# Cyprus VAT Rate and Invoice Checker

> Find the right Cyprus VAT rate for what you sell, test whether the reverse charge applies, and check that every invoice shows what the law requires. 2026 rates of 19%, 9%, 5%, 3% and 0%, reviewed by ICPAC and ICAEW chartered accountants in Nicosia.

Publisher: Aqualis Ltd, Nicosia, CY. Members of ICPAC and ICAEW.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-14. Figures marked "Confirm" await adviser sign-off.
Canonical URL: https://cyprusvatrates.com/

## Short answer

Cyprus charges VAT at 19% as standard in 2026. A 9% rate covers restaurants, catering, hotels and taxi and intercity bus travel. A 5% rate covers most food, medicines, hairdressing and the first 130 square metres of a qualifying first home. A 3% rate covers books, newspapers and waste collection. Exports and intra-EU supplies of goods are zero-rated, as are baby milk, diapers and listed fresh produce until 31 December 2026. Construction services and phones or laptops sold to VAT-registered businesses fall under the reverse charge. Invoices are due within 30 days of the supply.

## Cyprus VAT rates and invoice rules, 2026

- **Standard rate**: 19% on every taxable supply not listed for a reduced rate, zero rate or exemption (In law)
- **9% reduced rate**: Hotel and holiday accommodation, restaurant and catering services including drinks served, taxi and intercity or tour bus travel, old people's homes (Confirm)
- **5% reduced rate**: Foodstuffs, takeaway food without drinks, medicines and vaccines, hairdressing, sports entry, renovation of homes at least three years old (In law)
- **5% on a first residence**: First 130 m² of a new home used as the main residence for ten years. Home up to €350,000 and 190 m², deal up to €475,000. Rest at 19% (In law)
- **Old 200 m² scheme**: Transitional relief for permits applied for by 31 October 2023 ended 15 June 2026, or 31 December 2026 for later permits (Confirm)
- **3% super-reduced rate**: Books, newspapers and magazines in print or electronic form, classical theatre, music and dance tickets, waste collection, sewage, aids for disabled people (In law)
- **Zero rate**: Exports outside the EU, goods shipped to VAT-registered EU businesses, international passenger transport, sea-going vessels and aircraft (In law)
- **Temporary zero rate**: Baby milk, baby and adult diapers, feminine hygiene products and listed fresh fruit and vegetables, 1 January to 31 December 2026 (Confirm)
- **Exempt supplies**: Financial services, insurance, medical and hospital care, education, residential leases, land and buildings after first occupation, postal services, betting (In law)
- **Domestic reverse charge**: Construction services, phones, laptops, tablets, consoles and processors, scrap metal, precious metals and property in debt-for-asset swaps. €200 per return if missed, €4,000 cap (In law)
- **Invoice time limit**: Within 30 days of the time of supply, unless the Tax Commissioner approves a longer period in writing (In law)
- **Simplified invoices**: Retail sales need no full invoice unless the customer asks. EU law allows simplified invoices up to €100. The Cyprus limit is not confirmed (Confirm)
- **Credit notes**: Must refer to the original invoice and show the reduction in net value and VAT. VAT is adjusted in the period the credit note is issued (Confirm)
- **Blocked input VAT**: Entertainment of anyone other than staff and directors, and the purchase, import or hire of saloon cars, unless the business deals in or hires them out (In law)
- **VAT refunds**: Interest due if a refund is delayed beyond four months, or eight during an investigation. Claims within six years of the period (In law)
- **E-invoicing**: No domestic business-to-business mandate in 2026. Under the EU VAT in the Digital Age package, intra-EU sales need structured e-invoices from 1 July 2030 (In law)

## How to set up Cyprus VAT rates and invoices correctly

1. **Map every supply to a rate.** List what you sell, find each line in the rate finder, and note the condition that decides it, such as dine-in against takeaway or a home's age.
2. **Fix the invoice template.** Add every required field, your VAT number, the customer's number for business sales abroad, and the reverse charge or exemption wording.
3. **Issue within 30 days.** Invoice within 30 days of the supply, in an unbroken sequence, with VAT shown in euro. Correct mistakes with a credit note, never by editing the original.
4. **Reconcile and file.** Match output VAT per rate to the sales ledger, self-declare reverse charge purchases, strip out blocked input VAT, and file by the 10th of the second month after the quarter.

## Free tools on this page

- **Cyprus VAT rate finder**: Looks up the 2026 Cyprus VAT rate for seventy common supplies, from restaurant meals and first homes to laptops sold between businesses, with the conditions that decide the rate and a note on each. Filter by sector or search by keyword.
- **Cyprus reverse charge test**: Decides whether the supplier charges Cyprus VAT or the customer accounts for it under the reverse charge, for services, goods, construction work, electronics and metals, by supplier location, customer status and customer location. Returns the invoice wording and how to report it.
- **Cyprus VAT invoice checker**: Checks a Cyprus VAT invoice field by field against the required content for a full, reverse charge or simplified invoice, tests the 30-day issue limit and the simplified invoice ceiling, and computes the VAT and gross total from the net amount and rate.

