Tax residence in Greece and special conditions due to COVID-19 pandemic
According to Greek tax law, an individual is considered as a Greek tax resident, as long as he/she has their permanent or main residence or usual residence or the center of their vital interests, namely their personal and financial ties, in Greece.
Also considered as a tax resident of Greece is an individual who resides in Greece for a period exceeding 183 days, in total, during a tax year. However, the aforementioned presumption does not apply in case of an individual who stays in Greece exclusively for touristic, medical, therapeutic or similar purposes and their stay does not exceed a 365-day period, including short stays abroad.
Finally, it should be mentioned that especially in the current period of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the restrictions on the free movement of citizens worldwide, for the fiscal year 2020 and onwards, instructions of the Hellenic Independent Public Revenue Authority, which were issued in line with the relevant OECD directives, provide some exceptions in the above legal framework. More specifically, the Greek tax authorities do not take into account the interval time periods when the movement of citizens is restricted by law on a case-by-case basis for the application of the time criterion of 183 days. Hence, the periods of time that an individual who is not a tax resident of Greece resides in Greece due to the legal restriction on movement in the country of their main residence will not be taken into account for the application of the criterion of 183 days.
* The information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as at the time of writing. We have no obligation to update it. We accept no responsibility against any third party who is not a client of the firm and has not signed the terms of our engagement.