Tax Law

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Practical guide to the preferential tax regimes available for individuals moving their tax residency to Greece

Since the end of 2019, Greece was added to the list of countries that have enacted favorable tax regimes designed to attract individuals to move their tax residence in the country. These regimes are (i) the non-dom tax regime, (ii) the pensioner regime, and (iii) the employee and self-employed regime, known as 5A, 5B and 5C regimes respectively, as per the corresponding articles of the Income Tax Code by which they were introduced. This article provides an overview of the most important features of each of them, considering the most recent amendments and administrative interpretations since their enactment. 5A non-dom tax...

15 Dec 2025

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Alternative taxation method for recipients of pension income who transfer their tax residency in Greece – procedure and documentation

Article 5B of Law 4172/2013 states that an individual who receives foreign pension (“foreign pensioner”) and who transfers their tax residence to Greece is subject to an alternative taxation method for income generated abroad. More specifically, they pay a flat rate tax for each tax year at a rate of 7% for all income (including capital gains) generated abroad. In order to join this scheme, the following conditions must be cumulatively met: the applicant must not have been tax resident in Greece in 5 out of the 6 years prior to the transfer of their tax residence to Greece and the...

05 Dec 2025

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The “non-dom” tax regime: Alternative taxation of foreign-source income of individuals transferring their tax residence to Greece – Article 5A of the Greek Income Tax Code

Conditions for inclusion in the regime The provisions of article 5A of Law 4172/2013-Greek Income Tax Code (ITC) provide for an alternative tax regime, commonly known as the “non-dom regime”, according to which a taxpayer individual who transfers his or her tax residence to Greece can be taxed in an alternative manner for income generated abroad (i.e. foreign-source income) , provided all the following conditions are met: a) he or she was not tax resident in Greece during 7 out of the previous 8 years prior to transfer of his or her tax residence to Greece, which is examined based on the...

15 Sep 2025

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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