Expatriate tax ebook - Greece

Basis of taxation

Charge to tax
Residence
Income from employment
Source of employment
Benefits (in kind)
Expatriate concessions
Relief for foreign taxes
Deductions against income

Charge to tax
A charge to Greek tax is dependent on whether the income arises in Greece and the extent of the charge will be determined by an individual’s tax residency status.

Residence
Tax residence in Greece is determined by the expatriate's actual presence within a tax year and his income. The Expatriate will be treated as Greek tax resident if he spends 183 days or more in Greece in case there is DTT.

Income from employment
A Greek tax charge arises on employment income derived from duties performed in Greece.
Assessable employment income includes all wages, salaries, overtime pay, bonuses, gratuities, perquisites, benefits etc.
There is also a requirement on the expatriate's employer to deduct Greek payroll withholding tax from the assessable employment income.

Source of employment
As mentioned above, where duties are performed in Greece, any remuneration received in respect of these duties is treated as Greek sourced income and subject to Greek income tax, regardless of the expatriate's tax residence status (subject to the relevant double taxation agreement).

Benefits (in kind)
In general where the benefit is enjoyed in Greece, a Greek income tax charge will arise. Therefore, housing, meal allowances, provision of a car and relocation allowances will come within the charge to Greek income tax in addition to the individual's salary.

Expatriate concessions
There are no expatriate concessions in Greece.

Relief for foreign taxes
Where income has been subject to tax twice, in Greece and a foreign jurisdiction, relief can be granted by the Greek Revenue Authority where provided for in the relevant double taxation agreement.

Certain agreements are already signed between Greece and the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, India, Ireland, Israel, Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldavia, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Uzbekistan.

Deductions against income
Pension and insurance scheme contributions.

Information about Greece:

• introduction
• facts and figures
• basis of taxation
• what taxes?
• tax planning opportunities