Cyprus property buying costs: VAT or a halved transfer fee, as a rule not both

On top of the price: VAT or a halved transfer fee, and no stamp duty

A buyer in Cyprus pays one government charge on the price, not two: VAT on a new build bought from the developer, or the Department of Lands and Surveys transfer fee, reduced by 50%, on a resale, because section 10(1) of Cap.219 charges no transfer fee where VAT is imposed on the same transaction for the same property. Philippou Law Firm's buy-property service page puts it the same way: resale properties are exempt from VAT but subject to transfer fees, currently at a 50% discount, and if VAT was paid on the property, as with new builds from developers, transfer fees are waived entirely. VAT is 19% at the standard rate, or 5% for an eligible buyer of a home used as their main and permanent residence. Stamp duty no longer applies to a contract signed after 1 January 2026. Two fixed Land Registry charges apply on either route: €50.00 to deposit the contract of sale and €10.00 for each copy of the title deed.

On this page a new build means a building bought before first occupation, and a resale a building transferred after it, because paragraph 1(b)(i) of the Eighth Schedule to the VAT Law takes the transfer of a building with its plot out of the VAT exemption only where it happens before first occupation.

Who answers: Eleni Philippou, Senior Partner and head of the Property Department

The lawyer behind this page is Eleni Philippou, Senior Partner at Philippou Law Firm, who specialises in real estate and conveyancing, contract law, and wills, estate planning and probate. She leads the firm's Property Department and serves as its Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer. She has been a member of the Cyprus Bar Association since 2001 and a certified STEP member since 2015. In her article Cyprus Property Taxes for Buyers, Owners and Sellers, updated on 17 March 2026, she writes: "Buyers pay either VAT (19%, or 5% on an eligible first home) on new property, or transfer fees at a 50% reduction on resales, never both."

The firm states on its property hub that its conveyancing team has handled over 1,000 property transactions across Cyprus. On its buy-property page, the firm states that the purchase process typically takes 2 to 6 months from offer to completion.

Transfer fees: 3%, 5% and 8% on bands of the price, then halved

On a transfer by sale, other than from parent to child, the transfer fee is calculated on the sale price under the Chapter 17 scale in the Schedule to Cap.219. The fee is paid by the person in whose name the property will be registered, that is the buyer. Chapter 17(a) charges 3% on every euro up to €85,000, 5% on every euro above €85,000 up to €170,000, and 8% on every euro above €170,000, and the Land Registry fee page gives the same bands.

Section 10(2) of Cap.219 reduces the transfer fee by 50% on every transfer declaration on which Chapter 17 fees are charged. Law 81(I)/2016, gazetted 25 July 2016, gave section 10(2) that wording, and the subsection states no end date. Section 10(2A) withholds the reduction where the property was acquired through a lender's sale procedure under Part VI or Part VIA of the Transfer and Mortgage of Immovable Property Law.

Paying VAT means no transfer fee, unless the Director doubts the price

Where VAT is imposed on the same transaction for the same property, no Chapter 17 fee is charged, under section 10(1) of Cap.219. The Land Registry applies the rule on a certificate from the VAT Department, and adds that if the Director is not satisfied with the stated amount, fees are charged as Article 10 of Cap.219 provides. Under the proviso to section 10(1), the Director may, at his discretion, charge a Chapter 17 fee where he is not satisfied that the declared price on which VAT was charged was the market value at the date the sale was agreed. On a sale where the transfer fee applies, the Director may likewise charge the fee on market value at the date of the transfer declaration or of the contract of sale, if not satisfied that the declared price represents it. The buyer can dispute a fee charged on that valuation by Application/Appeal under section 80 of the Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) Law.

VAT on a new build: 19%, or 5% on an eligible main home

VAT on a new build is 19% under section 17 of the VAT Law 95(I)/2000, unless the buyer qualifies for the reduced 5% rate under section 18(1). Paragraph 1 of Table C of the Fifth Schedule applies the 5% rate to a building, with its plot, supplied before first occupation and used as the main and permanent place of residence in the Republic. Table C defines first occupation as the first use of the building after its supply or construction, including own occupation, own use, letting or any other systematic use, and first use as systematic use for at least eighteen months.

