Expatriate tax - Greece

Immigration requirements:

• EU nationals: there is no immigration requirement in case of physical presence in Greece for up to 3 months. In case of longer stay in the Greek territory, the issuance of an EU registration certificate is required.
• Third country nationals (including UK): due to the purpose of their stay in Greece, the issuance of an entry visa is required by the competent Greek Consulate before their arrival in the country. Whether the issuance of a residence permit is mandatory or not, depends on the relevant facts and circumstances. In order to be entitled to work in the country, though, they will have to be recruited as salaried employees. 

The tax year runs from 1 January to 31 December.

Greek tax residents need to file annual income tax returns (Form E1) on 30 June each year, declaring their worldwide income. Foreign tax residents bear the same declaratory obligation on a yearly basis, but they are obliged to declare only their Greek-sourced income.

Individual income tax returns are due on 30 June of the year following the year when the income was earned. Extensions may be granted depending on the discretion of the Independent Authority for Public Revenues.

Tax should be paid throughout the year through wage withholding and/or estimated tax payments. 

Taxpayers may be subject to interest and penalties if the tax due is not paid and if balances due are not paid in principle on a bimonthly basis.

The tax scale set out in the ITC for individual income taxation regarding salaried employment, as follows

There are mainly two categories of filing status that may apply to a taxpayer in Greece: single or married or in a civil union, the latter filing jointly or separately.

Income tax calculation (for Greek tax residents only):

Assume an employed married individual with two children (both under 18 years old) who is considered Greek tax resident for the entire tax year.

Depending on the length and terms of the local assignment in Greece, tax relief may be available under the provisions of a bilateral tax treaty between Greece and the home country. It is critical that the treaty provisions of each particular country be examined. Greece has an extensive income tax treaty network with 58 countries.

The general rule taken into consideration for the determination of an individual’s tax residence status, is whether they are physically present in Greece for more than 183 days within a twelve-month period. Apart from the rule of physical presence in Greece, an individual is also considered as a Greek tax resident in the event that their permanent or principal residence or habitual abode or center of vital interests (i.e. personal, economic and social ties) is located in Greece.

Although the term 'vital interests' has not been yet officially interpreted, the related jurisprudence indicates several different elements that might be taken into consideration by the Greek Tax Authority in order to establish the grounds for the determination of the above term:

• Ownership of assets.
• Permanent employment or other business interests.
• Social security registration and administrative relationship with public authorities.
• Family’s residence.
• Development of political, cultural or other activities.

By virtue of the latter, in order to ascertain an individual’s tax residence, the following two elements need to be examined:

1. the actual physical presence in Greece (corpus) and
2. the intention to consider and treat Greece as one’s center of vital relationships and interests (animus). 

Furthermore, according to the commentary on the OECD Model Tax Convention, in case there is a conflict wherein a person is considered a tax resident of two countries, such conflict is resolved by comparing the ties that bind the individual to each State, by order of importance. This is a point of fact and not a point of law, i.e. it will depend on reviewing the facts at the time of conflict, when and if presented. 

This category includes salaries, pensions and generally any payment made in cash or in kind in the framework of an "employment relationship, as defined in the Greek Income Tax Code. The fees paid to the members of a company's Board of Directors (unless paid out of the company's profits) and stock options are also treated as employment income.

Stock options’ tax treatment depends on the holding period of the shares, starting from the grant date of the stock options up to the shares' transfer, as follows:

• If the shares are transferred prior to the completion of 24 or 36 months (for start-ups) from the grant date of the stock options, the income is taxable as a taxable benefit in kind at a progressive tax scale (i.e. 9%-44%).
• If the shares are transferred after the completion of 24 or 36 months (for start-ups) from the grant date of the stock options, the income generated is taxable as capital gain at a flat tax rate of 15% (or 5% for start-ups).

In the case of listed shares, the taxable value is the shares' market price on the exercise date minus the stock option exercise price (preferential acquisition value of shares), while, as for non-listed shares, the taxable base is the spread (ie, the share's internal value on the exercise date when the shares were acquired), defined based on the company's internal net asset value (as reflected in its accounting books) minus the stock option exercise price (preferential acquisition value of shares). In addition, any subsequent gain on the sale of shares will be subject to capital gains tax at a flat tax rate of 15%.

Regarding share award plans’ tax treatment, any gain on the sale of shares will be subject to capital gains tax at a flat tax rate of 15%, regardless of the time of shares' transfer, following their free granting. In case of listed shares, the taxable benefit is equal to the share market price on the share offering date. In case of non-listed shares, the taxable benefit is equal to the share value, defined on the basis of the company’s net asset value (as reflected in its accounting books) on the share offering date.

The source of the relevant employment income is determined according to the general provisions of the Greek Income Tax Code governing the categorisation of income as domestic or foreign.

