GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Fotodotis Malamas, Bernitsas
Income from immovable property is taxed in accord - ance with a progressive scale from 15% up to a maxi - mum of 45%. Income from business activities earned by individuals is taxed in accordance with a progres - sive scale up to a maximum of 44% and by legal persons at a flat rate of 22%. Lease payments from short-term leases classified as business activities are subject to VAT at a reduced rate of 13%. Taxpayers failing to register their properties with the “Short-Term Real Estate Stay Registry” may face a penalty equal to 50% of the gross income of the respective tax year with a minimum amount of EUR5,000, which is doubled in the case of repetition of the infringement. Moreover, short-term leases are subject to stayover municipality tax at the rate of 0.5% of the nightly rental and to climate crisis resilience charge, which varies depending on the time period and accommodation type. In principle, legal entities and persons are subject to income tax at 22%, and any dividends they distribute are subject to further taxation at 5% at the level of the shareholder. Real Estate Taxes The imposition of various taxes on real estate acts as a disincentive to investment in immovable property. The main taxes applicable to real estate can be sum - marised as follows. Unified Real Estate Tax (URET) is levied annually on property located in Greece and the tax is calculated by reference to the size, location, zone price, surface, age, use and other characteristics of the property. An additional tax applies to individuals holding real estate property with a value exceeding EUR400,000 per property and irrespective of joint ownership. This additional tax applies to natural persons owning prop - erty of value exceeding the amount of EUR300,000. The applicable tax rates with reference to the value of the property are in the range of 0%–1%. Over and above this additional tax, URET on individu - als is further adjusted for real estate property valued
at over EUR500,000, in accordance with a progressive scale ranging from 5% up to 20%. URET is calculated on the objective minimum value of real estate, as such value is assessed by a formula of the Ministry of Finance. The URET calculated on property owned by credit institutions and loan servicers is increased by 100%. This provision applies for the tax years 2026, 2027 and 2028. Moreover, the provision does not apply to property owned by credit institutions and loan servic - ers but to that leased to third parties for at least a six-month period. Real estate tax reductions A reduction varying from 10% up to 30% applies to real estate tax for natural persons. The main criterion for the rate of the applicable discount is the value of the real estate property, as calculated by the for - mula set by the Ministry of Finance. Subject to certain conditions, tax reduction is provided for residences insured by insurance companies registered with the respective registry and owned by natural persons. Local Real Estate Duty (TAP) is payable to munici - pal authorities at rates varying between 0.025% and 0.035% of the assessed value of the property. SRET The law provides that legal entities that have full property rights, bare ownership or usufruct property in Greece must pay an annual special property tax at 15%; the law sets out a number of exemptions related mainly to the nature of the activity of the legal persons. Transfer tax The prevailing real estate transfer tax rate is 3%, cal - culated on the taxable value of the real estate. New constructions with a building licence issued since January 2006 are subject to VAT at 24%. However, the VAT has been suspended until 31 December 2026. Exceptionally, the acquisition of a primary residence is exempt from the payment of transfer tax if the pur - chaser, their spouse or a minor child is domiciled in Greece and none of them are entitled to full owner - ship, usufruct or habitation in a residence. These pro -
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