Law 42(I)/2023, gazetted 16 June 2023, limits the 5% rate to the first 130 square metres of buildable area, as shown on the plans filed for the planning permit, up to a value of €350,000, provided the whole transaction is not above €475,000 and the total buildable area not above 190 square metres. Where the value exceeds €475,000, Circular 11/2023 of the Cyprus Tax Department, dated 28 November 2023, applies the standard rate to the whole amount of the purchase.

Those 2023 limits do not apply to buildings whose planning permit was obtained, or applied for, by 31 October 2023, where the responsible declaration is filed within three years from the date the 2023 law came into force, under section 63 of the VAT Law. Law 109(I)/2026, gazetted 24 April 2026, lets the Tax Commissioner examine such applications until 31 December 2026 where planning authority delays held them up.

An eligible person is at least 18 on the date of applying, acquires the home as their main and permanent place of residence in the Republic, and has no other home in the Republic bought at the reduced rate. The Cyprus Tax Department's FAQ describes the eligible person as any natural person, a citizen of Cyprus or of any state. The buyer files a responsible declaration on the Tax Commissioner's form, a solemn statement and not an oath, then hands the seller or contractor a certified copy of the application, and from then on the seller must charge the reduced rate. Until the approval certificate is issued, the seller or contractor must charge the standard rate on every payment, the FAQ states.

Stop living there within ten years and you repay part of the VAT

An eligible person who stops using the home as their residence before ten years have passed must, within thirty days, notify the Tax Commissioner and pay the difference between the tax at the reduced rate and the tax at the standard rate. The rates are those in force when the home was supplied or built, and the difference is due in proportion to the period the home was not used for own occupation. Nothing is repaid on the death of the eligible person, or on a transfer to an adult child who is an eligible person at the time. The Cyprus Tax Department's announcement of 3 June 2024 states that where a home approved for 5% was not used, or stopped being used, as main and permanent residence for less than ten years, the Department claims the VAT back.

Stamp duty: none on a contract signed after 1 January 2026

Section 2 of Law 239(I)/2025, gazetted 31 December 2025, repeals the Stamp Duty Laws on 1 January 2026. The Cyprus Tax Department's notice of 7 January 2026 states that a document drawn up and signed, even by one party, after 1 January 2026 is not subject to stamp duty. Documents signed, even by one party, by 31 December 2025 are normally subject to stamp duty and must be stamped, the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry circular of 8 January 2026 states. For those contracts the Schedule to the Stamp Duty Law 19/1963 gives nil up to €5,000, €1.50 for every €1,000 or part of €1,000 from €5,001 to €170,000, and €2 for every €1,000 or part of €1,000 above €170,000, with a maximum of €20,000.

Depositing the contract costs €50 and protects you from that day

Depositing the contract of sale at the Land Registry costs €50.00. With the deposit, the Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law 81(I)/2011 applies, which aims to protect the purchaser if the vendor fails to meet the obligations in the contract. Under section 5(1) of that Law, the deposit creates an encumbrance on the property, ranking in the order of priority it takes on deposit. The contract must be deposited within six months of its signature, unless a court order permits late deposit. A copy of the title deed costs €10.00 per deed.

Worked example at €300,000: €8,650 resale, €15,050 or €57,050 new build

The example assumes one buyer, a sale price of €300,000 before VAT, a contract signed after 1 January 2026 and, for the 5% column, an eligible person buying a main residence within 130 square metres, with €300,000 inside both the €350,000 and the €475,000 limits. The resale pays no VAT because the transfer follows first occupation, and the new build pays no transfer fee because VAT is charged on the same transaction.

