2016 – 2017 Greek Tax Facts
Individuals taxation
The global income of Greek tax residents is subject to tax in Greece. Non Greek tax residents are subject to tax only for earnings generated in Greece. Different tax rates or tax bands are applied to each income, depending on the source of this income.
Tax bands for employees, retired and self employed persons
The taxable income from wages and pensions is subject to the following tax scales.
| Taxable income | Tax rate |
| 0 – 20,000 | 22% |
| 20,001 – 30,000 | 29% |
| 30,001 – 40,000 | 37% |
| 40,001 – | 45% |
If the taxable income from wages and pensions does not exceed the amount of 20,000 Euro, the tax arising shall be reduced by the amount of 1,900 Euro for the taxpayer without children. The tax reduction amounts to 1,950 Euro for taxpayers with 1 child, 2,000 Euro for 2 children and 2,100 Euro for 3 or more children. If the tax amount is less than these amounts, the tax reduction is limited to the amount of the corresponding tax. In addition, if the taxable income exceeds the amount of 20,000 Euro, the amount of the reduction declines by 10 Euro per 1,000 Euro of taxable income.
Note: The abovementioned reductions are not applied in the case of profits earned by self employed (freelancers and self businesses).
Exception: Income received by captains and officers serving on ships of the merchant maritime is taxed at a flat rate of 15%. Income received by the lower-ranked crew serving on those ships is taxed at a flat rate of 10%.
Tax bands for rental income
Rental income from immovable property is taxed separately on the basis of the following scale.
| Rental income | Tax rate |
| 0-12.000 | 15% |
| 12.001 – 35.000 | 35% |
| 35.001- | 45% |
Tax rates for dividends, interest and royalties
The passive income generated by dividends, interest and royalties is subject to the following flat tax rates.
| Passive income | Tax rate (flat) |
| Dividends | 15% |
| Interests | 15% |
| Royalties | 20% |
Capital gain tax
The capital gain generated by transfer of shares in companies not listed on a stock market, shares and other securities listed on a stock market (if the transferor participates in the company’s share capital with at least 0.5%), shares to partnerships, government bonds and Treasury bills or corporate bonds, derivatives are taxed at 15%. The capital gain from a property transfer is also taxed at 15% (effective from 01/01/2017).
Solidarity tax
The total taxable and exempt income is subject to solidarity tax in accordance with the following scale.
| Income | Solidarity tax rates |
| 0 – 12.000 | 0% |
| 12.001 – 20.000 | 2,20% |
| 20.001 – 30.000 | 5,00% |
| 30.001 – 40.000 | 6,50% |
| 40.001 – 65.000 | 7,50% |
| 65.001 – 220.000 | 9,00% |
| >220.000 | 10,00% |
Corporate taxation
Tax rate
The tax rate for corporate profits is 29%. In addition, companies pay an advance tax for the current year which is equal to the income tax of the previous year (100% tax paid in advance).
VAT rates
| Category | VAT rate | Comments |
| Normal | 24% | Goods and services |
| Reduced | 13% | Foods |
| Over-reduced | 6% | Books and medicines |
| Reduced VAT rates for some Aegean islands | ||
| Normal | 17% | Lesvos, Chios, Ikaria, Kos, Samos etc. |
| Reduced | 9% | |
| Over-reduced | 4% | |
Other corporate tax facts
| Transfer Pricing rules | Yes |
| Controlled Foreign Companies (CFCs) regime | Yes |
| Tax relief for intragroup dividends | Yes* |
* The intra-group dividends received by a legal entity which is a Greek tax resident, shall be exempt from tax, if the entity carrying out the distribution is included in the types listed in Annex I, Part I of Directive 2011/96 / EC (as amended), is an EU tax resident, is subject to one of the taxes listed in Annex I, Part II of Directive 2011/96 / EC, the recipient taxpayer holds a minimum participating interest of at least 10% of the share capital of the legal entity that distributes and the minimum interest is held at least for 24 months.
