Social insurance in Cyprus in 2024. A complete guide.
Social insurance Cyprus
In this guide we will cover everything that businessmen, self-employed people and employees must know about the social insurance system of Cyprus.
We will cover the types of contributions, how social insurances affect income tax, and details about the system in general.
Specifically, we will cover the following topics:
Table of contents
- Social insurance contributions Cyprus
- Gesy contributions 2024
- Cyprus self employed social insurance
- Social insurance number Cyprus
- How do social insurances affect your income tax?
- How can I reduce my social insurance contributions?
- Cyprus social insurance calculator
- Social insurance Cyprus working hours
- Social insurance Cyprus offices in all cities
- Cyprus social insurance law
- Cyprus social insurance penalties
- Social insurance payment in Cyprus
- Social insurance fund Cyprus
Social insurance contributions Cyprus
The table below shows the percentile of social insurance contributions in Cyprus.
| Contributions (%) | 2024 | 2023 |
| Employer | 8.8% | 8.3% |
| Employee | 8.8% | 8.3% |
The rate of social insurance contributions in Cyprus is applied to a maximum level of gross salary.
The maximum gross salary, currently €60,060, has steadily increased in the last 4 years.
The year-on-year increase is presented in the table below.
| Year | Maximum Salary |
| 2022 | €58,080 |
| 2021 | €57,408 |
| 2020 | €54,864 |
| 2019 | €54,648 |
The contributions rate of 8.3% applies to both the employer and the employee.
This rate has been in effect from 1 January 2019 to the present day and will remain as it is for the next five years.
Social insurance rates Cyprus
After the next five years, the contribution rate will increase every five years by 0.5% until it reaches 10.3% as of 1 January 2039.
Social insurances are not the only contributions paid by employers in Cyprus - they also must make the following contributions depending on an employee’s salary.
| Fund Name | Contribution Percentage (%) |
| Social Cohesion Fund | 2% |
| Redundancy Fund | 1.2% |
| Industrial Training Fund | 0.5% |
| Holiday Fund (if not exempt) | 8% |
The Social Cohesion Fund is calculated on total emoluments and has no maximum level.
The Redundancy Fund, Industrial Training Fund, and Holiday Fund are capped to the maximum level of salaries as with the social insurance contributions.
Gesy contributions 2024
In addition to the above contributions and since the introduction of the General Health System (GESY) in Cyprus, employees and employers also have to pay social insurance contributions.
General Health System Contributions
The table below shows the current rates of contributions for GESY.
| Ref | Category | Applied on | Rate |
| (i) | Employees | Own emoluments | 2.65% |
| (ii) | Employers | Employees' emoluments | 2.90% |
| (iii) | Self-employed | Own income | 4.00% |
| (iv) | Pensioners | Pension | 2.65% |
| (v) | Persons holding office* | Officers' remuneration | 2.65% |
| (vi) | Republic of Cyprus or natural/legal person responsible for the remuneration of persons holding an office | Officers' remuneration | 2.90% |
| (vii) | Persons earning rental, interest, dividend and other income | Rental, interest, dividend income etc | 2.65% |
| (viii) | Republic's consolidated fund | Emoluments/pensions of persons (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) | 4.70% |
*Relates to holders of public or local authority office or other office, the income out of which does not come within the scope of (i) or (iii) or (iv) or (vii).
National Health System Contributions 2024
General Health System Contributions in Cyprus are restricted to an annual income of €180,000.
Cyprus self employed social insurance
The social insurance contribution rate for self-employed people in Cyprus is currently 15.6% of their income.
For the period between 2014 - 2018, the contributions were 14.6%.
The contribution rate will increase by 1% every five years until it reaches 19.6% as of 1 January 2039.
Social Insurance contribution self-employed in Cyprus
The amount of the contributions is subject to a lower and maximum limit, depending on the trade or profession of the self-employed person.
Social insurance number Cyprus
Every citizen of Cyprus registered in the Social Securities can get a social insurance number.
For natural entities, the social insurance number is a 6-digit number (e.g. 123456).
For legal entities, the social insurance number has 12 digits separated by two slashes—for example, 1234567/1/1234.
Your company should receive a social security number about 1 - 2 weeks after you register your company with the social security authorities of Cyprus.
How do social insurances affect your income tax?
Social insurances are exempted from income tax.
In Cyprus, 20% of taxable income can be exempted from taxation.
This percentage is expected to increase to 25% in 2024.
The eligible expenses for tax exemptions are:
- Social insurance contributions.
- General Health System contributions.
- Private medical insurance premiums (at a maximum of 1.5% of salary).
- Pension and provident fund contributions (at a maximum of 10% of salary).
