What non-dom status means
Residence and domicile are different tests. Residence is where you live now, measured mostly by days and ties; domicile in the legal sense is the country you treat as your permanent home, usually the one you were given at birth, and it is far harder to change. Some countries tax residents who are not domiciled there more lightly, on the view that their real home is elsewhere.
The lighter treatment takes 1 of 3 forms. The classic one is the remittance basis: foreign income is taxed only if you bring it into the country. Cyprus exempts specific kinds of income instead, and Italy and Greece charge a fixed yearly sum in place of tax on foreign income.
What non-dom status never touches is pay for work done in the country or rent from local property: a salary, fees for work you do from a desk there and local rent are taxed in full under every regime on this page. Cyprus is the one regime here that also spares local dividends and interest, from its Special Defence Contribution.
Non-dom regimes in 2026 compared
Non-dom and similar regimes for new residents, checked October 12, 2026
| Country | Foreign income | Yearly cost | How long | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyprus | No Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest; 2.65% health contribution still due | Nothing extra; €250,000 (about $284,000) per 5-year extension | Until resident 17 of 20 years, plus up to 2 extensions | Residents not domiciled in Cyprus (183-day or 60-day rule) |
| Malta | Taxed only if received in Malta; foreign capital gains untaxed | At least €5,000 (about $5,690) once foreign income is €35,000 (about $39,800) or more and not all brought in | No end date | Residents not domiciled or not ordinarily resident |
| Malta, Global Residence Programme | 15% on foreign income received in Malta | At least €15,000 (about $17,100) | While the conditions are met | Non-EU, non-EEA, non-Swiss nationals with a qualifying home |
| Ireland | Foreign investment income taxed only if brought into Ireland | Nothing extra | As long as you stay non-domiciled | Residents not domiciled in Ireland |
| Barbados | Taxed only to the extent a benefit is obtained in Barbados | Nothing extra | As long as you stay non-domiciled | Residents not domiciled in Barbados |
| Italy | Fixed sum in place of tax on foreign income | €300,000 (about $341,000), plus €50,000 (about $56,900) per family member | Up to 15 years | Not Italian resident in 9 of the previous 10 years |
| Greece | Fixed sum in place of tax on foreign income | €100,000 (about $114,000), plus €20,000 (about $22,800) per relative | Up to 15 years | €500,000 (about $569,000) investment; not resident 7 of the previous 8 years |
| Turkey | Foreign income exempt | Nothing extra | 20 years | Resident from 2026 after 3 calendar years with no Turkish residence or tax liability |
| United Kingdom | FIG regime exempts foreign income and gains | Personal allowance lost in claim years | 4 tax years | After 10 consecutive tax years of non-residence |
Source: Statutes and tax authorities (Normattiva, legislation.mt, Revenue, HMRC) and KPMG Cyprus, PwC Greece and EY Turkey summaries, listed under Sources
Show the numbers
| EUR a year | |
|---|---|
| Italy, flat tax | €300,000 |
| Greece, lump sum | €100,000 |
| Malta, Global Residence Programme | €15,000 |
| Malta, non-dom | €5,000 |
| Cyprus, non-dom | €4,770 |
| Ireland, non-dom | €0 |
| UK, FIG regime | €0 |
| Turkey, 20-year exemption | €0 |
Italy's €300,000 (about $341,000) is due every year whatever the foreign income is, under article 24-bis, so it pays off only at very large incomes. Ireland, the UK's FIG regime and Turkey charge nothing on these dividends and Cyprus only its capped health contribution. The low figures for Ireland and Malta hold only while the dividends stay abroad; Cyprus and the UK's FIG regime charge the same whether or not they come in.
The UK: non-dom status ended in April 2025
The UK abolished the remittance basis from April 6, 2025, HMRC's helpsheet HS266 confirms, and with it the main income tax advantage of being non-domiciled. In its place, people who become UK resident after at least 10 consecutive tax years of non-residence can claim the foreign income and gains (FIG) regime for up to 4 tax years, which exempts qualifying foreign income and gains.
The relief has limits. Claimants lose their personal allowance and the capital gains annual exempt amount for the year, and foreign employment income is not covered. From year 5, a UK resident is taxed on worldwide income at the normal UK rates.
