Retiring in Greece
Greece: the tax picture for FIRE
Greece taxes employment and pension income on a progressive scale, starting at 9% on the first €10,000 and topping out at 44% above €60,000. There is no tax-free allowance as such — relief arrives as a family-based tax credit (roughly €8,633 for employees and pensioners) that this model omits, so tax on the first slice of income is over-stated. Capital gains on securities are taxed at a flat 15% with no annual exemption, though listed shares are exempt below a 0.5% company holding, so the model over-states the bill for typical retail portfolios; dividends (5%) and interest (15%) sit on separate schedules.
At death, Greece levies an inheritance tax on each recipient by relationship: a child's share is tax-free to €150,000, rising to 10% above €600,000, while a spouse gets a €400,000 exemption rather than full relief. Cost of living is modelled with an illustrative factor of 0.68, flagged at low confidence. The income figures are draft at medium confidence, and Greece's 7% flat-tax regime for new-resident foreign pensioners — a major lever for expat retirees — is not yet modelled.
Income tax (2026)medium confidence
| Band | Rate |
|---|---|
| €0 – €10,000 | 9% |
| €10,000 – €20,000 | 20% |
| €20,000 – €30,000 | 26% |
| €30,000 – €40,000 | 34% |
| €40,000 – €60,000 | 39% |
| above €60,000 | 44% |
What this model doesn’t capture (10)
- EFKA social security contributions (employee/self-employed contributions on earned income) not modelled — do NOT apply to pension drawdown, so no NL-style combined IT+NI retiree over-taxation risk
- special solidarity contribution (eisfora allilengyis — largely suspended/abolished for most income since 2023, but flagged as out of scope)
- family/dependent-children reduced scales and under-30 reduced rates not modelled (single/childless scale used)
- Art. 16 tax reduction MODELLED at the €777 single/childless base with the €20/€1,000 taper over €12,000 (Queue B7 — effective tax-free point ~€8,633). Family variants (~€810–€1,340 by children, Law 5246/2025 under-30 uplifts) NOT modelled; the credit's taper keys on total scale income in-engine (statutorily employment/pension income — exact whenever only pension income rides this scale)
- separate rental-income progressive scale (15/25/35/45%) not modelled — this pack is for employment/pension income only
- 7% flat-tax regime for new-resident foreign pensioners (15 years, all foreign income incl. pensions) not modelled — MAJOR lever for expat retirees
- €100,000 non-dom lump-sum regime for HNW foreign-source income not modelled
- investment income taxed on separate schedules (securities/dividends 5%, interest/capital gains 15%) not modelled — this pack covers the unified employment/pension scale only
- no indexing/inflation-adjustment logic (statutory 2026 brackets under Law 5246/2025)
- selfEmployment: no regime module — self-employed social contributions / business-income surcharges for this jurisdiction are not modelled
Capital gainsmedium confidence
Capital gains are taxed at a flat 15%.
15% flat on securities; listed shares EXEMPT if holding <0.5% of the company (engine over-states typical retail portfolios); real-estate CGT suspended to 31 Dec 2026; dividends 5% / interest 15% taxed separately.
Inheritance & estate taxhigh confidence
Tax is charged on each recipient, scaled by their relationship to the deceased.
Recipient-side inheritance tax on each heir's share, levied uniformly nationwide (no regional variation). Three statutory categories map onto the four classes: Cat A → child (0%/€150k, 1%/€300k, 5%/€600k, 10% above), Cat B → sibling (0%/€30k, 5%/€100k, 10%/€300k, 20% above), Cat C → other (0%/€6k, 20%/€72k, 30%/€267k, 40% above). The spouse is NOT wholly exempt: the €400,000 special exemption (marriage/civil partnership >=5 years) replaces the Cat A 0%+1% brackets rather than stacking on the scale, giving the derived 0%/€400k → 5%/€600k → 10% spouse scale encoded here. In every class the official 0% first bracket IS the allowance (same tranche, encoded once as allowanceMinor with band tops shifted down by it). Biggest distortions: minor children legally get the €400k spouse-style scale but are encoded on the adult €150k scale (over-taxes, conservative), and Cat B non-sibling relatives fall into 'other' at Cat C rates (over-taxes, conservative).
When should you claim your Greece state pension?medium confidence
Greece state pension (e-EFKA primary old-age)
Normal pension age 67. There is no actuarial claiming-age lever — the amount doesn't change with when you claim.
No claiming-age lever modelled: Greece grants no actuarial uplift for deferring past 67 (confirmed for post-1993 insured / post-2011 vested rights), and the early routes (full pension at 62 with 40 years; reduced pension at 62 with 15 years) are contribution-history-dependent, so they are simplified out per the ES/FR convention. The 15-year (4,500-day) minimum insurance requirement is not modelled. Statutory ages are frozen until 2030 but rises are being prepared thereafter (possible adjustments flagged for 2027).
The best age to claim isn’t just about these factors — it depends on your life expectancy, your other income, and which country you’re tax-resident in when the money lands. Deferring into a lower-tax country can flip the answer entirely. Optimise your claim age →
Cost of living
68%
of a UK baseline (100%) — a rough, illustrative comparison, not a forecast.
UK private pension
Under the UK treaty, a UK-sourced private pension paid to a resident here is generally taxed only where you live (not by the UK).
Common questions
How are capital gains taxed in Greece?
Gains on securities are taxed at a flat 15%, with no annual exemption. Listed shares are exempt where your holding is under 0.5% of the company, so for typical retail portfolios the modelled 15% over-states the real bill. Capital-gains tax on real estate is suspended until 31 December 2026, and dividends (5%) and interest (15%) are taxed on separate schedules. These figures carry medium confidence.
Is there inheritance tax in Greece?
Yes — Greece taxes the recipient rather than the estate, with rates set by relationship and applied uniformly nationwide. A child pays nothing on the first €150,000 of their share, then 1% to €300,000, 5% to €600,000 and 10% above; a spouse is not wholly exempt, but a €400,000 exemption applies to marriages or civil partnerships of five years or more, with 5% and 10% bands beyond it. More distant heirs face steeper scales, up to 40%. This part of the data carries high confidence.
Does Greece offer a special tax regime for foreign pensioners?
Greece has a 7% flat-tax regime for new-resident foreign pensioners, covering all foreign income including pensions for 15 years — a major lever for expat retirees. Ember's model does not yet include it: the figures here use the standard progressive scale of 9% to 44%, so a retiree who qualified for the 7% regime would see a materially lower bill than modelled.
What does Greece do to your FIRE date?
The free calculator compares your number across every covered country; the full planner models your actual accounts, pensions, residency moves and these exact tax rules — with the maths behind every figure shown.