What can you write off in a Cyprus Limited?

[Hydrox]

Hey Tax Optimizers,
I’ve followed through on my decision and relocated to Cyprus — got myself an apartment, set up a Cyprus Limited company, opened bank accounts, and I’m spending several months a year here. So far, everything’s going smoothly.

Since accounting can be quite expensive, my plan is to handle the bookkeeping myself (I’ve got a lot of experience in it), and then hand things over to a licensed accountant for the audits and tax filings. Does anyone have experience with this approach?

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The main reason for this post is to ask what kind of expenses you can write off through a Cyprus Limited.

I assume a dedicated home office room in your apartment should be fine — but has anyone successfully deducted more than that? For example, can you go as far as writing off a larger share of the apartment costs, or even the whole thing? I'd love to hear from anyone who has spoken to solid knowledgeable Cyprus accountants and knows what tends to get accepted here.

Also, what about other write-offs — like a car, business-related travel, or private health insurance? And when it comes to audits, what kind of proof or documentation do you need to have ready?

Let me know

 

[OffshoreDude]

Since accounting can be quite expensive, my plan is to handle the bookkeeping myself (I’ve got a lot of experience in it), and then hand things over to a licensed accountant for the audits and tax filings.

Are you aware that your Cyprus LTD is exempt from submitting full audits, if your annual turnover is below 200.000 Euros? If so, you don't need an audit; an annual review by an accountant would be enough, and that is much cheaper than a full audit!

The main reason for this post is to ask what kind of expenses you can write off through a Cyprus Limited.

I have the impression that troughout your post you seem to confuse / mix up deductions with write-offs. However, these are two differen terms and concepts in taxation. I assume, what you actually meant are deductions to reduce taxable profits.

I assume a dedicated home office room in your apartment should be fine — but has anyone successfully deducted more than that? For example, can you go as far as writing off a larger share of the apartment costs, or even the whole thing?

On some website I read that a director of a Cyprus LTD who puts his apartment as registered address, can deduct 30% of the rental costs and utility bills, but couldn't find that confirmed elsewhere, so it may be incorrect information.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has spoken to solid knowledgeable Cyprus accountants and knows what tends to get accepted here.

To me and certainly other Cyprus business owners this is also of interest, so I'm wonderin why this thread doesn't get the attention it deserves. Maybe it is because you used the misleading term "write-offs" in its title, while actually you were meaning general business deductions. Maybe this scares people off, as write-offs are a more complex concept than simple deductions.

By the way, there is also another thread on the topic on this forum ("Cyprus Business Expenses").

 

[daniels27]

I have the impression that troughout your post you seem to confuse / mix up deductions with write-offs. However, these are two differen terms and concepts in taxation. I assume, what you actually meant are deductions to reduce taxable profits.

Maybe some language issue:
Abziehen / absetzen etc. => deduct (business expenses are deductible and lower the profit)
Abschreiben => write-off (the company had to write-off a lot of their investment)

 

[daniels27]

Also this page states:

Can I deduct my home office expenses if I work remotely?
If you're self-employed, you can deduct reasonable home office expenses proportionate to the space used for business. However, employees working remotely generally cannot deduct home office expenses under Cyprus tax law.

The tax law unforutnately is only available in Greece.