Legal and tax guides

Most of what a vehicle costs in Cyprus is decided by rules rather than by the seller: VAT at import, road tax every year, compulsory insurance and the paperwork that ties them together. This section explains those rules with the figures that apply now.

Tax at the border depends on origin and age. A used vehicle from another EU country pays no Cyprus VAT if VAT was paid there, unless EU law treats it as new: supplied within six months of first entering service, or with no more than 6,000 km on the clock. Either condition is enough. From outside the EU, 19% VAT applies to every vehicle and import duty depends on where it was built. British listings marked VAT qualifying include 20% UK VAT that can be reclaimed. On an export to Cyprus the buyer should not end up paying British VAT at all.

Road tax is calculated on CO₂ for vehicles registered since 2014, from €0.50 per gram up to 120 g/km to €10 per gram above 180 g/km, with a cap of €1,500 and a surcharge on older Euro classes. It cannot be paid without valid insurance and a valid MOT, because the system checks both. Payment now goes through the Road Transport Department portal. The guides below show how to open an account, pay and renew.

Transferring ownership when a vehicle is sold has its own procedure, set out step by step. Personalised number plates are sold at auction. One guide explains how the bidding works.

For one figure on a specific vehicle, the road tax calculator does the arithmetic in seconds. For a vehicle still in Britain, the UK import calculator adds duty, VAT, shipping and registration.