Tax Year

The standard tax year in Greece is the calendar year ending 31 December, although legal persons or legal entities keeping double-entry books may end the year on 30 June.

Alternate tax years are subject to approval and only allowed for subsidiaries in Greece of foreign groups with at least 50% direct or indirect ownership of the subsidiary. Alternate tax years may not exceed 12 months.

Tax Return Filing

Annual tax returns must be filed no later than the last day of the sixth month following the close of the previous tax year. The return must include all information required for determining the taxpayer's taxable base, exemptions and benefits claimed, and the amount of tax due.

Under the new Bank of Greece Governor’s Act published in June 2019, a financial statement disclosure requirement is introduced for specified legal entities engaged in the non-financial sector, including a limited liability company, a limited partnership by shares, a private company, etc. Hence, legal entities that are required to publish their annual financial statements with the General Commercial Registry are also required to file their financial statements with the Bank of Greece. The submission of the financial statements is required to be made for the year 2016 onwards, and failure may attract a penalty.

Tax Payments

In relation to income earned from 1 January 2021, advance tax payments equal to 80% of the tax liability (reduced from 100%, with a temporary reduction to 70% for the tax year 2020) are to be made with a maximum of six-monthly instalments. The first instalment is due by the end of the seventh month following the end of the tax year (i.e., by the end of the month following the month in which the annual tax return is due). Domestic banks and branches of foreign banks in Greece continue to be subject to full advance tax payments.

In certain cases, a taxpayer may apply for a reduction of the advance tax payments due. For newly established companies, the advance tax payment is reduced to 50% for the first 3 years of operation.

Any outstanding balance due following the close of the tax year is submitted when the annual tax return is filed. If the advance tax paid exceeds the final tax liability, the excess tax is refundable.

Effective 19 November 2022, a new refund procedure for income tax is introduced which provides that the excess tax (credit balance) resulting from the online submission of the income tax return will be automatically refunded to the taxpayer without the need for the taxpayer to submit a refund application. The refund is subject to the condition that the taxpayer does not have any other outstanding tax debts and the refund claim is within the statute of limitations (see Sec. 13.4.2.).

Further, in order to provide relief to taxpayers affected by wildfires, the Greek tax authorities provided a 6-month extension for tax instalment payments. The extension begins from specified dates provided starting between 17 July 2023 and 27 July 2023.

Availability of E-Filing

Tax returns are required to be submitted electronically via the GSIS website (Greek).