UK to Greece Parental Cash Gifts: Greek Tax Treatment
Α. Parental donations/gifts
The legal framework applicable to parental donations/gifts includes the provisions of Articles 53 – 115 of Law 5219/2025 which amended and codified the above Code, with effect from July 18, 2025, and onwards. Further, it should be noted that in 1966, the OECD prepared a Model Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation on Property, Inheritances, and Gifts. Greece has concluded agreements:
- on the taxation of inheritances with Germany, Spain, the USA, and Italy, and
- on the taxation of gifts only with Finland.
Therefore, in the case of gifts, since Greece has an agreement only with Finland, the domestic legislation applies for all other countries.
i. Tax liability
Greek gift tax is imposed on the following gifts:
- Property of any kind located in Greece.
- Movable property located abroad, belonging to a Greek national.
- Movable property located abroad, belonging to a foreign national, that is gifted to a Greek or foreign national who is residing in Greece.
- Movable property transferred before the death of the ascendant to the descendant under a nemesis (usufruct-sharing) agreement.
ii. Calculation of tax
The applicable gift tax is determined based on the value of the asset and the degree of kinship between the donor and the donee, according to which taxpayers are classified into the following three (3) categories:
Category A includes:
(a) the spouse of the decedent or the person who had entered into a civil union agreement with the donor;
(b) the person who had entered into a civil union agreement with the decedent under the provisions of Law 3719/2008, which was terminated by the decedent’s death, provided that the union lasted at least two (2) years;
(c) direct descendants of the first degree (children from a legal marriage or a civil union agreement, children born out of wedlock in relation to their mother, voluntarily or judicially acknowledged in relation to their father, children legitimated either by subsequent marriage or a civil union agreement or judicially in relation to both parents);
(d) direct descendants of the second degree; and
(e) direct ascendants of the first degree.
Category B includes:
(a) direct descendants of the third degree and beyond;
(b) direct ascendants of the second degree and beyond;
(c) voluntarily or judicially acknowledged children vis-à-vis the ascendants of the father who acknowledged them;
(d) descendants of an acknowledged child vis-à-vis the acknowledging parent and that parent’s ascendants;
(e) siblings (full or half-blood);
(f) collateral relatives of the third degree;
(g) stepfathers and stepmothers;
(h) children from a previous marriage or a civil union agreement of the spouse;
(i) children by affinity (sons-in-law and daughters-in-law); and
(j) ascendants by affinity (fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law).
Category C includes:
Any other relative of the decedent by blood or affinity, or any non-related person.
As of 1 October 2021, a tax-exempt threshold of €800,000 has been introduced in Greece for parental gifts and donations to beneficiaries falling under Category A.
In particular, the gift made to persons falling under Category A, of any asset whatsoever (movable and immovable), as well as of monetary amounts transferred through financial institutions, are subject to tax calculated at a rate of ten percent (10%), after deducting a lump-sum tax-free allowance of eight hundred thousand (800,000) euros. That is to say, if the taxable value of the asset involved in the gift exceeds €800,000, a 10% tax is imposed on the excess amount, after deducting the tax-free allowance.
For clarity, the following table is provided:
|
Value of assets gifted between individuals classified under Category A: |
Tax rate (%) |
| 800,000 | 0% |
| 800,001 and over | 10% |
The acquisition of monetary amounts by reason of parental gift shall be subject to tax calculated separately at a rate of ten percent (10%) for beneficiaries falling under Category A, twenty percent (20%) for beneficiaries falling under Category B, and forty percent (40%) for beneficiaries falling under Category C.
The following qualify as transfers through financial institutions:
- The transfer of a monetary amount from an individual account of the parent/donor or a joint account of the parent/donor with the child/recipient or a third party, to an individual account of the child/recipient or to another joint account of the child/recipient with the same parent/donor or third party.
- The issuance of a bank check by the parent/donor debited from their individual bank account or a joint account with the child/recipient or third party (and not the issuance of a check funded by cash deposit), and the deposit of that check into an individual account of the child/recipient or into another joint account of the child/recipient with the same parent/donor or third party.
- The withdrawal of a monetary amount from an individual or joint bank account of the parent/donor and the deposit of the same amount within three (3) business days into an account of the child/recipient or into a joint account of the child/recipient with the same parent/donor or third party. The above three (3) business day period starts from the next business day after the withdrawal of the monetary amount from the individual or joint bank account of the parent/donor.
It is noted that the transfer of funds through financial institutions also concerns accounts held with foreign credit institutions, as well as parental donations/gifts from or to residents of Greece or abroad, provided that the parental donation/gift of the funds is subject to taxation in Greece as described above under (i).
Additionally, concurrently with the aforementioned tax-free allowance, the following exemptions also apply, provided that the relevant conditions are met:
- Donations of movable assets located abroad at the time of the donation are exempt from gift tax when made by a Greek national who has been residing abroad for at least ten (10) consecutive years, and, in the event of their relocation to Greece, no more than five (5) years have elapsed, unless the tax authority proves that such assets were acquired in Greece during the last twelve (12) years.
