Cyprus 9% VAT Rate — What Qualifies

What is the 9% VAT rate in Cyprus?

The 9% rate is the first of two reduced VAT rates in Cyprus — the other being 5%. It applies to a defined list of goods and services primarily in the hospitality, tourism and transport sectors. The standard rate of 19% applies to everything not specifically covered by a reduced rate or exemption. Applying the wrong rate — particularly charging 19% when 9% applies — means you are overcharging your customers. Applying 9% when 19% should apply means you are undercharging VAT and may face a Tax Department assessment.

What the 9% rate covers in Cyprus

• Hotel accommodation and tourist accommodation of all types
• Short-term letting of furnished residential accommodation — holiday lets, Airbnb, serviced apartments
• Restaurant and catering services — food and non-alcoholic beverages consumed on premises
• Takeaway food and drinks excluding alcoholic beverages
• Passenger transport services — taxis, buses, boats, scheduled services within Cyprus
• Cinema and theatre tickets
• Entry to amusement parks and similar attractions
• Sports facilities and gymnasium entry where no 19% element dominates

What the 9% rate does NOT cover

• Alcoholic beverages — subject to 19% even when served in restaurants
• Long-term residential lettings — exempt from VAT entirely
• Commercial property rentals — exempt by default or 19% if opted
• Food purchased for home consumption from supermarkets — retail food follows its own rules, not the 9% catering rate
• Sports equipment and merchandise — 19% standard rate

9% VAT on holiday lets and Airbnb

Short-term letting of furnished accommodation — including properties listed on Airbnb, Booking.com and similar platforms — is subject to the 9% reduced rate in Cyprus, not the standard 19% rate. This applies where the letting is of a hotel-type nature — furnished, short-term, with some services provided. Long-term residential lettings to a single tenant as their home remain exempt from VAT. If you let a property on a mix of short-term and long-term bases the VAT treatment depends on which type of letting applies to each individual arrangement.

9% on transport services

Passenger transport services within Cyprus are subject to 9% — taxis, buses, boats and scheduled transport. This does not extend to vehicle hire without a driver — rental of a car or van without a driver is subject to 19% as a hiring service not a transport service. Freight transport within Cyprus is 19%. International passenger transport and freight are zero-rated as international transport services.