## Questions and answers

### What is the VAT rate in Cyprus in 2026?

The standard rate is 19%. Reduced rates of 9%, 5% and 3% apply to closed lists of goods and services, and some supplies are zero-rated or exempt. The December 2025 tax reform raised corporation tax to 15% but did not change VAT rates.

### Is restaurant food and alcohol taxed at 9% in Cyprus?

Restaurant and catering services are 9%, and current Cyprus guides include drinks served with the meal, alcohol included. The same wine sold as a bottle to take home is 19%, and takeaway food is 5% without its drinks. Ask the adviser to confirm the treatment of alcohol served at the table before you set up the till.

### Which goods are zero-rated in Cyprus until the end of 2026?

Under the decree extending the measure to 31 December 2026: baby milk in liquid or powder form, baby and adult diapers, feminine hygiene products, and a list of fresh or chilled fruit and vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, citrus, apples and bananas. Some summaries still list bread, milk and eggs, so check each product code with the adviser.

### What is the difference between zero-rated and exempt for Cyprus VAT?

Neither charges the customer VAT. A zero-rated supply is still taxable, so the seller recovers VAT on its costs and the sale counts towards the registration threshold. An exempt supply gives no recovery, so VAT paid on costs becomes part of the cost.

### When does the reverse charge apply to construction work in Cyprus?

When a VAT-registered business receives building, alteration, demolition, repair or maintenance services for a building or civil engineering work in the course of its business. It applies at every level of subcontracting and even when the supplier is not registered. Work for a private homeowner is invoiced with VAT in the normal way.

### Do I charge VAT when I sell laptops or phones to another Cyprus business?

Not if the buyer is VAT-registered and buying for its business. Mobile phones, laptops, tablets, games consoles and processors fall under the domestic reverse charge. You invoice without VAT, show the buyer's VAT number, and the buyer declares the 19%. Sales to consumers carry VAT as usual.

### How long do I have to issue a VAT invoice in Cyprus?

Thirty days from the time of supply, unless the Tax Commissioner agrees a longer period in writing. Practitioners advise issuing intra-EU supply and reverse charge invoices by the 15th of the month after the supply, to line up with the EU sales statement.

### What must a Cyprus VAT invoice show?

Date of issue, a unique sequential number, the supplier's VAT number, name and address of supplier and customer, the customer's VAT number where it reverse charges, a description and quantity, the date of supply if different, unit price before VAT, net value per rate, the rate, VAT in euro, and any exemption or reverse charge wording.

### Can I issue a simplified invoice in Cyprus, and up to what amount?

Retail sales to the public need no full invoice unless the customer asks for one. EU law lets businesses use simplified invoices up to €100. We have not found a 2026 source that settles the Cyprus figure, and one guide quotes a lower limit, so treat €100 as the ceiling until the adviser confirms. Simplified invoices are never allowed for intra-EU or reverse charge supplies.

### How do I correct a VAT invoice in Cyprus?

Issue a credit note that cites the original invoice number and date, gives the reason, and shows the change in net value and in VAT. Then issue a new invoice if needed. Never edit or delete an issued invoice, because the sequence must stay unbroken.

### Can I reclaim VAT on a company car or client dinners in Cyprus?

Not on buying, importing or hiring a saloon car, unless you deal in cars, hire them out, run taxis or teach driving. Not on entertaining clients or suppliers. VAT on vans, and on entertainment purely for staff and directors, is recoverable in the normal way.

### How long does a Cyprus VAT refund take?

There is no fixed payment date, but interest is due if the refund is delayed beyond four months from the claim, or eight months if the Tax Department investigates it. Refunds are held back while income tax returns are outstanding, and claims must be made within six years.

### Is e-invoicing mandatory in Cyprus?

Not between businesses in 2026. Public bodies have been able to receive structured e-invoices since 2019 and 2020, but sending them is voluntary. Under the EU VAT in the Digital Age package, sales between businesses in different EU countries will need structured e-invoices and near real-time reporting from 1 July 2030.

### Who qualifies for the 5% VAT rate on a first home in Cyprus?

A buyer acquiring or building a home to live in as the main residence for ten years. The 5% applies to the first 130 m² of a home worth up to €350,000 and up to 190 m², in a deal of up to €475,000. The rest of the area is 19%. Above those limits the whole home is 19%.

## Contact

Aqualis Ltd, https://www.aqualis.com.cy