Income tax law · Greece
Your income tax lawyer in Greece, matched to your situation
Greek tax questions are resolved by applying the country’s codified statutes, and anyone acting for you must be entered in a Greek Bar Association register. Tell us what you are facing — a notice, a filing, a cross-border estate — and we match you free of charge with a lawyer who handles Greek income tax work.
- Free matching, no obligation to instruct
- Professionals admitted to Greek Bar Associations
- Written fee agreement before work begins
Free matching · No obligation · Average first response 24–48h
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The starting point
Greek tax matters, explained without the jargon
Greece follows the continental civil-law model, so tax questions are resolved by applying codified statutes rather than by relying on earlier rulings. Greek courts are divided into civil, criminal and administrative jurisdictions; the Council of State (Symvoúlio tis Epikrateías) is the supreme court for administrative justice, and the Court of Auditors (Elegktikó Synédrio) handles fiscal audit matters. If you are facing a Greek income tax issue — as a resident, a non-resident with Greek property or a business owner — an income tax lawyer in Greece can review the file, explain the procedure in plain language and represent you before the authorities and the courts. We are a free matching service: you describe the problem once and we connect you with a lawyer whose practice covers Greek tax work. Fees are agreed in writing with the lawyer before work starts.
Greece in practice
How tax-related legal work is handled in Greece
Greece is a civil-law jurisdiction in which codified statutes, not previous rulings, decide the outcome of a case. The practical questions for anyone facing a Greek tax issue are therefore who may act for you, how the fee is fixed, which deadlines apply and which court would hear a dispute.
Statute first, not precedent
Greek law follows the continental model, based on codified statutes rooted in the Roman-Byzantine tradition. The Civil Code (Astikós Kódikas) has been in force since 23 February 1946, and statutory law and the Constitution are the primary sources. Decisions of the Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) support the uniform interpretation of the law but are not formally binding precedent, so an argument must be built on the legislation itself.
Who may act for you
Practising law in Greece requires membership of a Bar Association; under Article 4 of Law 4194/2013 (the Code of Lawyers), a lawyer is admitted after the nationwide bar examinations, a ministerial appointment, the statutory oath and entry in a Bar register. Article 1 characterises the lawyer as a public functionary (leitourgós), bound by professional secrecy. A lawyer represents clients before every court, authority and public service.
What the fee looks like
A lawyer’s fee is freely agreed with the client in writing and may cover the whole matter, part of it or specific steps (Article 58 of Law 4194/2013). Where no written agreement exists, the fee is set by the statutory scale based on the value of the matter, which also underpins the taxation of costs and legal aid. Fees carry 24% VAT.
Court fees and judicial stamp duty
Court fees are set by statute and vary with the court and the procedure. In civil claims a proportional judicial stamp duty (dikastikó énsimo) is generally payable on the value of the claim — 4 or 8 per mille depending on the type of claim (Law 2717/1999, as amended) — plus a 30% surcharge allocated to the TAXDIK fund. Public entities and legal-aid recipients are exempt.
Inheritance tax returns and reserved shares
An inheritance tax return must be filed within nine months of a death occurring in Greece, or one year where the death occurred abroad. Greek succession law restricts freedom of testation: descendants, the surviving spouse and, where there are no descendants, the parents hold a reserved portion (nómimi moíra) equal to half of their intestate share; gifts made in the ten years before death are added back to the estate.
Cross-border estates and foreign owners
Greece applies EU Regulation No 650/2012 to cross-border successions, so the law of the deceased’s habitual residence generally governs the succession as a whole. A testator may elect the law of their nationality (professio juris) — relevant for non-Greek nationals who own Greek property — and Greece recognises the European Certificate of Succession across participating Member States.
Key time limit — Tax Law
Inheritance tax return filing — 9 months (death in Greece) / 1 year (death abroad). Filed with the Greek tax authority, often alongside the notary’s work.
All country information on this page is drawn from official sources — the European e-Justice Portal, the Greek Ministry of Justice, the Greek Bar Associations and the Greek tax authority (AADE) — consulted in 2025.