On a new build, the seller charges VAT on each payment, at the standard rate until the 5% approval certificate is issued. The €50 deposit fee is paid when the contract is deposited, which must happen within six months of signing. The transfer fee is charged on the transfer declaration. Philippou Law Firm's Property Transfer Cost calculator estimates the total costs of purchasing property in Cyprus, including transfer fees and VAT, as indicative estimates based on standard 2026 rates, and leaves out legal fees.

Two buyers in two names pay €5,800 instead of €8,600

The Land Registry transfer fee calculator works on whole shares: for a share, the amount of that share is entered as the sale amount. Eleni Philippou's article states that with more than one buyer the price is divided by the number of buyers and the transfer fees apply to each share, often giving a lower total. This is the calculator's method applied to the Chapter 17 scale, not a per-buyer rule written in Cap.219.

Two buyers with a half share each enter €150,000: 3% of 85,000 = 2,550, plus 5% of 65,000 = 3,250, total 5,800 each, 11,600 together, halved under section 10(2) to €5,800 in total. Against the €8,600 one buyer pays in the worked example, the saving is 8,600 less 5,800 = €2,800. Under Chapter 17(b), a person who buys a share and then another share of the same property within two years pays fees on the total of both transfers, less the fees already paid.

The seller pays the 0.4% levy, and usually the agent

The seller pays a levy of 0.40% of the sale price at the transfer, under Law 172(I)/2022, where the Land Registry has set a general valuation value for the property. The Tax Commissioner collects the levy and issues the payment confirmation needed for the transfer. An estate agent is not necessary for a property transaction, under section 20(1) of the Real Estate Agents Law 71(I)/2010. Unless agreed otherwise, the agent's fee is 3% of the value of the transaction, due on conclusion of the sale agreement, under the proviso to section 20(2). Antonis Loizou wrote in the Cyprus Mail on 2 August 2021 that the commission is paid by the seller unless otherwise agreed. For the buyer's own lawyer, Philippou Law Firm provides a clear fee quote before you commit. There has been no annual Immovable Property Tax since Law 86(I)/2016 abolished it from 1 January 2017.

No title deed yet: the firm's Paphos case took about 14 months

Two English couples waited over nine years for Paphos villa title deeds blocked by developer disputes, the firm reports in a case page last updated 17 October 2020. The firm lodged a Blocked Title Deeds application under Law 139(I)/2015, and the deeds were registered in approximately 14 months from the firm's instruction. Section 44ΙΗ, inserted by Law 139(I)/2015 gazetted 4 September 2015, applies to every case where a property is burdened with a contract deposited at the District Land Office by 31 December 2014.

The preamble of Law 110(I)/2025, gazetted 4 July 2025, describes these trapped buyers as people who have fully performed their obligations to the seller, where the seller cannot transfer the property into their name because of encumbrances. It also records that by Civil Appeal 285/2018, decided on 20 June 2024, sections 44ΙΘ to 44ΚΒ were held unconstitutional. Under section 44ΙΗ(b) as replaced in 2025, a title deed must have been issued for the property. Applications filed before the 2025 law are examined provided a title deed is issued within two years and eight months of that law's commencement.

Non-EU buyers need the Council of Ministers' permit, applied for through the District Officer

Under section 3(1) of Cap.109, an alien may not acquire immovable property, other than on death, without the prior permit of the Council of Ministers. Citizens of EU member states and of EEA states are excluded from the definition of alien in section 2, so the permit concerns buyers from outside the EU and the EEA. A valid contract gives an alien no right to acquire until the permit is granted, and any registration in breach of section 3 is void. Where the land exceeds the area strictly needed for a home or professional premises, and in any case two skales (the Act's own unit of area), the permit is also subject to conditions set by Regulations. The applicant submits Form Comm.145 to the District Officer of the district where the property is, and the form states that all arrangements for the purchase, up to the transfer at the District Lands Office, are the sole concern of the applicant and the registered owner. The Cyprus Mail reported on 3 September 2026 that the Disy, Akel and Diko parties had drafted four separate bills to restrict foreign property purchases, so these are bills and not law.

