Income tax

Persons who are registered as tax residents abroad in the Tax Office for residents abroad, are taxed in Greece and have the obligation to file a declaration only for income that arises in our country. This applies both to Greeks who moved their tax residence abroad due to relocation and to foreigners.

The tax resident abroad will be taxed based on our domestic legislation, e.g. for the rents he receives from real estate in Greece, for dividends from shares of Greek companies, for profits from participations in domestic LTD, IKE, personal companies, for interest on deposits in domestic banks, for salaries from an employer / company established in our country, etc. .

When the tax resident abroad does not obtain real income in Greece, he has no obligation to file a tax return in our country.

In the event, however, that the recipient of the income is a resident of a country with which Greece has entered into a double taxation agreement / SADF (all EU, EEA, USA, Canada, China, etc.) , will be taxed in accordance with the provisions of the relevant contract. According to a recent decision of the CoF (2465/2018), the special solidarity contribution also falls into the SADF. Although not all bilateral agreements are the same, most usually provide that, for example, real estate income is taxed in the country where the property is located, dividends, interest and royalties are subject to withholding tax (at specific rates ) in the country of origin, the income from the exercise of business activity is taxed only in the country of tax residence of the professional, unless he has a permanent professional base in Greece and so on.

Tax residents abroad are not entitled to tax deductions for income from paid work and pensions they receive in Greece, unless they are EU tax residents. or EEA and obtain at least 90% of the world income in Greece or prove that their taxable income is so low that they would be entitled to a tax reduction under the tax legislation of their country of residence.

Also, the tax resident abroad should examine in accordance with the tax legislation of the country of his tax residence, if he is obliged to declare there the income he acquired in Greece. In this case, the possibility of crediting the tax paid in our country for this income, against the tax due abroad, should be investigated.

It is pointed out & nbsp; that for the tax residents abroad the living presumptions do not apply, therefore such a person will not be taxed for the imputed income resulting from the maintenance of e.g. car or holiday home in Greece. Also, the presumptions of acquisition of assets (real estate, vehicles, etc.) do not apply to these persons, provided that they do not obtain real income in our country (eg interest on deposits).

Tax residents abroad with tax liabilities in Greece must appoint a tax representative with a tax residence and address in Greece, who will receive their correspondence with the tax administration. The tax representative does not bear any responsibility for the fulfillment or not of the tax obligations of the tax resident abroad.

Real estate taxes:

Tax residents abroad are normally subject to real estate transfer tax or VAT when purchasing real estate or real property rights (usufruct, small ownership) located in our country. However, for EU citizens and the EEA, to some expatriates etc. the possibility of tax exemption for the acquisition of a first home is provided under certain conditions.

Foreign tax residents who own a property in Greece must have VAT (already at the time of preparation of the relevant purchase contract, etc.), submit electronically the declaration of details (E9) of their property, declare the relevant changes and .λπ. Based on this declaration, ENFIA (main and supplementary) is certified and owed annually, as it is done for the tax residents of Greece.