Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

A little story here, hot off the press as of an hour ago, as related by a friend who went to Girne yesterday to find out how to pay taxes......
I post this here, not to condone any tax avoidance, but to inform as to how much the authorities already knew about an obscure 2 bed apartment used approx twice a year.

Scenario, live in the UK, have an apartment in TRNC, advertise it on a holiday site, no formal rentals yet, but used for friends and family a few times in the last 4 years

Down to the tax office to find out how to pay taxes on any future rentals..

Explained situation, never rented in anger, but might want to in the future.

SURPRISE !!!! File produced on the said apartment, showing extracts from websites where the property was advertised with blanked out weeks, and so not available for rental !!! Logic used, if not available then someone had booked it, or you were using it.

SHOCK!!! As they were in the "system", police ins and outs now required to prove if it was the owners in there, also show all kibtec bills so weeks of power usage can be seen, ie when occupied the power usage will be higher, to cross check against owners occupancy.

If not owners, then proof of family occupancy needed, friends do not qualify for any tax reduction.

Sooooo, a question....does this imply there is a tax file on every property, or just those who feature on a website, even those with a picture of the block and no actual address ?

To be fair to the people at the Tax department I have always found them ready to listen and like in the UK it is for you to prove your innocence. I on behalf of customers have taken on over 6 cases and by handling them the same way as I did our tax and VAT inspections in the UK have successfully closed them to the tax department and customers satisfaction, admittedly the 50% fine is hard.
As I inform all new customers now, I am legal therefore register your property if you are going to rent it or I would like a letter confirming it is family staying there but then so many have 'friends' looking after their houses and I hope these people realise they can be caught out to. The first case I took on they were just as interested in me as the rent that they assume had been collected.

Sems fair enough to me, well done TRNC taxation dept!

I put a thread on this subject way back on Cyprus 44. Some friends of our went to check on the taxes they owned on their property which is used most of the year round by members of their direct family and they visit themselves of course. However it was (or may be still is) on a couple of "owners abroad type websites" . When they went to the tax office, the lady there brought their property up and showed them the web sites their property was on. Not only that, she showed them the weeks that they had blocked out as not being available to people to rent, because you have to put that on the web site yourself. They were told how much tax they owed and they had to spend a lot of time explaining that most of the blocked out weeks were family or themselves. They eventually came to an agreement, but they did end up paying a small amount to cover the periods when family had visited the property. At that time my friends were told there were people in the office who's sole job it was to go on Holiday Rental Websites and check for properties in the TRNC. I'm assuming this could still be the case?

Wish they would nail a few like this in the UK!

I have found them to be very helpful at the tax office too.