Tax on inheritance-gifts inter vivos
According to article 1 of Law 2961/2001 (The Code on taxation of inheritance, gifts inter vivos and lottery gains), tax is imposed to any asset acquired by inheritance, gift inter vivos and winnings in lotteries, whether acquired by an individual or a corporate entity.
1) Inheritance tax
In article 3 of the Code, the legislator provides for a list of assets that are subject to inheritance tax. These are:
1) property of any kind situated in Greece which belongs to Greek citizens or foreigners.
2) moveable property situated abroad which belongs to a Greek resident or (under conditions) to a foreigner residing in Greece.
Liable to pay the inheritance tax is the recipient of the assets (beneficiary) and in case where there is more than one, the obligation is divided by analogy. The tax obligation is born upon death of the testator. However, there are various cases where the tax obligation is born at a later point, e.g. in cases where the inheritance is subject to a condition, in cases where the succession is being disputed in a court of law, where the estate is denounced by the successors, in cases where an administrator is appointed to administer the estate etc. The tax obligation may be postponed also by a decision of the director of the relevant tax office following a reasoned application of the taxpayer. The Code provides for different ways of calculation of the taxable value depending on the type of asset. For real estate, the evaluation is made according to the objective method which applies to taxation on real property transfer. For stocks and shares, the value which is taken into account is the value of the asset one (1) day before the death of the testator. Shares and parts in non-listed companies are valued according to a special method which is used for the evaluation of such companies, which method takes into account the profits, turnover and other financial data of the past five (5) years. Furniture are valued at 1/30th of the value of the real estate where they are located; both the tax authority and the taxpayer have the right to challenge the value. Sums that remain in joint bank accounts and the value of items that are placed in safes are split equally between the beneficiaries of the account/safe; the tax authority and the beneficiaries may prove a different way to split the value between the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries of an estate may avoid the payment of tax by transferring the assets to the State. Debts and charges to the estate as well as certain expenses (e.g. funeral expenses) are deductible from the value of the estate. Tax-payers are classed into 3 categories depending on their proximity with the deceased. In category A’ belong a) the spouse b) the partner who has a contract for co-habitation according to the provisions of law 3719/2008, provided that the partnership was in existence at the time of death and it lasted at least 2 years c) the children d) the grandchildren e) the parents. In category B’ belong a) the great-grandchildren et seq., b) the grand-parents and great-grand parents c) the voluntarily or judicially recognized children as against the parents of the father who recognized them d) the children of a recognized child as against the father who recognized them and his parents e) the brothers and sisters f) the collateral relatives of third degree g) stepfathers and stepmothers h) children of the spouse from a previous marriage i) brothers-sisters-fathers and mothers in law. In category C belong all the rest of the relatives and aliens.
Tax is calculated according to the following table:
Heirs have an obligation to file a tax return within 6 months after the date of death or after the publication of the deceased’s will, if there is one. If, at the time of death, the deceased or the heirs reside(s) abroad, the deadline is 12 months accordingly. The deadline may be extended for up to 3 months following an application of the tax payer to the relevant tax office.
2) taxation of gifts inter vivos
In principle the same provisions apply to gifts inter vivos as with inheritance tax.
As an exception, by virtue of law 3842/2010 monetary gifts inter vivos are taxed @ 10% when the gift is given to a relative of category A’, 20% for category B’ and 40% for category C’.
3) taxation of winnings from lottery games etc.
Winnings from lottery games, games of chance, instant lotto, football betting etc. are taxed at a flat rate of 10%. The person who wins is liable to pay the tax. The payer of the amount has an obligation to file a tax return declaring the sum and the beneficiary within 30 days from the day the lottery took place or the results of the relevant game.