registering for tax in cyprus

[boro886]

I was hoping for some opinion and advice please.

My wife and I are moving permanently to Cyprus in September 2017 and I will not be working and living on 2 x pensions, which will also be the majority of my wifes income. She however is a lot younger and wants to work as self employed.

I was wondering what the implications would be in the respect of that we both would be paying any tax in Cyprus and not the UK. Would this make it more difficult if in the future we decided to move back to the UK, and particularly if we wish to utilise the NHS for any reason.

[Polemi Dave]

I was hoping for some opinion and advice please.

My wife and I are moving permanently to Cyprus in September 2017 and I will not be working and living on 2 x pensions, which will also be the majority of my wifes income. She however is a lot younger and wants to work as self employed.

I was wondering what the implications would be in the respect of that we both would be paying any tax in Cyprus and not the UK. Would this make it more difficult if in the future we decided to move back to the UK, and particularly if we wish to utilise the NHS for any reason.

A simple question with very complicated answers!
If you live more than 183 days in Cyprus you are a Cyprus tax resident. All income is individual not shared husband and wife, the tax threshold is €19,000 each. You can opt to have pensions taxed at a flat 5%. If you claim non dom status you are exempt the defence tax of 30% on bank interest for 17 years. Social security is expensive, but you can claim a big reduction if you are not earning much.
If you are a UK pensioner and get the right form from the UK (S1 I think) then you can register for health cover from the Government hospitals. This is heavily subsidised. (After Brexit no one knows).
As to going back to UK for NHS, I think there is a wait period once you move back. I know you can't flip flop between NHS and Cyprus Government hospitals, but perhaps a Brit will be able to give you the waiting periods.

[boro886]

It is very simple to deregister from the UK tax system and register on the Cypriot side, indeed if you are resident here you are legally obliged to. Also the NHS is a residency based system so I am afraid as a UK Expat, resident in Cyprus , you are not entitled to NHS care, but if you move back again it is a simple task to re register.

Thank you its the re-registering in UK if we needed to that concerned me

[boro886]

I was hoping for some opinion and advice please.

My wife and I are moving permanently to Cyprus in September 2017 and I will not be working and living on 2 x pensions, which will also be the majority of my wifes income. She however is a lot younger and wants to work as self employed.

I was wondering what the implications would be in the respect of that we both would be paying any tax in Cyprus and not the UK. Would this make it more difficult if in the future we decided to move back to the UK, and particularly if we wish to utilise the NHS for any reason.

A simple question with very complicated answers!
If you live more than 183 days in Cyprus you are a Cyprus tax resident. All income is individual not shared husband and wife, the tax threshold is €19,000 each. You can opt to have pensions taxed at a flat 5%. If you claim non dom status you are exempt the defence tax of 30% on bank interest for 17 years. Social security is expensive, but you can claim a big reduction if you are not earning much.
If you are a UK pensioner and get the right form from the UK (S1 I think) then you can register for health cover from the Government hospitals. This is heavily subsidised. (After Brexit no one knows).
As to going back to UK for NHS, I think there is a wait period once you move back. I know you can't flip flop between NHS and Cyprus Government hospitals, but perhaps a Brit will be able to give you the waiting periods.

Thank you

[josef k]

The deregistering for tax in the UK will happen automatically if you register in Cyprus, as they do talk to each other to make sure you are registered somewhere and not trying to slip through the net.
It will cost 80 euros to register for tax in Cyprus.
If you claim the 5% tax rate you are not allowed to do any paid work. If you do then you revert to the 20% rate.
You can flip flop between 5% and 20% one year to another.
The tax free amount on the 20% rate is 19,500, and the tax free amount on the 5% rate is 3,420. You will have to calculate both and use the rate that gives you the lower tax to pay.
The people in the tax office are very helpful.

[Polemi Dave]

It will cost 80 euros to register for tax in Cyprus.

Is this the accountants fee? I can't remember paying anything, but it was a while ago.