- Life insurance premiums (maximum 7% of the death benefit).
To break this down, let’s use a simple example and consider a self-employed individual with the following characteristics.
| Salary | €45,000 |
| Life insurance annual premiums | €2,000 |
| Life insurance insured amount (i.e. death benefit) | €100,000 |
The individual’s social insurance contributions are: 8.3% * €45,000 = €3,735.
Their general health system contributions are: 2.65% * €45,000 = €1,192.
Eligible tax exemptions: 20% of net income is 20% * €45,000 = €9,000.
Therefore, the tax exemptions = life insurance annual premiums + social insurance contributions + general health system contributions = €2,000 + €3,735 + €1,192 = €6,927.
Effectively, their taxable income is €45,000 - €6,927 = €38,073.
If the employee wanted to receive their full tax exemptions (i.e. €9,000), they could increase their life insurance premiums from €2,000 to €4,073.
Tax calculator
If you want to calculate your ideal savings amount to achieve maximum tax exemption, use our online calculator.
How can I reduce my social insurance contributions in Cyprus?
There are two ways to reduce your social insurance contributions as a businessman in Cyprus.
- Reduce the amount of your declared gross income and buy savings insurance.
- Introduce a provident fund to reduce the amount of your employee’s contributions.
Firstly, as a natural entity, you can reduce the amount of gross income you declare to social insurance. You then have the option to acquire savings insurance with the remaining income.
A savings insurance policy’s annual premiums are 100% tax exempted if they are less than 7% of the insured amount (i.e. death benefit).
Please read our article here for more information about saving insurance and individual private pensions in Cyprus.
Secondly, if you are a company, you can reduce the amount of social insurance contributions you pay to your employees by introducing a provident fund.
For more information about provident funds in Cyprus, read our article here.
Cyprus social insurance calculator
How to calculate social insurance Cyprus
If you are searching for a way to calculate the figure of your social insurance contributions in Cyprus, use the tips in this guide and the simple example we used above.
Social Insurance Cyprus Calculation
To calculate your ideal savings amount on your own, you can use our online calculator.
Our free online tool will help you calculate your social insurance.
Social insurance Cyprus working hours
The working hours of the social insurance departments in Cyprus are between 08:00 - 14:00.
For self-employed people and owners of small businesses, social insurance payments can be made exclusively through the Online System of Payments of the Social Insurance Contributions, which is called SISnet.
Social insurance Cyprus offices
Social Insurance Nicosia office address/es:
Nicosia Central Social Insurance District Office
Address: 56, Athalassas Ave., 1466 Nicosia.
Nicosia- Ayios Andreas Social Insurance sub-District Office
Address: 11 Navarinou Str., 1100 Nicosia.
Social Insurance Limassol office address:
Limassol Social Insurance District Office
Address: 80, Franklin Roosevelt Ave., 3012 Lemesos.
Social Insurance Larnaca office address:
Larnaca Social Insurance District Office
Address: 1, Filiou Tsigarides Str., 6023 Larnaca.
Social Insurance Paphos office address:
Paphos Social Insurance District Office
Address 1, Filikis Etaireias Str., 8047 Paphos.
Social Insurance Famagusta office address:
Ammochostos Social Insurance Office
P.O.36007, 5385 Deryneia
Cyprus social insurance law
The law regulating Social insurance in Cyprus is known as 2010 (59(I)/2010).
The law is available to view exclusively in Greek and can be found on the online portal of the Cyprus Institute of Legal Information.
On this page, you will find the social insurance contribution rates since 1980 and the expected rates until 2039.
Cyprus social insurance penalties
The penalties for not paying your social insurances are extremely strict.
Any employer or self-employed person who fails or neglects to pay his social insurance contributions shall be guilty of an offence and liable to up to one-year imprisonment or a fine not exceeding €3,400, or both of these penalties.
In case of a second or repeated conviction for not paying his social insurance contributions, he can be liable to a prison sentence of up to two years, a monetary penalty not exceeding €5,000, or both of these penalties.
Social insurance payment in Cyprus
If you are an employee in Cyprus, your employer is responsible for paying your social insurance.
How to pay social insurance Cyprus
If you have a small company or you are self-employed, and you are not using the services of an accountant, you can pay for social insurance by yourself by using the Online System of Payments of the Social Insurance Contributions (SISnet).
Pay social insurance Cyprus online.
Social insurance online payment Cyprus
In the system, you can pick your status as a self-employed person or an employer. You can also add your employees and pay for their contributions.
Social insurance fund Cyprus
The social insurance fund of Cyprus is managed according to the guidelines of the Cyprus government.
Social Insurance Cyprus
To find out more about our services and products and how we can help you, please visit our website.
Pitsas Insurances Team