- Donations of movable assets located abroad at the time of the donation, made by a Greek national who has been residing abroad for at least twenty (20) consecutive years and has not relocated to Greece at the time of the donation.
iii. Gift tax return (procedure and documentation)
The person liable for the tax is the recipient in the case of a donation, or the child in the case of a parental gift.
Τhe gift tax return must be filed within six (6) months from the date that the tax liability arises.
One gift tax return shall be filed for each pair of donor and donee, regardless of the number of assets transferred (movable property or monetary amounts), online through the “myPROPERTY” application of the Single Digital Gateway of Public Administration (http://myproperty.aade.gov.gr).
Ιn cases where multiple assets are declared with different dates of transfer, separate gift tax returns must be filed for each respective transfer. In the case of gifts of monetary amounts which take place on the same date, the transactions must be recorded separately in the same tax return and not as a total amount.
Upon the submission of the gift tax return, the tax assessment notice is issued by the system. In cases where multiple assets are declared with different dates of delivery, separate tax returns shall be filed corresponding to each date of delivery.
In the acquisition by parental gift, any previous gifts and parental donations (either inter vivos or mortis causa) from the same parent to the same child, are taken into account, provided that the tax obligation for those prior transfers arose at a time when the right of the Tax Administration to assess the tax had not been barred by limitation.
Specifically for the parental donations, only those made from 01/10/2021 are included in the calculation of the gift tax as previous inter vivos or mortis causa gifts and parental donations from the same parent to the same child, and the tax is calculated after deducting the total tax-exempt amount of €800,000 for them.
The submission of an amended declaration, by which the declarants attempt to ‘revoke‘ the original informal parental donation/gift declaration on the grounds of a mistake (e.g., the monetary gift was made for the purchase of real estate by the donee, which purchase did not occur) cannot be accepted. This is because, in the case of an informal parental donation/gift, the submission of the declaration presupposes the occurrence of the donation/gift, and therefore the claim that the declaration referred to non-existent events cannot be admitted.
In the case of funds transferred through financial institutions, the following supporting documentation is required:
| Gift cases | Supporting documents |
|
Parental donations via transfer of funds through domestic financial institutions or bank check deposit |
|
| Parental donations via transfer of funds involving a foreign financial institution or deposit of a check from abroad |
|
| Parental donations involving withdrawal of funds from a joint account co-owned by the parties.
|
|
In cases where a supporting document is submitted by a foreign credit institution, an official translation into Greek is not required, unless the content does not clearly show the identity of the parties involved and the transfer of the monetary amount.
iv. Foreign Tax Credit
From the tax arising on the total value of the gifted asset, the tax that has been evidently paid or definitively and irrevocably determined or assessed in one or more foreign states for the movable property located therein is deducted, up to the amount of tax corresponding to the property located in each foreign state.
For the purposes of the deduction, tax paid or assessed abroad means the tax that has been determined, assessed, or paid abroad regarding the asset that is taxable in Greece and has been determined, assessed, or paid in favor of the foreign state, or, in the case of a federal state, also the tax in favor of the federal units or states.
The tax that has been determined, assessed, or paid abroad is converted into euros based on the official exchange rate in Greece of the foreign currency in which it was determined, assessed, or paid, at the time the tax obligation arose.
The application for the deduction of the tax determined, assessed, or paid abroad is based on a certificate issued by the foreign country.
B. Loan
A loan between individuals is considered lawful in Greece, provided that there is a written loan agreement governed by the Greek Civil Code. This agreement ensures that the transaction is valid and provides a legal basis in case of disagreement, including repayment terms, interest rate, and other relevant details.
i. Tax liability
In loans between individuals, whether interest-bearing or interest-free, a tax called the «Digital Transaction Duty» (“DTD”) is imposed in Greece from December 1, 2024, onwards under the following conditions:
- At least one of the contracting parties has tax residence in Greece.
- The DTD is imposed regardless of the place where the transaction took place or the place where the contract was concluded or executed.
ii. Calculation and payment of the tax
The DTD is calculated as a percentage of the financial value of the transaction (proportional duty). Specifically, in the case of a loan, a rate of three-point sixty percent (3.60%) is imposed on the loan amount. No DTD is imposed on the interest arising from the loans under scope.
The taxpayer liable for the tax and responsible for its declaration and payment is the borrower of the loan.
The declaration must be submitted online, through the digital portal “myAADE” (myAADE.gov.gr) by the last day of the month following the month during which the transaction took place, and it must include all transactions carried out during that month and their financial value. Upon submission of the declaration, an immediate tax assessment is generated, and a “Payment Identification” is issued, and the DTD is paid within the same deadline.
It should be noted that, in cases where taxpayers fail to submit or submit a late tax return, a penalty of €100 is imposed for violating the deadline. Further, if any amount of tax is not paid within the legal payment deadline, the taxpayer is required to pay interest on the said amount of tax for the period starting from the day following the expiry of the legal payment deadline. In the case of a late, initial, or amended declaration, as well as in the case of an estimated, corrective, or interim tax assessment, the starting point for calculating the interest is the expiry date of the period within which the tax resulting from the late, initial, or amended declaration, or from the tax assessment, should have originally been paid under the law.
* 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.