Prices: up 8.5% on the year in 2026 Q2, Paphos apartments up 18.5%

The Central Bank of Cyprus Residential Property Price Index (RPPI), on base 2010Q1 = 100, stood at 109.7 in the second quarter of 2026, up 2.4% on the quarter and 8.5% on the year, in the release of 24 September 2026. Apartments rose 8.9% year on year and houses 5.8%. The Central Bank attributes the rise to strong demand for housing, mainly from foreign buyers and to a lesser extent from local buyers, and to rising construction costs.

The House Price Index of the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat), on base 2025 = 100, is a preliminary estimate of 105.46 points for 2026 Q2, up 2.4% on the quarter and 7.9% on the year, in the release of 30 September 2026. Cystat builds the index on administrative data received quarterly from the Land Registry. Registered contracts of sale reached 14,969 in January to September 2026, against 13,173 a year earlier, up 14%, in the Land Registry file of 5 October 2026.

Paphos apartments led the districts at 18.5% year on year in 2026 Q2, while Paphos houses rose 3.1%. Foreign buyers made up 66% of Paphos sales contracts, against local shares of 84% in Nicosia, 66% in Limassol and 57% in Larnaca.

Selling later: capital gains tax is 20% of the gain, with exemptions

Capital gains tax is 20% on the gain from a disposal of property, under section 4 of the Capital Gains Tax Law 52/1980, subject to the exemptions in the Law. In computing the gain, section 6 deducts the value of the property at 1 January 1980 with its later increase due to inflation, and any expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively for the gain after that date and not deductible for income tax, also adjusted for inflation. Inflation is measured by the retail price index of the Statistics and Research Department of the Ministry of Finance.

From 1 January 2026, when Law 242(I)/2025 came into force, an individual pays no tax where the total gain from all disposals, in the same year or any other year, is not above €30,000, or €50,000 for agricultural land sold by a farmer. A main residence used by the owner for at least five years exclusively for own occupation, on land up to one and a half decares, is exempt up to a gain of €150,000, with tax on the amount above it. Only one of the two exemptions applies, whichever is greater.

Official sources

• Cap.219, Department of Lands and Surveys (Fees and Charges) Law, sections 10(1), 10(2) and 10(2A) and Schedule Chapters 3, 7 and 17; Law 81(I)/2016, gazetted 25 July 2016.

• Department of Lands and Surveys: fee page, contract deposit page and transfer fee calculator.

• VAT Law 95(I)/2000, sections 17, 18(1) and 63, Fifth Schedule Table C and Eighth Schedule; Law 42(I)/2023, gazetted 16 June 2023; Law 109(I)/2026, gazetted 24 April 2026.

• Cyprus Tax Department: Circular 11/2023 of 28 November 2023, the FAQ on the reduced 5% VAT rate, the announcement of 3 June 2024 and the notice of 7 January 2026.

• Law 239(I)/2025, gazetted 31 December 2025, and the Stamp Duty Law 19/1963.

• Sale of Immovable Property (Specific Performance) Law 81(I)/2011.

• Law 139(I)/2015, gazetted 4 September 2015, and Law 110(I)/2025, gazetted 4 July 2025.

• Cap.109, Acquisition of Immovable Property (Aliens) Law, and Form Comm.145.

• Law 172(I)/2022 of 18 November 2022, Law 86(I)/2016 of 25 July 2016 and the Real Estate Agents Law 71(I)/2010.

• Capital Gains Tax Law 52/1980 and Law 242(I)/2025, in force 1 January 2026.

• Central Bank of Cyprus, Residential Property Price Index 2026 Q2, 24 September 2026.

• Statistical Service of Cyprus, House Price Index 2026 Q2, 30 September 2026.

• Department of Lands and Surveys, registered contracts of sale, file of 5 October 2026.

• Cyprus Mail, 2 August 2021 and 3 September 2026.

Laws and figures checked on 23 October 2026.