[Poppy]

There is absolutely no problem at all if you want to return to the UK permanently at any time. You just register with a Doctors surgery and you are back in the system immediately. It does help if you retain your NHS no I think. As with the tax office, I just advised the Cyprus tax office that I was returning to the UK and completed my tax form earlier than usual and once I was back in the UK I rang them and hey presto I was back on their system and unfortunately paying tax again! ( albeit very little as I can claim some of my husbands allowance) I also went just today to register with a Dentist and again no problem at all and they were even accepting NHS patients.
No Polemi Dave the 80 Euros is the payment you have to make now to the tax office. When I registered 10 years ago it was just the minimal cost of a stamp I think but it changed to 80 Euros a few years ago.

[smudger]

Correct Poppy! When friends of mine went to register they were most dischuffed that I had told them it would only be the cost of a stamp, €1 as I recall, they had to pay the €80! Bandwagon, jumping on............?

Cyprus never misses a trick!!

[jeba]

The deregistering for tax in the UK will happen automatically if you register in Cyprus, as they do talk to each other to make sure you are registered somewhere and not trying to slip through the net.

I´m struggling to believe that. Where do you have that info from? Also, as long as as your taxable income is below the tax threshhold there is no need to register in Cyprus with tax authorities.

[smudger]

Jeba if you are resident in Cyprus for 183 days or more then you are liable to pay tax here, that's the law. When you leave the UK you need to fill in a form, the number of which escapes me at the mo, but this will trigger any refunds you may be due from the UK. The tax office here will need a copy of this form, presumably so that they know you have actually exited the UK tax system.

Once these forms are all collated, together with the form you need to complete at the tax office here, then you will automatically receive any refunds to which you are due from UK, but will also be registered on the Tax system here, which is needed for many things, such as paying for/reclaiming IPT

HTH

[Varky]

It will cost 80 euros to register for tax in Cyprus.

Is this the accountants fee? I can't remember paying anything, but it was a while ago.

The €80 is the value of the stamp that you pay the cashier at the Paphos tax office when first submitting your Cypriot Tax return at the same time together with your application for relief from UK Tax under the dual tax agreement that exists between UK and Cyprus

[WHL]

Cyprus never misses a trick!!

Bit of an unfair slur I think, when a couple in Cyprus have a tax-free income of circa €38,000. Generous or what? Remind me what the same allowance would be in the UK

Well said.

[Mrblobby]

I think the uk form is P85 .

http://www.taxsafe.uk.com/forms/p85.pdf

The fee talked about is 80€ per person .

[geoffreys]

I think the uk form is P85 .

http://www.taxsafe.uk.com/forms/p85.pdf

The fee talked about is 80€ per person .

I was told the €80 fee was "the EU Admin fee"
Geoff.

[Mrblobby]

Well done Hudswell , I had forgotten the DT form , the most important one .

[geoffreys]

My mistake, yes you have to submit a P85, but you also have to complete and send the HMRC a DT (Double Taxation) Individual form, this is the one that is certified by the Cypriot Tax office.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... vidual.pdf

The €80 is nothing to do with the EU, it is Cypriot Stamp, required on most legal documents in Cyprus.....it just costs more

Well that is what they told me when I queried it at the time. So they lied - how unusual!
Geoff.

[josef k]

The deregistering for tax in the UK will happen automatically if you register in Cyprus, as they do talk to each other to make sure you are registered somewhere and not trying to slip through the net.

I´m struggling to believe that. Where do you have that info from? Also, as long as as your taxable income is below the tax threshhold there is no need to register in Cyprus with tax authorities.

I have that info from my own experience and the notes of the DT Individual form. The process is that you complete the form, give it to the Cypriot tax office, they send it to the UK, and the loop is closed. If you don't register you will continue to be taxed by the UK tax office. Even if you don't have an income sufficient to be taxed in the UK, you may still pay tax on bank interest. If you register with the Cypriot tax office then income from the UK (e.g. pension, bank interest, dividends) will be under a personal UK tax code of NT (no tax).

[geoffreys]

Cyprus never misses a trick!!

Bit of an unfair slur I think, when a couple in Cyprus have a tax-free income of circa €38,000. Generous or what? Remind me what the same allowance would be in the UK

Each person in the couple have a tax-free income of €19,000 - not quite the same thing. If wife has no income the husband only has €19,000 tax free.

It is actually €19,500.00
Geoff.

[Habibi2007]

Uk £11.500 per person before you pay tax.

[Houdinibun]

We have just received our first tax forms. But didn't pay anything to register?