Greece
This chapter includes data on the income taxes paid by workers, their social security contributions, the family benefits they receive in the form of cash transfers as well as the social security contributions and payroll taxes paid by their employers. Results reported include the marginal and average tax burden for eight different family types.
Methodological information is available for personal income tax systems, compulsory social security contributions to schemes operated within the government sector, universal cash transfers as well as recent changes in the tax/benefit system. The methodology also includes the parameter values and tax equations underlying the data.
The national currency is the Euro (EUR). In 2021, EUR 0.84 was equal to USD 1. In 2021, the estimated gross earnings of the average worker are EUR 18 831 (Secretariat estimate).
1.1. Central government income tax
1.1.1. Tax unit
Individuals are subject to national income tax.
Individuals who are Greek tax residents are subject to income tax in Greece on their worldwide income earned in a certain tax year, whereas non-residents are subject to tax in Greece only on income sourced in Greece irrespective of his/her nationality, place of domicile. Moreover, an individual whose domicile in Greece exceeds183 days cumulatively in a twelve month period is considered as a tax resident in Greece and is subject to tax on his/her worldwide income irrespective of the individual’s nationality. Due consideration is given to bilateral conventions, for the elimination of double taxation, their provisions superseding domestic law.
Individuals who have completed 18 years of age are obliged to file an income tax return regardless of having taxable income or not. Regarding income derived by minor children, the parent who has the custody is liable for filing a tax return. The income of minor children is added to the income of the parent who has the custody and is taxed in the name of the parent who is in principle liable for tax filing. This provision does not apply to the following types of income, in respect of which the minor child has a personal tax obligation: a) employment income and b) pensions due to the death of his father or mother.
Spouses file a joint income tax return but each spouse is liable for the tax payable on his or her share of the joint income. Persons who have entered into a civil union – partnership can also file a joint income tax return. In this case, civil union partners have the same tax treatment as married couples. The tax return can be filed separately, if at least one of the spouses opts for it, with an irrevocable declaration for each tax year until 28 February of the year of submission of the return. This option is binding for the concerned tax year and also applies to the other spouse. Especially for tax year 2020, the deadline for submitting the irrevocable declaration was set at 6 May 2021.
Losses incurred by a spouse or civil union partner cannot be set off against the income of the other spouse or partner. Spouses or civil union partners file a return separately if a) they have been divorced or have terminated the civil partnership at the time of the tax filing or b) one of the spouses or civil union partners is bankrupt or has been subject to guardianship. The taxpayer’s spouse can be considered as a dependent member, provided that he/she does not have any taxable income.
As dependent members, related to the taxpayer, are regarded single children under the age of 18, adult children up to 25 years old studying at the university or serving their military service or registered as unemployed to the Manpower Employment Organisation (OAED); taxpayers are deem to be in charge for their ascendants and/or their spouses’ relatives (up to the 3rd degree) who are orphans provided that they live with them and their annual taxable income does not exceed the amount of EUR 3 000 (alimony and disability benefits and similar allowances are not included). Single disabled children (>=67%) or spouses’ disabled siblings (>=67%) are also considered as dependent members, except if their annual income exceeds the amount of EUR 6 000 (alimony and disability benefits and similar allowances are not included).
1.1.2. Tax allowances and tax credits
1.1.2.1. Standard tax reliefs
Social security contributions: all compulsory social security contributions and optional contributions to legally constituted funds are fully deductible from taxable gross income.
Tax is reduced for employees and pensioners, for each tax bracket, as follows:
by EUR 777 for annual income up to EUR 12 000, for taxpayers with no dependent children;
by EUR 810 for annual income up to EUR 12 000 for taxpayers with one dependent child;
by EUR 900 for annual income up to EUR 12 000 for taxpayers with two dependent children;
by EUR 1 120 for annual income up to EUR 12 000 for taxpayers with 3 dependent children;
by EUR 1 340 for annual income up to EUR 12 000 for taxpayers with 4 dependent children;
for taxpayers with more than 4 dependent children, the above mentioned tax credit is increased by EUR 220 per child;
for income exceeding EUR 12 000, the aforementioned tax credit is reduced by EUR 20 for every EUR 1 000 of taxable income.
In order to maintain the above tax reduction under this, the taxpayer is required to make payments of acquiring goods and receiving services within the country or in Member States of the European Union or EEA, which have been paid through electronic payments, the minimum amount of which is 30% of taxable income, and up to EUR 20 000. If this amount of electronic payments is not reached, a penalty of 22% is imposed to the remaining amount.