For inheritance tax, domicile has given way to residence: non-UK assets are in scope once someone has been UK resident for 10 of the last 20 tax years, and stay in scope for 3 to 10 years after they leave, HMRC's inheritance tax manual sets out.
Cyprus: no Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest for 17 years
Cyprus is the non-dom regime most location-independent people can reach. A tax resident who is not domiciled in Cyprus pays no Special Defence Contribution on dividends and interest, from Cyprus or abroad, and because both are also exempt from income tax, the only charge left is the 2.65% health contribution, KPMG Cyprus sets out.
Domiciled residents pay the Special Defence Contribution instead: 5% on dividends paid out of profits from 2026 onward, 17% on dividends out of earlier profits and 17% on most interest, PwC's Cyprus summary shows. Non-dom status lasts until you have been resident 17 of the last 20 years, after which people whose domicile of origin is outside Cyprus can buy up to 2 more 5-year periods at €250,000 (about $284,000) each, paid up front, KPMG Cyprus adds.
A Cypriot domicile of origin can rule you out
You were born in Nicosia with a Cyprus domicile of origin, moved to London in 2012 and return to Limassol in 2026 with €80,000 (about $91,000) of foreign dividends a year. That makes you domiciled for the Special Defence Contribution unless you held a domicile of choice abroad and were not Cyprus resident for at least 20 consecutive years before the tax year, KPMG Cyprus explains. After 14 years away you pay it from your first year back: €4,000 (about $4,550) at 5% on dividends out of 2026 or later profits, €13,600 (about $15,500) at 17% on earlier profits, at the rates PwC lists. Count your years abroad first.
Residence itself is within reach. Besides the usual 183 days, the Cyprus 60-day rule makes you resident if you spend at least 60 days in Cyprus, work, run a business or hold a directorship there, keep a home there, and spend no more than 183 days in any other country.
| Income tax, any resident | €0 |
|---|---|
| Health contribution at 2.65%, any resident | €2,650 (about $3,020) |
| Special Defence Contribution, non-dom | €0 |
| Special Defence Contribution, domiciled, 5% (2026 or later profits) | €5,000 (about $5,690) |
| Special Defence Contribution, domiciled, 17% (pre-2026 profits) | €17,000 (about $19,300) |
| Non-dom saving on €100,000 of dividends | €5,000 (about $5,690) to €17,000 (about $19,300) a year |
The health contribution is capped at €180,000 (about $205,000) of income a year, KPMG Cyprus notes, so dividends above that bear no further charge. The 5% and 17% rates are from PwC's Cyprus summary.
Malta and Ireland: tax only on foreign income you bring in
Malta and Ireland both tax a resident who is not domiciled there on foreign income only when it is brought into the country, with no end date. Malta does so under article 4 of its Income Tax Act and leaves foreign capital gains untaxed even when they come in; Ireland applies section 71 of the Taxes Consolidation Act to income from foreign investments and other foreign possessions, Revenue's manual explains.
Keeping money out costs more in Malta. A non-dom whose foreign income for a year is €35,000 (about $39,800) or more, and who does not bring all of it into Malta, pays at least €5,000 (about $5,690) of tax for that year, with a married couple tested together, unless tax on a worldwide basis would come out lower, under article 56(27) of the same act. Ireland has no minimum. Nationals of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland can take Malta's Global Residence Programme instead: 15% on foreign income received in Malta, at least €15,000 (about $17,100) a year, and a home bought for at least €275,000 (about $313,000) or rented for at least €9,600 (about $10,900) a year, less in Gozo and the south.
Neither rule reaches work done in the country. Ireland has taxed pay for duties performed in Ireland in full since 2006, so the Irish rates for residents apply to anyone working from an Irish desk. Malta taxes local work at its normal rates, or at a flat 35% for Global Residence Programme members under rule 5(2) of its rules, which is why non-dom status in Malta suits investment income far better than a freelance business.
Italy and Greece: a fixed yearly sum instead of tax
Italy's flat tax replaces income tax on foreign income with €300,000 (about $341,000) a year for people who move in from 2026, plus €50,000 (about $56,900) for each family member included, for up to 15 years, under article 24-bis of the income tax code. You qualify if you were not Italian tax resident in at least 9 of the previous 10 years, and income from Italy stays taxed normally. From January 1, 2027 the regime moves into the new consolidated income tax code, Legislative Decree 117 of June 19, 2026, so check the terms there before a 2027 move.
