use of a crypto asset as payment; crypto assets acquired through mining are excluded. Crypto losses are allowed only against the same person's crypto-asset gains in the same tax year: they are not carried forward, cannot offset a later year's gains and cannot be assigned through group relief (article 20E(2)). Cyprus has no dedicated capital gains tax rule for crypto, so this calculator shows the 8% as a separate flat charge on non-mining crypto gains, nets crypto losses only against the same year's crypto gains and charges 0% before 2026. The Tax Department's crypto FAQ confirms the rate, the disposal scope and the same-year crypto-only loss netting (https://www.gov.cy/mof-tax/documents/forologisi-kerdon-apo-synallages-se-kryptostoicheia/sychnes-erotise-anaforika-me-ti-forologisi-kerdon-apo-synallages-se-kryptostoicheia-apo-01-01-2026/). Corroboration: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/cyprus/individual/income-determination

Other reliefs not modelled: transfers on death, gifts between spouses, parents and children and relatives up to the third degree of kinship, gifts to family companies, gifts to charities or the Republic, property exchanges where the gain is reinvested, expropriations, company reorganisations, transfers of the property of an absent person, transfers between divorced persons, and acquisitions of land with buildings at market value from unrelated parties between 16 July 2015 and 31 December 2016. Foreign immovable property of a Cyprus resident is outside Cyprus capital gains tax; this calculator models Cyprus property and the property-rich shares only. Sources: https://www.gov.cy/mof-tax/documents/kefalaioychika-kerdi/genikes-plirofories-gia-ta-kefalaioychika-kerdi/ and https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/cyprus/individual/other-taxes