Especially for tax year 2020, taxpayers who were affected from Covid-19 pandemic consequences (i.e., taxpayers deriving income from an affected business activity, as specified by code number, employees whose employment contract was suspended, and property owners that had reduced rental income due to Covid-19 pandemic) are subject to a reduced penalty.
The amount of tax, as calculated for each tax bracket, is reduced further by EUR 200 for the taxpayer himself as well as for each dependent member, provided that the taxpayer or his dependents are disabled (over 67%) or disabled soldiers or military personnel injured in the course of their duties or war victims or victims of terrorist attacks or in case they receive pension by the State as war victims or as disabled.
Note: Foreign tax residents are not eligible to tax deductions, unless they are tax resident in an EU/EEA member State and a) derive at least 90% of their total income from sources in Greece or b) prove that their taxable income is so low that they would be entitled to tax reduction under the tax legislation of the State of their tax residency.
1.1.2.2. Non-Standard tax credits
The payable amount of tax is reduced by 20% on the donations to certain bodies, as well as to political parties, party alliances and candidates for the National Parliament and the European Parliament, if donations exceed the amount of EUR 100 during the tax year. The total amount of donations cannot exceed 5% of the taxable income.
1.1.2.3. Exemptions
Certain types of income, as specified in the legislation (Income Tax Code) are exempt from the tax.
income earned in the performance of their duties by foreign diplomatic representatives or consulate agents, employees of embassies and consulates that have the nationality of the represented State as well as by individuals working in the EU Institutions or other International Organizations that have been installed under an international treaty applied by Greece.;
alimony received by the beneficiary according to the Court adjudication or notary Document;
all forms of pensions provided to war victims and their families, as well as to soldiers and military personnel injured in the course of their duties in times of peace;
benefits and similar allowances provided to special categories of disabled persons;
salaries, pensions etc. paid to disabled persons (over 80%);
unemployment benefits granted by the National Employment Organisation (OAED) provided that the total annual income of the beneficiary does not exceed the amount of EUR 10 000;
financial aid to recognized political refugees, to personsresiding temporarily in Greece for humanitarian reasons and to persons that have submitted the relevant application to the competent Greek authorities, paid by bodies carrying out refugee aid schemes financed by the UN and the EU;
the benefit for hazardous labour provided to employees working in the armed forces, the police, the fire and port departments as well as the special allowance to medical, nursing and ambulance staff up to 65%;
the fees paid by the World Association of Disabled Artists (VDM.FK) to the members of foot and mouth painters, who are tax residents of Greece, exclusively for the work of painting paid by the Union with exchange;
income from employment obtained by foreign officers and low crew members of merchant ships, who are foreign tax residents, on merchant ships with Greek flag, which perform exclusively international trips.
1.1.2.4. Tax calculation
Taxable income is derived from the following sources:
b) income from business activity ;investment income which includes income from dividends, interest, royalties and income from immovable property (rental income);
c) income from capital gains, which includes income deriving on transfer of real estate or securities.
Net income is computed separately within each category with tax rules that vary across income categories.
Taxpayer is subject to an alternative minimum tax when his/her imputed income is higher than his/her total declared income. In this case, the difference between imputed and actual income is added to the taxable income. Imputed income is calculated on the basis of the taxpayer’s and his/her dependents’ living expenses.
Income from employment is subject to withholding tax. The tax is withheld by the employer and is calculated by applying the taxpayer’s progressive income tax schedule. The employer calculates the withholding tax on the basis of the taxpayer’s annual net salary (net of social security contributions). The resulting tax is the annual tax due, 1/14 of which constitutes the monthly withholding tax for the private sector’s employees (every employee in the private sector receives 14 monthly salaries per year, i.e., 12 monthly salaries plus one salary as Christmas bonus, ½ salary as Easter bonus and ½ salary as summer vacation bonus). For the employees of the public sector, the monthly withholding tax is calculated as 1/12 of the annual tax due, because of the fact that bonuses in the public sector have been eliminated. If the taxpayer's final tax liability (derived from the annual declared income) exceeds the aggregate of the amounts already withheld or prepaid, the remaining tax is generally payable in three equal bimonthly instalments. Any excess tax paid or withheld will be refunded.
1.1.3. Rate schedule
Depending on the income category the following tax schedules apply:
Income from employment and pensions is pooled together with income from business activity and is taxed at the following rates:
The above tax scale does not apply for employment income acquired by:
Officers working in merchant ships, whose income is taxed at a 15% flat rate.
