Cyprus abolished stamp duty on apartment sale contracts under Law N. 239(I)/2025 for contracts signed on or after 1 January 2026. Contracts signed up to 31 December 2025 remain subject to Law 19/1963.
The buyer paid 0.15% and 0.20% on tiered bands, capped at €20,000, within 30 days of signing. The Tax Department collects the duty on pre-2026 contracts, and an unstamped pre-2026 contract stays ineligible for Land Registry deposit.
Stamp duty was a tax on the apartment sale contract as a legal document, not on the apartment or the land beneath it. The parties triggered the duty when they executed the contract, which made signing the taxable event, so the rules below apply to contracts signed on or before 31 December 2025.
A stamped pre-2026 contract counts as admissible evidence in Cypriot courts and qualifies for deposit at the Land Registry. An unstamped pre-2026 contract remains legally valid, but courts will not accept it as evidence until you stamp it and settle any penalties.
The Stamp Duty Law of 1963 (Law 19/1963), as amended, governs stamp duty on documents signed on or before 31 December 2025. Law N. 239(I)/2025 then abolished the duty for instruments executed on or after 1 January 2026.
The execution date, meaning the date the parties sign, decides which regime applies; the start of negotiations and the completion date of the apartment play no role. A contract signed on 20 December 2025 is subject to Law 19/1963 in full, while a contract signed on 5 January 2026 is subject to no duty at all.
Sale contracts, mortgage instruments, and fixed-duty documents were the three categories of documents subject to stamp duty under Law 19/1963. The law taxed written instruments, not transactions, and its first schedule listed every dutiable document:
The buyer paid stamp duty on a pre-2026 apartment sale agreement. Law 19/1963 placed the obligation on the purchaser in acquisition agreements, and the buyer also holds the practical incentive: only the buyer needs the stamped contract to deposit it at the Land Registry. Parties can reallocate costs under the contract, but unless a clause states otherwise, the buyer should budget for the duty on any pre-2026 agreement.
The Tax Department applied tiered percentage bands to the contract value: 0% up to €5,000, 0.15% from €5,001 to €170,000, and 0.2% above €170,000, up to a statutory cap of €20,000 per agreement. New and resale apartments used identical bands. The law did not distinguish a developer sale and a secondary-market purchase. For example, a €300,000 apartment results in €507.50 in stamp duty.
Stamp duty used the contract value, meaning the consideration stated in your sale agreement, not an independent market valuation. If your contract stated €280,000, the Tax Department calculated the duty on €280,000, whatever a valuer might estimate. The Land Registry assesses market value separately, but only for transfer fees, which remain a distinct charge.
Contracts valued up to €5,000, approved company reorganisations, qualifying loan restructurings, and transfers of listed securities were the four exemption categories under Law 19/1963. Contracts with a value up to €5,000 were subject to no duty under the 0% band.
Documents executed within an approved company reorganisation were fully exempt, and the law extended the same relief to documents signed as part of a qualifying loan restructuring. Transfers of securities listed on a recognised stock exchange also escaped the duty. Apartment buyers rarely qualified for these reliefs because a standard purchase contract falls into none of the categories.
The law imposed a clear compliance requirement: every chargeable apartment sale agreement executed before 1 January 2026 had to be presented for stamping within the statutory deadline. The sections below cover the deadline, contracts signed abroad, the collecting authority, the payment steps, the documents you need, and the proof you receive.
Buyers pay stamp duty within 30 days of signing the apartment sale agreement, by paying the amount to the Tax Department under payment code 0800 and presenting the contract for stamping. This rule applies to every chargeable contract executed before 1 January 2026. The 30-day window, contracts signed abroad, the collecting authority, the payment steps, the required documents, and the proof of payment each follow specific rules.
Yes, the duty attached to any document relating to Cyprus property or to matters performed in Cyprus, wherever the parties signed it. A contract signed in London for a Limassol apartment therefore remained subject to duty. The law deemed such a contract signed on the date it entered Cyprus, and the 30-day payment window ran from that date of receipt rather than from the signing itself.
Which authority collects stamp duty in Cyprus?
The Tax Department of the Republic of Cyprus administers and collects stamp duty through the district Stamp Duty Commissioner. The Land Registry (Department of Lands and Surveys) collects nothing; it only accepts a stamped pre-2026 contract for deposit under the Specific Performance Law and later handles the title transfer. Buyers with pre-2026 contracts therefore deal with two authorities in sequence: the Tax Department for stamping, then the Land Registry for deposit. Buyers with 2026 contracts deal directly with the Land Registry.
How is stamp duty paid?
Buyers with pre-2026 contracts pay stamp duty in three steps: calculate the amount with the Tax Department’s online stamp duty calculator, pay the duty to the Tax Department under payment code 0800, then present the receipt and the contract to a stamp duty officer, who seals and cancels the stamp. Principal contracts with fixed duty amounts qualify for the electronic self-stamping procedure introduced in July 2020, which lets the parties stamp the document themselves and skip the office visit.
What documents do you need to pay stamp duty?
You need five documents to pay stamp duty: the original signed contract, identification, the stamp duty calculation form, proof of payment, and any supporting documents the officer requests. The list below explains each item:
The cancelled stamp on the contract serves as the certificate of payment. The stamp duty officer seals the stamp and cancels it across the face of the document, thereby making the contract itself proof of compliance. Keep the stamped original and the payment receipt together, because the Land Registry checks the stamp on pre-2026 contracts before accepting the deposit.
You need a stamped contract because Law 19/1963 makes an unstamped pre-2026 sale agreement inadmissible before courts and public authorities, so the Land Registry cannot accept it for deposit until the cancelled stamp proves the duty was settled.
That deposit is the buyer’s main protection between signing and title transfer. The deposit prevents the seller from selling or mortgaging the apartment to a third party while the contract is in effect. It also preserves your right to specific performance, meaning a court can order the seller to transfer the apartment to you if the seller defaults. You must deposit the contract within six months of signing to secure this protection.
The rule applies only to contracts signed on or before 31 December 2025. Contracts signed on or after 1 January 2026 carry no stamp, because Law N. 239(I)/2025 abolished the duty, and the Land Registry deposits them without one.
The penalty scales with delay and accrues under Article 20 of Law 19/1963, as unpaid stamp duty does not lapse. Stamping within six months of signing incurred a €35 fee plus 10% of the duty amount above €35. Stamping after six months doubles that penalty, so the €507.50 duty on a €300,000 apartment carries a penalty of €82.25 within six months and €164.50 after six months. Every unstamped pre-2026 contract now falls in the doubled band. The unstamped contract also stays inadmissible in court and ineligible for Land Registry deposit until you settle the full amount.
Yes, if any contracting party signed the contract on or before 31 December 2025 and the contract was never stamped, the duty and any accrued penalties remain payable. Contracts executed on or after 1 January 2026 are subject to no duty. The execution date alone decides the answer; the abolition does not erase liabilities that arose under Law 19/1963.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice; always consult a qualified professional and verify the latest Cyprus laws before making decisions.
