SELF EMPLOYMENT

There are two main methods that you can operate a business in Cyprus. The two methods are:

as a self-employed
through a limited liability company

In this article we will focus on the Self-employed

First you need to register as as self-employed in Social Insurance Department of Cyprus. Currently the registration cannot completed online but you need to visit the authorities in person.

As a self-employed you can perform your operations exactly in the same way all limited liabilities companies do. See below the obligations of self-employed as well some recommendations.

Obligations of self-employed

A self-employee should register to Social Insurance authorities (see below).
A self-employed has the same obligation to register with the vat if the gross salaries is above the limit set by the Vat Authorities which is currently set to €15,600. The vat treatment is the same with those applicable with the companies. See here
A self-employed should be registered with the Tax Authorities.
In case a self-employed has employee/s to help him/her, then he/she needs to be registered as an employer and follow all the requirement of the Cyprus employment law.
A self-employed has an obligation to prepare financial statements if the annual gross revenue exceeds the amount of €70,000.

Recommendations

If you decide to perform you operations as a self employed, the fist recommendation is to separate your personal financial with the business financial. The most common way to perform this, is to open a different bank account and to use different equipment (i.e. laptops, computers, office, cars).
It is better if you register a business name in order to contact business through the business name and not through your personal name. Always a business name is more professional than personal name and it attracts more customers.
If your annual gross income is more than €70,000 then it is advisable to register as a company to for the reason that are listed in the article “company or self-employed”, click here for the article.