Tax Services in Greece

With so many factors vying for your attention when you start a business, understanding the taxation framework can often take a back seat. Whether you are starting a business or running a well-established company, being clued up on your tax obligations is important. The form of business you operate determines what taxes you must pay and how you pay them.

One of the long-standing problems in Greece has been the lax-taxation and the tax-evasion. But since last few years, the government has been successful in implementing a significant number of new tax measures. The country also has double taxation treaties with several countries including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, UK, and USA and so on.

Greece Tax is based on direct and indirect systems. There are certain conditions to pay taxes in Greece and you’ll need one of the following:

  1. Permanent residency in Greece
  2. To have spent over 183 days in the country during the calendar year
  3. To be employed or carrying out paid professional activities in Greece (unless they’re secondary to business activities conducted in your home country)
  4. To have investments or business in Greece
  5. To have an annual income over 3,000 Euros that comes from salaries, pensions, self-employment, alimony from a spouse (child support is not included), or agricultural activities

Types of Tax in Greece

There are different types of taxes for individuals and companies in Greece:

  • Income Tax
  • Corporate Tax
  • Withholding Tax
  • Value Added Tax (VAT)
  • Social Security Tax
  • Capital Gains Tax

1. Income Tax

It is subject to the total net income that is produced in Greece or abroad. The source of income is categorized in Greece Income Tax Code is as follows:

  • Real estate property
  • Financial instruments
  • Business activities
  • Agricultural activities
  • Salaried services
  • Services of liberal professionals

2. Corporate Tax

The Greece tax rate for corporate tax is at 29% on profits of Corporations (AE Company), Limited Liability Company (EPE Company), Partnership, Cooperatives, and Joint Venture. Foreign entities may establish their presence in Greece with the purpose of providing certain services to the head office and such establishments will be taxed on the higher of the actual revenues reported in their account and in some cases not lower than 5%.

3. Withholding Tax

Greece Withholding Tax affects the foreign tax residents according to the following rates:

  • Dividends: 15%
  • Interest: 15%
  • Royalties: 20%

The rates in the Double Taxation treaties concluded between Greece and several other countries apply where there are lower than the above rates provided under the Greek law.

4. Value Added Tax (VAT)

VAT in Greece is added to almost every item that you buy. The standard Greece VAT rate taxable to all the goods and services is 24%. There are also rules on which goods may be within the reduced VAT rate brackets. It is important that companies use the correct rates since they are liable for any shortfall.

5. Social Security Tax

Under this, an employer is required to deduct an amount at source from the employee’s salary to make an additional contribution to social security as in many other EU countries. The employer's contribution amounts to 24.56% of the salary. The employee's contribution is 15.5%.

6. Capital Gains Tax

A capital gain tax in Greece is added to regular income and is taxable at the same rate as regular income for a company, other than in specific instances as defined in law.

With the Greek taxation system constantly evolving to accommodate the changing austerity measures, it’s probably a good idea to not try and file taxes on your own. Most Greek companies don’t, either. Although the online tax-filing system only recently became available to everyone, the majority of the population still hires a tax accountant to take care of things.

Our Tax Services in Greece

We at Business Setup Worldwide offer the following services for taxation in Greece:

  • Identification and proposals of most appropriate measures and solutions to taxation issues
  • Consultation for income taxes and VAT
  • Preparation of tax returns: income tax, VAT, property tax, etc.
  • Transfer pricing
  • Consulting services concerning personal & corporate taxes, customs, stamp duty, and capital taxation

If you are looking for tax consulting services in Greece, do contact us. Our business advisors in Greece would be happy to help!