The five rates at a glance
| Rate | Applies among other things to |
|---|---|
| 19 % | everything with no own rule: software, consulting, most goods |
| 9 % | accommodation, catering, local passenger transport |
| 5 % | food, medicines, admission to culture and sport, first home up to 200 m² |
| 3 % | books, newspapers, magazines, waste disposal and sewerage |
| 0 % | intra-Community supplies, exports, international passenger transport |
The standard rate is the catch-all. It applies not because a rule directs it but because no other rule bites. For most service businesses and software providers it is therefore the only rate that comes up day to day.
The zero rate on basic necessities: two decrees, two end dates
Here almost every overview goes wrong, and not out of carelessness but because the position really is split in two.
K.D.P. 354/2026, published in the Official Gazette III Part I No. 6050 on 30 September 2026:
| From | What | Until |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October 2026 | meat and fish, fresh, chilled or frozen, plus cuttlefish, squid, octopus | 31 May 2027 |
| 12 October 2026 | bread, milk, coffee, sugar, baby food | 31 May 2027 |
K.D.P. 337/2025, a separate, older decree: baby milk, nappies, feminine hygiene products and fresh fruit and vegetables, until 31 December 2026.
The exception that hits retailers
The zero rate covers meat and fish, not preparations made from them. Those stay at 5 %.
Expressly still at 5 %:
- marinated, smoked and wine-cured meat
- sausages, meatballs, gyros, breaded poultry pieces
- tinned fish, smoked and marinated fish, breaded products
For a shop that means products at zero and at five percent sit in the same chiller, distinguished not by product group but by degree of processing. That is not a question of the tax rate but one of master data.
Zero-rated is not exempt
Two terms that look the same and work in opposite directions.
Zero-rated: you charge no VAT and keep the input VAT deduction. A credit is refundable. Zero-rated turnover counts towards the registration threshold.
Exempt: you charge no VAT and lose the input VAT deduction. The input VAT on your costs stays with you. Exempt turnover does not count towards the threshold.
The difference decides whether a relief is an advantage or a block of cost. Which thresholds apply is in the guide to VAT registration.
What we could not substantiate
- The rate on the acquisition of a first home. The majority of sources quote 5 % up to 200 m², one assigns the acquisition to the 3 percent rate. We follow the majority but do not smooth over the conflict.
- The classification of books. Sometimes 3 %, sometimes 5 %, depending on the source. Which form of publication falls under which rate we could not trace in the schedule to the law.
- The reduced rate on renovations. A PwC publication quotes 5 % from 1 September 2026 under two conditions. We did not cross-check this against the statutory text.
- An announced extension “beyond 2027”. A press report speaks of this. The text of the decree does not support it; it states 31 May 2027.
If a pricing decision of yours hangs on one of these classifications, it belongs with somebody who puts their name to it: Cyprus setup from one place.
Bookkeeping: the rate belongs on the line
Five rates and time-limited decrees mean a rate can change while the product stays the same.
In Volk Accountant the rate sits on the invoice line and not in a table alongside. VAT 4 and VIES come out of those same lines, and the reports show turnover by rate. When a decree expires, that is a change to a setting.
When a registration duty arises at all is in the guide to VAT registration, and the registration itself in the guide to registering for VAT.