Low- crew members working in merchant ships, whose income is taxed at a 10% flat rate.
Pilots, co-pilots and aircraft engineers who are tax residents in Greece for their monthly compensation, which is taxed at a tax flat rate of 15% and whose air company has a tax residency or permanent establishment in Greece,
Members of the Independent Board of Refugees Appeal for their monthly compensation, which is taxed at a tax flat rate of 15%.
The aforementioned categories of employment income are taxed independently, with exhaustion of the tax liability of their beneficiaries.
For deductions see above section 1.1.2.1.
Income from agricultural business is taxed independently but with the same tax schedule. The previously described tax credit is granted to farmers as well. In the case where a farmer is earning income from employment / pension, only one tax credit is given.
Income from dividends is taxed at a 5% flat rate, income from interest is taxed at a 15% flat rate and income from royalties is taxed at a 20% flat rate.
Income from immovable property (Rental Income) is taxed at the following rates:
From 1 January 2017, income derived from short term rentals of sharing economy (if it is not considered as income from business activity) is taxed with the above tax scale.
Income from capital gains is taxed at a 15% flat rate.
In the total taxable income, the Special Solidarity Contribution is additionally imposed. Income up to EUR 12 000 is not subject to the solidarity contribution. For income exceeding EUR 12 000, the solidarity contribution applies with the following marginal rates:
Solidarity Contribution Marginal Tax Rates
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the solidarity contribution for private sector employees has been suspended for tax years 2021 and 2022. The suspension also applies forincome from business activity, investment and capital gains for tax years 2020 and 2021.
1.1.4 Income tax return submission and tax payment for tax year 2020
Income tax returns are timely submitted by 27 August 2021 and the tax is paid in eight (8) equal, monthly installments, of which the first two (2) are paid due until the last working day of August 2021 and each of the following within the last working day of six (6) next months,
For the income tax returns that will be submitted by 28 July 2021 and the tax due is paid in the lump sum by the last working day of July 2021, a three per cent (3%) discount is provided on the total amount of tax due. The one-off payment until 31 July 2021 concerns all income categories.
The great majority of individuals who are employed in the public and private sector and render dependent personal services are subject to a mandatory principal and direct insurance at the Electronic National Social Security Fund (e-EFKA) for their main pension and health care.
Apart from the main contribution, e-EFKA compulsorily collects contributions for other minor Funds created for the employee’s benefit (Unemployment Benefits Funds, etc.).
Since 1 March 2020 the subsidiary Unified Supplementary Insurance and Lump-Sum Fund (ETEAEP) was integrated into the National Social Security Fund (EFKA) which is renamed as “Electronic National Social Security Fund” (e-EFKA), (Law 4670/2020), the Supplementary Insurance and Lump-Sum Benefits sections of former ETEAEP forming now the respective sections of e-EFKA.
The average rates of contributions payable by white-collar employees as a percentage of gross earnings are as follows (%):
From January 1st 2021 to 31 December 2021
For work in private sector (full time)
For work in private sector (part time)
For work in public sector (full time)
For work in public sector (part time)
It should be noted that the amount of the maximum insurable earnings for calculating the monthly insurance contribution of employees and employers is set to EUR 6 500.
The 6.50% (3.25+3.25) rate is valid until 31 May 2022. From 1 June 2022 onwards the rate decreases to 6.00% (3.00+3.00).
The contribution for lawyers and engineers providing dependent services (Law 4756/2020, art. 35) of the Supplementary Insurance Branch of the former ETEAEP from 1 January 2020 until 31 May 2022 is a fixed sum of EUR 42, EUR 51 or EUR 61 per month, depending on the respective insurance class level. The insured persons are subject, from 1 January 2020, to the first insurance class, with the obligation to contribute EUR 42 per month, while from 1 July 2020 onwards they are entitled to opt for their insurance class. This contribution is shared between the lawyer or engineer and their employer.
For the former Lump Sum section of ETEAEP, the contribution and the monthly basis on which the contribution is calculated, for employees first insured before 1992, is determined by the social security body which was integrated into ETEAEP. The contribution for employees first insured after 1992, for the former Lump Sum of ETEAEP is set at 4%. The monthly basis, on which the contribution is calculated, is the same basis amount as for e-EFKA.
