{"id":14494,"date":"2026-09-12T15:29:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consultoriaehero.com\/?p=14494"},"modified":"2026-09-12T19:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T17:53:14","slug":"vat-in-cyprus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consultoriaehero.com\/en\/vat-in-cyprus\/","title":{"rendered":"VAT in Cyprus in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Cyprus, VAT is called \u03a6\u03cc\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03a0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03b8\u03ad\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u0391\u03be\u03af\u03b1\u03c2<\/em>, or \u03a6\u03a0\u0391 for short. It has a standard rate of 19%<\/strong> and three reduced rates: 9%<\/strong>, 5%<\/strong>, and 3%<\/strong>. The standard rate is set by Article 17 of the VAT Law, 95(I)\/2000, and has been 19% since 13 January 2014<\/strong>; before that, from 14 January 2013 to 12 January 2014, it was 18%. The 3% rate is the newest: it was created by Law 75(I)\/2023, published on 21 July 2023.<\/p>\n

And there is a fourth rate that many tables do not include: a temporary 0%<\/strong> on basic necessities \u2014 infant milk, nappies, feminine hygiene products, fresh fruit and vegetables \u2014 which the Cypriot Council of Ministers renews by decree. In 2026 it runs until 31 December<\/strong>, except for meat and fish, which leave 0% on 30 September 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rate<\/th>\nPercentage<\/th>\nApplies to<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Standard (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2)<\/span><\/td>\n19%<\/strong><\/td>\nEverything not included in the reduced-rate lists: clothing, footwear, electronics, cosmetics, household goods, alcoholic beverages, and also soft drinks, which are excluded from the 5% food rate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reduced (\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c9\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2)<\/span><\/td>\n9%<\/strong><\/td>\nRestaurant and catering services, accommodation in hotels and other tourist establishments, urban, intercity and rural taxis, tourist and intercity buses, and goods and services for care homes for the elderly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reduced (\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c9\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2)<\/span><\/td>\n5%<\/strong><\/td>\nFood and beverages, except alcohol, beer, wine and soft drinks, and except anything temporarily covered by 0%; water; medicines and vaccines; contraceptives; medical equipment for persons with disabilities; child car seats; fertilisers, insecticides, animal feed and seeds; liquefied gas in cylinders; electricity under tariff 08; hairdressing; school canteens; passenger transport by urban and rural bus; services of writers, composers and performers and their rights; tickets to shows, circus, fairs and amusement parks, concerts, museums, zoos, cinemas and exhibitions; sporting events and facilities; works of art sold by the artist themselves or by a gallery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reduced (\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c9\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2)<\/span><\/td>\n3%<\/strong><\/td>\nBooks, newspapers and magazines, including in electronic format; audiobooks for persons with disabilities; wheelchairs, orthopaedic devices, prostheses, hearing aids and lifting devices; street cleaning, rubbish collection and waste treatment when not provided by the State, a local authority or a public law body; sewage disposal and treatment and septic tank emptying; and admission only to the premiere of theatre, music and dance works or classical works<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Temporary zero (\u03bc\u03b7\u03b4\u03b5\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c2)<\/span><\/td>\n0%<\/strong><\/td>\nInfant milk, baby and adult nappies, feminine hygiene products, fresh or chilled vegetables and fresh fruit, from 1 January to 31 December 2026; fresh, chilled or frozen meat and fish, only from 6 April to 30 September 2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Rates verified on 12 September 2026 against the \u201c\u03a3\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03ad\u03c2 \u03a6.\u03a0.\u0391.\u201d page of the \u03a4\u03bc\u03ae\u03bc\u03b1 \u03a6\u03bf\u03c1\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03af\u03b1\u03c2, the Cyprus Tax Department (gov.cy<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

The 0% rate on the basic basket, with two different expiry dates<\/h2>\n

Since 2023, Cyprus has been removing VAT from basic necessities, and it does so by decree of the Council of Ministers amending the annexes to the VAT law, not by an Act of Parliament. The current decree is \u039a.\u0394.\u03a0. 337\/2025<\/strong> (Official Gazette \u0399\u0399\u0399(\u0399), No. 5981, of 21 November 2025): from 1 January to 31 December 2026<\/strong>, 0%<\/strong> applies to infant milk (liquid and powdered), baby and adult nappies, feminine hygiene products \u2014 tampons, sanitary pads and incontinence pads \u2014 fresh or chilled vegetables (potato, tomato, onion, lettuce, carrot, cucumber, fresh legumes, aubergine, pepper, mushroom\u2026) and fresh fruit (banana, fig, avocado, citrus fruit, grapes, melon and watermelon, apple and pear, apricot, peach, cherry, nectarine, plum, strawberry and kiwi). Each product is identified by its Combined Nomenclature code.<\/p>\n

A second decree, \u039a.\u0394.\u03a0. 168\/2026<\/strong> (Official Gazette \u0399\u0399\u0399(\u0399), No. 6012, of 27 March 2026), brought meat and fish into the 0% rate, but on a different timetable: only from 6 April to 30 September 2026<\/strong>. It covers beef, pork, lamb and goat, edible offal, poultry, rabbit and hare, fish, cuttlefish, squid and octopus, fresh, chilled or frozen. Processed products remain at 5%: marinated, smoked, sausages, burgers, nuggets, prepared stews, canned fish and breaded fish. As of 12 September 2026, no extension has been published, so on 1 October those products return to 5%.<\/p>\n

Watch out for two traps. First: the Tax Department\u2019s own rates page summarises both measures in a single line and dates them all \u201cuntil 30\/9\/2026\u201d, and it does not mention feminine hygiene; what matters are the decrees, and for nappies, infant milk, pads, fruit and vegetables the 0% rate runs until 31 December 2026<\/strong>. Second: when the 0% rate expires, not everything goes back to the same rate. The decrees do not create a new category; they remove those products from the food paragraph of the Fifth Annex to the law, which is at 5%; so infant milk, fruit and vegetables will return to 5%<\/strong>, just like meat and fish on 1 October. Nappies and feminine hygiene are not food and do not appear in any reduced-rate list: those do return to 19%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Which VAT you charge customers in Cyprus if you sell from another EU country<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

This is the part no rate table covers, and usually the real question. The rate you charge does not depend only on the destination: it depends on how much you sell to consumers in other EU countries.<\/p>\n