Tax Law

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Tax treatment of listed shares and stock options

1. Tax treatment of listed shares, where the seller also holds stock options The Greek law (article 42 par. 1 (b) of the Greek Income Tax Code – “ITC”) provides for an exemption from capital gains tax of 15% on the capital gains derived from the transfer of listed shares where the seller holds less than 0.5% of the listed company’s share capital. The question of whether stock options are taken into consideration for the determination of the holding percentage in order to assess the application of the tax exemption is not explicitly regulated by the Greek tax law. However, stock options, by...

21 May 2025

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Swiss nationals: right to reside in Greece

Case study: a Swiss citizen with a spouse from a third country and minor children with Swiss nationality. Swiss nationals have the same right to reside and work in Greece as EU nationals, specifically with minimum obligations and after a very simple procedure. The same applies to their children, provided they are also Swiss nationals. In addition, in case their spouses are not Swiss nationals, but third country nationals, they will be given a residence permit to reside and work in Greece as spouses of Swiss nationals, through a little more complicated process, including some travel restrictions during the period until...

03 Apr 2025

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Tax treatment of dividends and capital gains according to the DTT between Greece and Switzerland

Based on the DTT between Greece and Switzerland, the following apply in relation to dividends and capital gains taxation: Dividends (article 10) Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of Switzerland to a resident of Greece may be taxed in Greece. However, such dividends may also be taxed in Switzerland according to the laws of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the dividends, the tax charged shall not exceed 15% of the gross amount of the dividends. This tax treatment shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits out of...

03 Apr 2025

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Taxation of dividends, interest, royalties, capital gains and income from immovable property

Quick guide: Taxation of dividends, interest, royalties, capital gains and income from immovable property Tax treatment of income earned by an individual in Greece in cash or in kind in the form of dividends, interest, royalties, capital gains and income from immovable property is as follows: i. Dividends The term “dividends” means any income derived from shares, founding titles, or other participation rights in profits that do not constitute claims from debts (liabilities), as well as income from other corporate rights, including quotas, shares, including pre-distributions and mathematical reserves, participation in profits of personal businesses, profit distributions from any type of legal...

02 Apr 2025

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Taxation Freelance activity sole-trader business in Greece – standard Greek tax rules

If a tax resident abroad becomes a Greek tax resident, and starts providing services from Greece under a freelance activity/sole-trader business in Greece, the tax treatment of the relevant income derived in Greece will be determined as follows under the standard Greek tax rules. According to the general rules, based on articles 3, 5 and 29 of the Income Tax Code: - Individuals who have their tax residence in Greece are subject to tax on their income derived both within Greece and abroad, i.e., their global income earned in a taxable year. - Income derived in Greece is any income from a source...

07 Mar 2025

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Greek tax treatment of UK pensions

According to article X par. 2 of the Double tax treaty between Greece and the UK, any pension and any annuity, derived from sources within the United Kingdom by an individual who is a resident of Greece and subject to Greek tax in respect thereof, shall be exempt from United Kingdom tax. Based on the above, it derives that, by application of the relevant DTT provision, any pension income falling under the definition of article X and arising in the UK would be exempt from UK tax, on the condition that said income is subject to tax in Greece, being the...

07 Oct 2024

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Non-dom regime under article 5A of the Greek Income Tax Code: eligible investments and retention period according to the applicable Ministerial Decision No 46834/2023.

Introduction The Joint Ministerial Decision No. 46834/2023 (Government Gazette B' 3393/19.05.2023) of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Development (hereinafter MD), as amended by the Joint Decision No. 30257 EΞ 23.02.2024 of the Deputy Minister of Finance and the Minister of Development, stipulates the eligible categories of investments for the non-dom regime of Article 5A of the Greek Income Tax Code (hereinafter ITC), the period of their retention in Greece, the procedure for the completion of the investment, the monitoring of the retention of the investment, the termination and the change of the investment after its completion. The MD...

23 Sep 2024

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Tax incentives to attract private individuals to settle in Greece

In the context of tax competition to attract taxpayers, several countries have introduced incentives to attract individuals, as they do to attract businesses. The benefits for countries that attract individuals to settle in them are multiple, as in addition to collecting the tax "consideration", individuals spend and invest in the country of residence. Examples of countries that have introduced similar incentives are England, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus and others. Greece introduced the first incentive with Law 4646/2019. Brief description of the incentives The incentives that Greece has introduced are divided into 3 categories, known as 5A, 5B, and 5C of the Income...

23 Sep 2024

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Appeals procedure against acts of the tax authority