Insurance contribution for the engineers, lawyers and doctors providing dependent services and insured at the former Lump-sum section of ETEAEP is calculated from 1 January 2020 as a fixed amount of EUR 26, EUR 31 or EUR 37 per month, depending on the respective insurance class. The insured persons are subject from 1 January 2020 to the first insurance class, with the obligation to contribute EUR 26 per month and from 1 July 2020 onwards they are entitled to opt for their insurance class. The contribution for lawyers is shared between the lawyer and his/her employer.
All these social security contributions are fully deductible for income tax purposes.
3.1. Transfers related to marital status
According to the National General Collective Labour Agreement, a marriage allowance, which is set at a rate of 10% of the gross salary, is granted only to workers employed by employers that belong to the contracting employer organisations.1 For public servants no marriage benefit is granted.
3.2. Transfers for dependent children
According to the Law 4512/2018, the “Single children support allowance” is calculated according to the number of dependent children as well as the household equivalent income category.
The equivalence scale assigns a value of 1 to the first household member, of 1/2 to the spouse and of 1/4 to each dependent child. Especially, for single parent families, a value of ½ is assigned to the first dependent child and a value of ¼ to each additional child.
Households that are entitled to the allowance are divided into three income categories according to their income:
a) Household equivalent income of < EUR 6 000: monthly allowance of EUR 70 for the first child, EUR 70 for the second child and EUR 140 for every additional child.
b) Household equivalent income of EUR 6 001 – 10 000: monthly allowance of EUR 42 for the first child, EUR 42 for the second child and EUR 84 for every additional child.
c) Household equivalent income of EUR 10 001 – 15 000: monthly allowance of EUR 28 for the first child, EUR 28 for the second child and EUR 56 for every additional child.
5.1. Identification of an AW and method of calculations used
Methodological note for the estimation of the average annual earnings per employee, for the period 2000 – 2018
The average annual earnings below refer to full time employees for Sectors C to N of ISIC Rev.3.1, before 2008, and for Sectors B to N including Division 95 and excluding Divisions 37, 39 and 75 of ISIC Rev. 4, for 2008 onwards.
In the estimation procedure of the average annual earnings per employee, for the period 2000-2018 the following data are taken into account:
Annual earnings and number of employees, as derived from the Structure of Earnings Survey (SES), of the years 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014.
Hours worked and annual average number of employees, as derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), of the years 2000 – 2018.
Average annual earnings indices, as derived from the Indices on Quarterly Labour Cost Survey, of the years 2000 – 2018.
The Average gross Annual Earnings per full time employee for the period 2000 to 2020 includes:
The special payments for shift and night work, as well as work during weekends and holidays;
The total annual bonuses as well as those that are regularly paid on a monthly basis, the 13th salary (Christmas salary, where applicable) and 14th salary (Easter and vacation payments, where applicable)
The annual payments in kind: foods, drinks, footwear, clothes, accommodation, business cars provided, mobile phones, etc.;
The data for 2019 and onwards will be revised when the final results of the SES 2022 will be available.
Data in bold refer to data from SES 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 and 2018.
It should be noted that the data with reference years 2000 - 2005 are different from those of the succeeding years with regard to the source that was used for the calculation of the LCIWages For the years 2000 - 2005 the index was calculated on the basis of data from National Accounts deriving from administrative sources, while for the years 2006 – 2020 the calculation of LCIWages was based on the quarterly Labour Cost Survey.
Finally, we would like to inform you that the data refer to the mean yearly gross income for full-time paid employees, regardless of:
5.2. Main employers’ contributions to private pension, health, and related schemes
Contributions to private pension and sickness schemes made by employers are not added to employees’ gross earnings for tax purposes (but they are subject to special taxation entailing extinction of tax liability). Since these contributions are not obligatory for employers, no data is provided by the National Statistical Service of Greece. Very few employers have adopted such additional insurance schemes.
The equations for the Greek system in 2021 are mostly on an individual basis. The level of gross earnings for the principal earner is increased by the spouse and child subsidy paid by the employer.
The functions which are used in the equations (Taper, MIN, Tax etc) are described in the technical note about tax equations Variable names are defined in the table of parameters above, within the equations table, or are the standard variables “married” and “children” A reference to a variable with the affix “_total” indicates the sum of the relevant variable values for the principal and spouse And the affixes “_princ” and “_spouse” indicate the value for the principal and spouse, respectively Equations for a single person are as shown for the principal, with “_spouse” values taken as 0.
Note
← 1. Namely the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen & Merchants, the National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce and the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises.