Money and growing your career in Cyprus

You have learned the rules, the market and the deal. This last lesson is about your own money: what a sale really pays, what you owe in tax and contributions, how to pick the right employer and how to grow from assistant to licensed agent with your own office.

Commission maths

Article 20 of Law 71(I)/2010 sets a 3% default fee when nothing else was agreed. Leptos Estates (June 2026) puts the usual range at 3% to 5% of the final price, usually paid by the seller, with VAT on top. The standard VAT rate is 19%, and the VAT is never part of anyone’s share: the agency collects it for the State.

The fee goes to the licensed agent or agency. As an assistant, you are an employee, so your bonus or commission depends entirely on your contract. The shares below are examples.

Example 1: a resale house in Paphos, €400,000, fee 3% plus VAT, your bonus 15% of the fee.

1. Agency fee: 400,000 x 3% = €12,000
2. VAT charged to the seller: 12,000 x 19% = €2,280
3. Your bonus: 12,000 x 15% = €1,800, on top of your salary and before tax
4. Your agency pays the Council 2/10,000 of the price: €80

Example 2: a new flat in Limassol, €800,000, developer pays 5%, shared 50/50 with a second agency, your bonus 20%.

1. Total fee: 800,000 x 5% = €40,000, plus €7,600 VAT
2. Your agency’s half: €20,000
3. Your bonus: 20,000 x 20% = €4,000

Example 3: a long-term rental, €2,000 a month, fee of one month’s rent.

There is no legal rate for rentals, so this is an assumption to check with your agency. Fee: €2,000 plus €380 VAT. With a 15% bonus, you get €300. Rentals pay less, but they bring landlords who may sell later. Remember that lettings at €10,000 a month or more fall under the anti-money laundering law.

Run your own numbers with the commission calculator.

Tax and contributions as an employee

Most people start as employed assistants. Your employer deducts tax and contributions from your pay.

Income tax. The tax reform enacted on 31 December 2025 changed the bands from 1 January 2026 (EY, PwC):

Chargeable income	Rate	Tax at the top of the band
Up to €22,000	0%	€0
€22,001 to €32,000	20%	€2,000
€32,001 to €42,000	25%	€4,500
€42,001 to €72,000	30%	€13,500
Above €72,000	35%

Contributions in 2026: 8.8% social insurance on earnings up to €5,742 a month, and 2.65% for GESY (KPMG, Zeno Legal).

Example: assistant earning €36,000 a year, salary plus bonuses	Amount
Social insurance (8.8%)	€3,168
GESY (2.65%)	€954
Income tax: 20% on €10,000 plus 25% on €4,000	€3,000
Left after these, before any allowances	about €28,878, about €2,407 a month

Your employer pays its own share on top, 12.5% in total in 2026 (KPMG). The minimum wage is €1,088 a month (€979 in your first six months), so check that your base salary is at least that.

Tax and contributions as a self-employed agent

Once you hold your own licence and work for yourself, you handle four things:

• VAT. Registration is compulsory once your taxable turnover passes €15,600 in any 12 months, within 30 days. You then add 19% to your fees and file quarterly returns (KTC). Two sales of €300,000 at 3% (€18,000 of fees) are enough to cross it.
• Social insurance. 16.6% of your insurable income, assessed by Social Insurance Services, up to the 2026 ceiling of €68,904 a year (KPMG).
• GESY. 4% of your income (Zeno Legal).
• Income tax. The same bands as above, on your profit after allowable costs.

Example: self-employed agent with €50,000 profit	Amount
Social insurance (16.6%, if assessed on your profit)	€8,300
GESY (4%)	€2,000
Income tax: €4,500 up to €42,000, plus 30% on €8,000	€6,900
Left after these	about €32,800

Your contribution basis depends on your assessment, so get an accountant from your first month.

How to choose an employer

Paylab’s small sample (fewer than 20 verified answers) shows 80% of estate agents earning €1,400 to €3,405 a month gross. Use that as a starting point, then ask:

1. Will you register me as an assistant within 30 days? Without it, my practice months for the exam do not count.
2. What is my base salary, and what bonus do I get on my own listings, on agency leads and on shared deals?
3. When is the bonus paid? At the contract, at the transfer, or when the agency is paid?
4. What is the agency’s registration and licence number, and is the licence valid this year?
5. Who runs the anti-money laundering checks, and with what forms?
6. What leads, portals, training and office do you provide?
7. Is the job full time or part time? The Labour Ministry sees no legal bar to part-time assistants (Cyprus Mail, November 2025).
8. If I am non-EU: which permit covers this job, and what may I legally do in it?

Get the answers in your employment contract. Compare employers on CloserPass agencies.

Growing your career

• Get licensed. After 12 months as an assistant, with the right degree, sit the Council’s exam (lesson 3).
• Specialise. New builds for one developer, resales in one district, lettings, or one nationality and language.
• Move into management. In October 2026, developers and property firms in Limassol and Paphos were advertising sales, project management and business development roles on CyprusWork.
• Join the profession. The Cyprus association of real estate agents, a member of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, lobbies on the law and on illegal brokerage.
• Build your own brand with sourced market updates and reviews from happy clients.

Opening your own licensed agency

When you are ready, here is the checklist (lessons 3 and 4):

1. Qualify: degree, 12 months as an assistant, exam passed.
2. Register with the Council: €100 application and €350 certificate. A company can be registered alongside you.
3. Insurance of €200,000, a copy to the Council and the original on your office wall.
4. An office with your name, “licensed real estate agent” and your number on the front, inspected by the Council.
5. Annual licence: €250 plus €20 for the ID card, expiring on 31 December.
6. Anti-money laundering: written procedure, client identification, records and reporting to MOKAS.
7. Staff: register each assistant within 30 days and give the Council their social insurance certificates.
8. VAT, social insurance and GESY registrations, and the 2/10,000 payment to the Council after each mediated transfer.

Before you start: final checklist

• I know my route to work legally: EU registration, or the right employer-sponsored permit.
• I have, or have applied for, my tax number and social insurance registration.
• I am registered as an assistant, or I know exactly which properties I may show as a developer’s employee.
• I know my agency’s registration and licence numbers.
• I put every fee in writing, with VAT.
• I run client checks and never take cash above €10,000.
• I order a DLS search certificate on every property.
• I know the sales contract must be deposited at the DLS within six months.
• I can estimate transfer fees and VAT for a resale and a new build.
• I have a 90-day plan and a daily prospecting block.

Rates and rules change, so check the official source before you act.

Take the final quiz

You are ready. Test yourself with the final quiz for Cyprus: questions from every theme, each corrected with its source. Then look at open roles and the Cyprus market page.

This lesson is general information, not tax or legal advice.