Pursuant to the Greek Income Tax Code, any benefits that an employee receives by the employer, either in cash or in kind, are treated as the former’s taxable employment income, to the extent that such benefits exceed the amount of €300 per year (art. 12 & 13 of the ITC). To this end, the market value of such benefits should be added to each employee’s annual salary and be subject to employment income tax, according to the general progressive rate scale.

Furthermore, article 14 of Greek ITC introduces specific categories of payments and benefits, which are excluded from the calculation of the taxable employment income, indicatively including the following:

• Meals and accommodation expenses and fixed daily compensation paid to employees exclusively for the business activities of the employer
• Transportation expenses actually incurred by the employee in the execution of his/her duties
• Meal vouchers not exceeding EUR 6 per working day
• Very small benefits not exceeding EUR 27 annually.

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Depending on the length and terms of the local assignment in Greece, tax relief may be available under the provisions of a bilateral tax treaty between Greece and the home country. It is critical that the treaty provisions of each particular country be examined. Greece has an extensive income tax treaty network with 58 countries.

Any tax paid abroad by a Greek Tax resident for foreign-sourced income is credited towards the corresponding Greek tax due. This provision is however subject to a particular limit as the amounts credited cannot be higher than the tax would have been paid in Greece for the same income.

As a Greek tax resident, a number of deductions may be taken against gross income to arrive at an individual’s taxable income. In case the employee is a Greek tax resident, a tax credit is available for him for his income up to €12.000. This tax credit amounts to €777 for a taxpayer with no dependent children, to €810 for a taxpayer with one dependent child, to €900 for a taxpayer with 2 dependent children and is further increased for individuals with more dependent children. Such tax credit is reduced by €20 for every €1.000 of income above €12.000.

Capital gains in case of a sale of investment products is subject to taxation at 15%. In general, for the calculation of the capital gains, the acquisition value is deducted from the transfer value. 

For income tax purposes, the term 'dividends' shall mean income derived from shares, founders’ certificates, or other rights to participate in profits that are not claims or debts, as well as income from other corporate rights, such as dividends, partnership interests in profits, distributions of profits by any legal person or legal entity, and any other related distributions.

Dividends are also defined as the type of profit received by the taxpayer in the liquidation of the company to the extent that it exceeds the capital contributed by the participating individuals. All of the above types of profits considered as dividends may be distributed either by a Greek or foreign company, in cash or in kind. Dividends received by individuals from a Greek source are subject to income tax at a flat rate of 5%.

Interest income earned by individuals in Greece or abroad is taxed at a flat rate of 15%. However, in the event that an individual, who is a Greek tax resident, receives interest accruing abroad and vice versa, the DTT between Greece and the counterparty country, applicable in this case, stipulates the applicable tax rate. In any case, the tax is withheld at source with exhaustion of any further income tax liability

Inheritance tax applies on individuals who acquire property as heirs or legatees. The property inherited that is subject to inheritance tax in Greece includes:

• Movable and immovable property situated in Greece regardless of the descendant’s nationality 
• Movable property situated abroad belonging to Greek nationals, regardless of their residence (except for those who reside abroad for ten consecutive years) 
• Movable property situated abroad belonging to foreigners residing in Greece.

The inheritance tax is calculated on a progressive scale determined by the degree of kinship. Tax credits, deductions and exemptions apply, as provided for by law.
Gift tax applies on individuals who acquire property by virtue of a gift (ie transfer of assets while the transferor is alive). As in inheritance tax, gift tax is assessed on the current value of the property gifted. The acquisition of the donated property is subject to the same progressive tax rate scale as inheritance tax, with some differences.

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Acquisition of a real-estate property generates real estate tax which burdens the buyer. On the amount of main transfer tax is imposed an extra tax of 3% in favor of municipalities and communities. Therefore, the effective tax rate is 3,09%.

The ownership of real estate property or real estate property rights in Greece is subject to EN.F.I.A., which is divided into two sub-levies, the principal tax, imposed on each real estate property and the supplementary tax imposed on the total value of the property rights on real estate property of the taxpayer.

In principle, any individual who physically works within the Greek territory is subject to the Greek social security legislation and is thus liable to social security contributions in Greece. However, special rules apply in cases where more than one jurisdiction are involved.

Regarding salaried employees, social security contributions are withheld upon monthly salary payment and will be calculated on the actual salary. The most common percentages of social security contributions (allocated to the employee and the employer) applicable are as follows: 13,87% of the gross salary burden the employee and 22,29% burden the employer. However, the above rates may differ in the case of some specific employment categories,

A foreign national employed in Greece may be subject to the social security laws of both Greece and their home country. Totalisation agreements are designed to alleviate this double taxation by allowing the foreign national to be covered under only their home social security system for a period of time. Greece has a network of totalisation agreements and each specific country agreement should be reviewed to determine the social security system that claims coverage as well as the duration of the exemption.

There is no wealth tax in Greece. There are however luxury taxes applicable in the determination of the imputed income as per the Greek ITC (eg swimming pools, luxury cars etc.).

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