Value Added Tax, or VAT is payable if you’re buying a brand new property or undeveloped land for the purpose of building. The standard rate of VAT is 19% but you can take advantage of a discounted rate of 5% VAT provided you fulfil certain criteria which are:
If eligible, the 5% rate will be applied to the first 200 square meters of a property, properties larger than this will be subject to the standard 19% rate of VAT for any square meters over the first 200.
If you don’t pay VAT, i.e. you’re not buying a new build property, then you will need to pay property transfer fees. This is the fee for transferring the property into your name, from that of the vendor. These fees are dependant on the market value of the property. For the first €85,000 the rate is 1.5%, from €85,000 to €170,000 the rate is 2.5% and over €170,000 the rate is 4%.
Stamp Duty is payable and is calculated based on the purchase price. Anything under €5000 is free from stamp duty. From €5001 to €170,000 stamp duty is set at 0.15% and over €170,000 the rate is 0.2% with a cap at €20,000, the maximum anyone is liable to pay.
As a Cyprus resident you will also have some smaller taxes to pay such as local authority and municipality taxes which pay for your waste collection, street lighting etc. and sewerage tax. These fees will differ from area to area so you need to contact the local authorities for exact figures for these taxes.
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