Savvas Savvaidis

Greece taxes new residents who qualify under Article 5A of the Income Tax Code at a flat €100,000 a year on all foreign-source income, for up to fifteen years, in exchange for an investment of at least €500,000 in the country. Two sister regimes complete the framework: a 7% rate on foreign income for pensioners (Article 5B) and a 50% income-tax exemption for professionals who move to Greece to work (Article 5C). Introduced between 2019 and 2020 and restated in the tax authority’s guidance of November 2025, the three regimes place Greece among the few European jurisdictions still offering a full flat-tax arrangement after the United Kingdom closed its own in April 2025.

Who qualifies for the €100,000 flat tax

Article 5A is open to individuals who were tax resident outside Greece for seven of the eight years before the transfer and who invest at least €500,000 in Greek real estate, a Greek business, securities or shares in a Greek-based company. The investment may be made by the applicant, by a close relative, or by a company the applicant controls, and it must be completed within three years of the application. A single residential purchase satisfies the test: a villa on the Athens Riviera, in Mykonos or in Corfu above €500,000 qualifies on its own, and a purchase at the €800,000 Golden Visa threshold in those areas meets both programmes at once.

Holders of a residence permit for investment activity, the Golden Visa, are exempt from the separate investment requirement altogether, which is why the two programmes are so often combined.

What the flat tax covers

The €100,000 is due each tax year regardless of the size of the foreign income it covers: dividends, interest, capital gains, rents and business profits earned abroad all fall under the single payment, and that income is neither declared nor further taxed in Greece. Income arising in Greece, including rent from a Greek property, is taxed under the ordinary rules.

The regime extends to family members for a further €20,000 a year each. Spouses, civil partners, children and parents are eligible, and a relative may be added at the outset or in a later year for the remaining term. Beneficiaries also enjoy an exemption from Greek inheritance and gift tax on assets located abroad.

The status runs for fifteen tax years from the year of application and is kept by paying the flat tax in full each year. A missed payment ends the regime from that year, and the taxpayer may also leave voluntarily at any time.

Timing and procedure

The application is filed with the tax authority (AADE) by 30 September, through the My Requests platform on myAADE, by registered post, or in person. A person who transfers tax residence to Greece on or before 2 July may apply for the year of arrival or for the following year; a person who arrives after 2 July may apply only for the following year. An application is accepted without its full file, and supporting documents may follow until 31 October of the same year. The file includes proof that the investment funds were transferred to a Greek financial institution. The flat tax is payable in a single instalment by the last working day of December. These dates have applied since Law 5313/2026 amended Article 5A with effect from 25 June 2026, and AADE Decision A.1147/2026 replaced the 2020 procedure; the former 31 March filing date and July payment date no longer apply, while the amounts, the investment threshold and the fifteen-year term are unchanged. The window for tax year 2026 closed on 30 September 2026; the next is 30 September 2027.

The value of the regime depends on how the applicant’s home country treats the flat payment under its double-tax treaty with Greece. A tax adviser in both jurisdictions settles that question before the move, and a Greek lawyer handles the residence formalities and the property acquisition in parallel; the purchase itself follows the nine legal steps of any Greek transaction, and financing, where used, follows the rules in How to finance a villa purchase in Greece.

The 7% regime for foreign pensioners (Article 5B)

Pensioners who receive a pension from abroad and were tax resident outside Greece for five of the previous six years may elect a flat 7% on all their foreign-source income, again for fifteen years. The transfer must come from a country with an administrative cooperation agreement with Greece, and no investment is required. Under AADE Decision A.1192/2026, the application is filed by 31 October of the year of arrival or of the following year (only the following year for arrivals after 2 July), supporting documents may follow until 30 November, and the 7% tax is paid in one instalment by the last working day of December. Uptake has been strongest among retirees from Italy, Cyprus, Portugal and northern Europe, many of whom settle on Corfu, Paros or the Peloponnese coast.

The 50% exemption for relocating professionals (Article 5C)

Employees and self-employed professionals who move to Greece from an EU or EEA state, or from a country with a cooperation agreement, pay income tax on only half of their Greek employment or business income for seven years. The conditions are five years of foreign residence out of the previous six, a new position with a Greek employer (or a foreign company’s Greek establishment) or the start of a business in Greece, and a declared intention to stay for at least two years. The exemption also removes the deemed-income charge on the applicant’s home and cars. Applications go through the myAADE platform by the end of the year in which the work begins.

Property taxes a new resident still pays

The flat tax covers income; the costs of owning Greek property remain. Transfer tax on a resale is 3.09% of the higher of price and objective value. New-build apartments and villas are sold under the same 3.09% while the 24% VAT suspension runs, currently to 31 December 2026. The annual property tax, ENFIA, is set by zone and surface and adds a supplementary charge on holdings above €400,000 of objective value. Rental income from a Greek property is taxed at 15% to 45% in bands, and capital gains tax on resale remains suspended through 2026. The full list of acquisition costs is set out in Can foreigners buy property in Greece?

One change is on the horizon. At the Thessaloniki International Fair in September 2026 the Prime Minister announced a 15% transfer tax on home purchases by nationals of countries outside the EU and EEA, expected from mid-2027, with exemptions signalled for long-term residents and persons of Greek descent. The measure awaits a bill. Buyers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Gulf who intend to acquire in Greece have a clear incentive to complete within 2026 or in the first half of 2027.

Why Greece is attracting non-dom applicants now

The United Kingdom abolished its non-dom status in April 2025, Italy doubled its flat tax to €200,000 in 2024 and Portugal closed its NHR regime to new entrants the same year. Greece’s €100,000 for fifteen years, a residence programme with no minimum stay, and a lifestyle built around the Athens Riviera, the Cyclades and the Ionian have turned a tax provision into a relocation decision. Greece Sotheby’s International Realty works with incoming residents and their advisers from the first conversation, and invites buyers to discover the homes that anchor that decision. The firm’s editorial view of the trend is in Why Global Wealth Is Choosing Greece: Non-Dom Buyers in Our Data.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Greek non-dom tax regime for foreign investors?
Article 5A of the Greek Income Tax Code: a flat €100,000 a year on all foreign-source income for up to fifteen years, for individuals who were tax resident abroad for seven of the previous eight years and invest at least €500,000 in Greece within three years. Family members join for €20,000 each; Golden Visa holders are exempt from the investment test.

What taxes or fees apply to luxury properties in Greece?
Transfer tax of 3.09% on resales (and on new builds while the VAT suspension runs to 31 December 2026), notary and legal fees of roughly 1% to 1.5% each plus VAT, Cadastre registration of about 0.5%, annual ENFIA set by zone and surface, and income tax of 15% to 45% on Greek rental income. A 15% transfer tax for non-EU/EEA nationals is announced for 2027.

Golden Visa or non-dom: which applies to me?
The Golden Visa is a residence permit granted for a property investment of €800,000 or €400,000 depending on location, with no tax consequence of its own. The non-dom regime is a tax election for those who move their tax residence to Greece. Many buyers hold both: the Golden Visa purchase satisfies the non-dom investment test.

Figures reflect AADE guidance as of October 2026; independent tax and legal counsel confirms each buyer’s position.