The Greek non-dom lump sum costs €100,000 (about $114,000) a year, plus €20,000 (about $22,800) per relative, for up to 15 years, and needs an investment of at least €500,000 (about $569,000) in Greece within 3 years and no Greek residence in 7 of the previous 8 years, PwC reports.
Italy's flat tax at 2 income levels
Works
You have €3,000,000 (about $3,410,000) of foreign investment income a year. The €300,000 (about $341,000) sum is 10% of it, fixed for up to 15 years, and the foreign income needs no further Italian tax, apart from gains on qualifying shareholdings sold in the first 5 years.
Does not work
You have €400,000 (about $455,000) of foreign income a year. The same €300,000 (about $341,000) takes 75% of it, far more than ordinary Italian income tax would charge.
Turkey: a new 20-year exemption on foreign income
Turkey added a regime of its own in 2026. Law No. 7582, published on June 4, 2026, exempts income derived from abroad for 20 years for people who become Turkish tax resident on or after January 1, 2026 and had no Turkish residence or tax liability in the 3 previous calendar years, and cuts inheritance and gift tax on assets passing within that period to 1%, EY reports.
It works like a non-dom exemption without the name: the same EY summary lists no fee, minimum tax or domicile test, only the years away, and income from Turkey itself stays outside it.
Who non-dom status suits, and who it does not
Non-dom regimes were built for people with capital abroad, not for people who earn by working. They fit best for:
- Investors with foreign dividends and interest. Cyprus charges them only the health contribution, Ireland leaves the income alone while it stays abroad, and Malta does too, subject to its minimum tax.
- Founders who pay themselves in dividends. A Cyprus company owner who takes profit as dividends pays 15% corporate tax in the company and only the 2.65% health contribution personally, with no Special Defence Contribution, KPMG Cyprus shows.
- Very wealthy families. Italy's and Greece's fixed sums cap the tax on foreign income at a known figure for up to 15 years.
- Retirees living on foreign savings. A remittance basis taxes only the part they bring in to live on.
It is the wrong tool for:
- Freelancers and remote employees, whose income is pay for work done in the country and is taxed in full.
- US citizens, who stay taxable in the US on worldwide income whatever their status abroad.
- Anyone hoping to cut social contributions: non-dom status changes income tax only, Cyprus still charges its health contribution on a non-dom's dividends, and social security contributions usually follow the country where you work.
For income from work, residence decides the bill, not domicile. The baseline rules for digital nomads tax fees where you live and where you do the work, so the legal ways to pay less tax on them start with the country you choose to live in. Foreign clients do not change that: in most territorial tax systems the place you work decides whether income is local, not where the client sits.
How to claim non-dom treatment
There is rarely a certificate that makes you non-dom. In most of these countries you claim the treatment through your tax return; the fixed-sum regimes in Italy and Greece and the Cyprus extension need an election or an application on top.
Claiming non-dom treatment
- Become tax resident first: the regimes apply only to residents, so check the day count or the Cyprus 60-day conditions.
- Check the prior non-residence test: 9 of the previous 10 years for Italy, 7 of 8 for Greece, 3 calendar years for Turkey, 10 tax years for the UK's FIG regime.
- Keep proof that your permanent home is elsewhere: a home, family and citizenship ties in your country of origin.
- Make the election on time; the UK's FIG claim is due by the first anniversary of the January 31 filing date for the year.
- Under a remittance basis, keep foreign income in accounts outside the country and keep a clear record of what you bring in.
- Plan the end: after 17 years Cyprus charges the Special Defence Contribution unless you pay for an extension, and Italy and Greece after 15 years, Turkey after 20 and the UK after 4 tax years tax foreign income in full.
David's note
I would choose between these regimes by how much of the foreign income you need to spend where you live. If most of it can stay abroad, Ireland and Malta cost little or nothing. If you live on it, you need a regime that ignores whether the money comes in, and for dividends and interest Cyprus asks only its health contribution, so I would look there first.
