News brief · Taxation
Greece: the 2026 schedule tightens the 44% band from €60,000
The reform of the Greek rate schedule has changed the entry point of the top band. It has no effect on flat-tax regimes, but it increases the tax on any Greek-source income received alongside them — which concerns more people than one might think.
By Editorial team · on August 25, 2026
What the schedule says
The Greek rate schedule for salaries and pensions is progressive. Its first band is taxed at 9%1, and the top marginal rate of the schedule in force until 2025 stood at 44%2.
The reform concerned the entry threshold of this top band, which has been lowered compared with the previous schedule. The rate itself has not changed: it is the income level from which it applies that has moved.
This distinction matters. Lowering a threshold has the same effect as a rate increase for the taxpayers concerned, but it is less visible and does not show up in an international comparison of marginal rates.
We do not publish the thresholds of the Greek schedule in euros, nor the exact date the reform came into force: we were unable to verify them in an up-to-date official Greek source. They must be confirmed with the tax authority before running any simulation.
Who is affected, and who is not
Beneficiaries of the regime for foreign retirees are not affected as regards their foreign-source income: it falls under the flat tax of 7%3 for 15 years4, whatever the amount.
Likewise, the regime for high-net-worth individuals, with its flat tax of €100,0005, is not affected: it covers all foreign income regardless of the schedule.
All Greek-source income, on the other hand, is affected. A retiree under the flat tax who received Greek rent, carried on an activity locally or held Greek securities would fall under the ordinary schedule for that portion.
Also affected are beneficiaries of the regime for workers relocating from abroad, which exempts 50%6 of employment income for 7 years7: the taxable half of their remuneration follows the schedule and is therefore hit by the lower threshold.
It is this last group that loses most from the reform. A professional settled in Greece under this regime sees the taxable portion of their salary reach the top band sooner, which reduces the net advantage of the scheme.
What to do
- Map your income by source: what is Greek falls under the schedule, what is foreign may fall under a flat tax.
- Simulate the effect of the new threshold on the taxable portion, particularly for beneficiaries of the regime for workers relocating from abroad.
- Check the treatment of Greek dividends, subject to 5%8 withholding tax, and of capital gains, taxed at 15%9.
- Confirm the thresholds in force with the Greek tax authority, as the reform is recent.
- Monitor the more than 183 days10 threshold, which determines Greek tax residency.
The first point sums up the method. In Greece, the question is never “what is my rate” but “where does each of my sources of income come from”: it is the source that determines the regime, and the same taxpayer often falls under two regimes at once.
What remains uncertain
The stability of the schedule is the open question. Greece has changed its tax system several times since emerging from the crisis, in both directions, and its attractiveness regimes have been maintained even as the ordinary rules became stricter.
This divergence is not unique to Greece: it reflects a political trade-off between attracting foreign residents and domestic budget revenue. It makes flat-tax regimes more robust than they appear, but also exposes them to recurring public debate.
For a French applicant, the practical conclusion is that two things must be quantified separately: tax on foreign income, stable for the duration of the flat tax, and tax on Greek income, subject to a schedule that changes.
A Greek project that generates no locally sourced income is therefore considerably more predictable than one involving an activity or a rental investment there. This is a structuring criterion in its own right.
Please note
Sources and verification dates
- 1.
Greece: rate of the first bracket of the salaries and pensions scale (from 2026) : 9%
« For tax years 2026 onwards, taxable income from employment and pension is taxed according to the following scale — Income (€) / Tax Rate : 0 – 10.000 : 9% ; 10.001 – 20.000 : 20% ; 20.001 – 30.000 : 26% ; 30.001 – 40.000 : 34% ; 40.000,01 – 60.000 : 39% ; > 60.000 : 44% [taux réduits selon le nombre d'enfants à charge]. — Ministry of Economy and Finance, « Tax Guide – Income Taxation » (Law 4172/2013, Income Tax Code). »
minfin.gov.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 2.
Greece: top marginal rate of the scale applicable until 2025 : 44%
« For tax years up to and including 2025 […] : 0 – 10.000 : 9% ; 10.001 – 20.000 : 22% ; 20.001 – 30.000 : 28% ; 30.001 – 40.000 : 36% ; 40.001 – : 44%. For tax years 2026 onwards […] : 0 – 10.000 : 9% ; 10.001 – 20.000 : 20% ; 20.001 – 30.000 : 26% ; 30.001 – 40.000 : 34% ; 40.000,01 – 60.000 : 39% ; > 60.000 : 44%. — Ministry of Economy and Finance, « Tax Guide – Income Taxation ». »
- 3.
Greece, regime for foreign retirees: flat rate on foreign-source income : 7%
« Annual flat tax rate of 7% on total foreign source income. »
enterprisegreece.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 4.
Greece, regime for foreign retirees: period of application : 15 years
« Duration of regime's applicability • Fifteen (15) tax years. »
enterprisegreece.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 5.
Greece, regime for high-net-worth individuals: annual flat tax on foreign income : €100,000
« 1.2 Special tax regimes at a glance — HIGH NET WORTH INDIVIDUAL (HNWI) REGIME : Not a Greek tax resident for the seven (7) out of eight (8) years preceding the transfer to Greece. […] Minimum investment of EUR 500 000 within a period of three (3) years. […] Preferential alternative taxation : A lump sum tax of EUR 100 000 on an annual basis (extinguishing tax liability on global foreign source income). Plus a lump sum tax of EUR 20 000 on an annual basis, in case a relative (spouse, children, parents) utilizes respective provisions. Duration of regime's applicability : Fifteen (15) tax years. — Enterprise Greece, « Brief Tax Guide Greece 2026 » (art. 5A du Code des impôts sur le revenu). »
enterprisegreece.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 6.
Greece, workers relocating from abroad: share of employment income exempt from tax : 50%
« Eligible to income tax exemption on 50% of employment income earned in Greece during any tax year. »
enterprisegreece.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 7.
Greece, workers relocating from abroad: duration of the partial exemption : 7 years
« ATTRACTING FOREIGN INDIVIDUALS TO WORK IN GREECE : […] Eligible to income tax exemption on 50% of employment income earned in Greece during any tax year. […] Duration of regime's applicability : Seven (7) tax years. — Enterprise Greece, « Brief Tax Guide Greece 2026 » (art. 5C). »
enterprisegreece.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 8.
Greece: withholding tax on dividends : 5%
« Dividends are subject to a withholding tax of five percent (5%). […] If the distribution of dividends is subject to withholding tax, the withholding tax exhausts the tax liability only for individuals and for the specific type of income of the taxpayer. »
minfin.gov.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 9.
Greece: tax rate on capital gains from disposals : 15%
« Income from capital transfer gains is taxed at a rate of fifteen percent (15%). »
minfin.gov.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
- 10.
Greece: annual presence above which tax residency is acquired : 183 days
« An individual is considered Greek tax resident if she/he maintains permanent or main residence or usual abode or center of vital interests in Greece […]. Furthermore, subject to the above provisions, any individual who is present in Greece for a period exceeding 183 days, cumulatively during any twelve (12) month period, is considered to be a Greek tax resident as of her/his first day of arrival in Greece. However, respective provisions are not applicable in case of individuals who are present in Greece only for tourism, medical, medicinal or equivalent personal purposes on condition that their presence does not exceed the 365 days threshold. — Enterprise Greece (agence publique d'investissement, ministère des Affaires étrangères), « Brief Tax Guide Greece 2026 » (Code des impôts sur le revenu, loi 4172/2013, art. 4). »
enterprisegreece.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source