- European e-Justice Portal – National justice systems: Greece
- Plenary of the Presidents of the Greek Bar Associations – The status of the lawyer
- European e-Justice Portal – Costs of proceedings: Greece
- Greek Ministry of Justice – Civil Code (Astikós Kódikas)
- Greek tax authority (AADE) – Inheritance tax for Greeks abroad and non-residents
- Greek tax authority (AADE) – Tax obligations arising from loss of life
- European e-Justice Portal – Succession
Common situations
When a Greek tax file becomes urgent
Most people do not go looking for a tax adviser until something has already arrived. These are the three situations we are asked about most often.
A notice you cannot read
An assessment, a query or a notice arrives from the Greek tax administration and the wording — in Greek, in technical terms — makes it hard to judge how serious it actually is or what response is expected.
Greek property, foreign life
You live outside Greece but own or inherit Greek property. Succession, notarial form, registration and reporting overlap, and you need one adviser able to coordinate the notary, the registry and your own accountant.
A business with Greek filings
You run or hold a share in a Greek company and the paperwork has fallen behind. Filings, employment arrangements and property transactions each carry their own rules, and the person signing carries the exposure.
How matching works
What you get from europeanlawyerfinder.com
We are not a law firm and we do not give legal advice. We do one thing: we route your request to professionals whose practice covers the subject, so that the first conversation is already useful.
Matched on tax specialisation
We look at the practice area, not just the country. Your request is routed to lawyers whose work covers Greek tax and financial matters, rather than to a general list of firms.
Admission checked against the Bar
Because practising law in Greece requires entry in a Bar Association register, we confirm that the professional you are introduced to is admitted and in practice before passing the file on.
Fee terms before you commit
Greek lawyers agree their fee with the client in writing, and where there is no written agreement the statutory scale applies; fees also carry 24% VAT. You see the basis before work starts.
Free, and without obligation
Describing your matter costs nothing and does not commit you to instructing anyone. If the first introduction is not the right fit, tell us and we will look again.
Cross-border
Greek matters with a European dimension
Many files we receive involve a client in one country and assets, a company or an authority in another. We also match lawyers for these jurisdictions.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked questions about Greek tax representation
How do I find an income tax lawyer in Greece?
Describe your situation in a short form: your residency, the tax years involved and any notice you have received. We then match you with an income tax lawyer in Greece whose practice covers tax and financial work, and the first exchange costs nothing. Any fee is agreed in writing with the lawyer before work starts.
Who is allowed to practise as a lawyer in Greece?
Only professionals entered in the register of one of the Greek Bar Associations may practise. Article 4 of Law 4194/2013 requires the nationwide bar examinations, an appointment by the Minister of Justice published in the Government Gazette, the statutory oath and registration with a Bar.
How are lawyers’ fees regulated in Greece?
The fee is freely agreed in writing between you and the lawyer and may cover the whole matter or specific steps (Article 58 of Law 4194/2013). Without a written agreement the statutory scale applies, based on the value of the matter. Fees are subject to 24% VAT.
Can I obtain free legal aid in Greece?
Free legal aid in criminal, civil and commercial cases is governed by Law 3226/2004. It is available to low-income applicants whose annual family income does not exceed two thirds of the minimum annual personal income set by the National General Collective Labour Agreement; applicants with a disability of 67% or more qualify regardless of income.
What is the deadline for an inheritance tax return in Greece?
A return must be filed within nine months where the death occurred in Greece, or within one year where it occurred abroad. If you are considering renouncing the inheritance, that step has its own shorter deadline of four months, extendable to one year for beneficiaries living abroad.
Do the highest courts’ decisions bind my case?
Not formally. Greece follows the continental civil-law model, in which codified statutes and the Constitution are the primary sources of law. The highest courts ensure a uniform interpretation and application of the law through their decisions, but those decisions are not binding precedent, so each file is argued on the legislation and its own facts.
Free matching
Describe your Greek income tax matter once
Tell us where you are resident, what the issue concerns and which years are involved. We will look for an income tax lawyer in Greece whose practice fits the file, and you decide whether to instruct them. The matching service is free and there is no obligation to proceed.