Insights
Cyprus structuring, UK corporation tax and the banking that decides whether a structure is worth having. Every figure sourced, every article dated.
What is the Cyprus IP Box?
The Cyprus IP Box is a tax regime under which 80% of net qualifying profit from qualifying intellectual property is deducted, leaving the remaining 20% taxed at the 15% corporate rate. That produces an effective rate of approximately 3%. It sits in Article 9(1)(l) of the Income Tax Law and is built on the OECD nexus approach, so the qualifying share depends on the R&D behind the asset.
Read moreThe UK Patent Box needs a patent. Most software companies do not have one.
The UK Patent Box taxes qualifying profit at an effective 10%, but the relief attaches to granted patents. Most software companies protect their work by copyright and have never filed one, so they read about the regime and then discover it was not built for them. The Cyprus IP Box covers copyrighted software and taxes qualifying profit at approximately 3%.
Read moreOffshore company with a bank account" is two things, and the second one is failing
Registering an offshore company is administrative and cheap. Getting an account opened for it is neither, and the refusal usually has nothing to do with your application. Banks now exit whole customer categories rather than assess applicants one at a time. This is what they ask, why the answers matter more than the jurisdiction, and what changes when the entity is onshore.
Read moreHow to reduce corporation tax in the UK, and the option most lists leave out
Most advice on reducing UK corporation tax covers the same six reliefs, and for a profitable software business they move the rate by a point or two. The larger question is where the profit is earned in the first place. If your company develops its own software, the Cyprus IP Box taxes qualifying IP profit at approximately 3%, and the remaining 97% stays in the business.
Read moreCyprus tax residency and non-dom status, without the brochure
Cyprus tax residency comes by two routes: more than 183 days on the island, or 60 days plus four conditions. Non-domiciled status then exempts you from the Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest. It runs until you have been tax resident for 17 of the previous 20 years, and since 2026 it can be extended twice by paying for it.
Read moreCyprus tax rates in 2026, and what the reform actually changed
Cyprus overhauled its tax code with effect from 1 January 2026. The corporate rate rose from 12.5% to 15%, the dividend charge on domiciled residents fell from 17% to 5%, deemed dividend distribution was abolished, and the IP Box was left untouched at approximately 3% on qualifying profit. Several things also moved against taxpayers.
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