VAT information

Written by Administrator | 02 September 2010

You can claim back up to 2/3 of the payable VAT

Ministry of Finance

Grants and Benefits Service

Special Grant for Purchasing or Building a Residence,
Law N.91(I)/2006

The special grant is given to persons who purchase or erect a new building which is being used as their main and permanent residence provided that:

the application for acquiring building permission/license for the building has been submitted to the relative responsible authority after the 1.5.2004
the building is new and used for the first time
the total size of the covered areas of the residence does not exceed 250 square meters, excluding:

- Up to 5m² engine/boiler room
- Up to 7m² storerooms
- Up to 36m² covered parking
- Up to 40m² covered verandas
(For families with four or more children the limit of the total area of the property extends to additional 15m² for every child after the third.)

Eligibility criteria

The applicant must be a person aged 18 years and above, being a Cypriot citizen or a citizen of a member state of the European Union who is permanently residing in the Republic of Cyprus and has no other property in Cyprus that is used as a permanent residence.

Calculation of the grant

The amount of the grant depends on the type and size of the residence, and it is calculated to area up to 130m².

Examples

property type	amount up to 130 sqm
building in own plot	CYP 5.791,66 EUR 9.895,64
purchase of flat up to 2 bedrooms	CYP 11.004,15 EUR 18.801,71
purchase of flat 3+ bedrooms	CYP 10.135,40 EUR 17.317,36
purchase of a detached house	CYP 11.583,32 EUR 19.791,28
purchase of a semi-detached house	CYP 8.687,49 EUR 14.843,46

The special grant is subject to annual increments according to inflation rates.

Limitations

Upon receipt of the grant the beneficiary is obliged to use the property as his/her main and permanent residence for a ten-year period.

If the beneficiary ceases to use the residence as his/her main and permanent home before the expiry of the ten year period, he/she is obliged by law to promptly inform the Ministry of Finance and to return proportion of the grant. This condition, however, is not applied when transferring the ownership of the property to children or in case of death of the beneficiary.

In case the beneficiary decides to buy or build a new residence before the expiry of the ten-year period he/she may apply again for the special grant. By being approved he/she will be able to set off with the amount of the grant eligible to receive for the new property.

How to claim

An application form must be submitted, accompanied by the relevant documentation:
• documents that verify the size and type of the property (architect’s certificate) and the date of submission of the application for building permission (true copy of the application for building permission/ copy of the building permission)
• proof of purchase, e.g. sales agreement and copy of payments/receipts
• proof of using the property, i.e. utility bills, statements etc.
• proof of permanent residence in Cyprus, i.e. copy of residence permit, social insurance contributions/ employment contract or certificate (if employed in the Republic), copy of any official document or correspondence which is used for tax, pension or health services purposes and shows that your address of permanent residence is in Cyprus.

Application forms can be provided and submitted to the following offices
• Grants and Benefits Service, 27 Katsoni Str., 1st Floor, Nicosia, tel.22450046
• Grants and Benefits Service, 6 Tefkrou Str., Nicosia, tel. 22804000
• Civil Service Centre Nicosia, 29 Katsoni Str., Nicosia, tel. 22446813
• Civil Service Centre Limassol, tel. 25829135
• Civil Service Centre Polis Chrisochou, 26821888
• Grants and Benefits Service, Larnaca, 24805100

The applications can be posted to:

Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Finance
Grants and Benefits Service
1489 Nicosia
Application forms are also available in the Ministry of Finance’s website:www.mof.gov.cy