How the 50% Tax Break Works (Article 5C)

Greece wants to attract professionals who move their tax residency to the country, foreigners and returning Greeks alike. The centrepiece is Article 5C of the Greek Income Tax Code, a scheme that exempts 50% of your employment or business income from Greek income tax for seven years. Nationality doesn’t matter; your tax history does.

Here is how the 50% tax break works, who qualifies, and how to claim it.

The short answer

What you get: income tax on only 50% of your Greek employment or business income, for 7 tax years.
Main condition: not Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years.
Qualifying activity: a job with a Greek employer (or the Greek branch of a foreign company), or your own individual business in Greece.
Deadline: start by 2 July → apply by 31 December that year; start later → by 31 December of the next year.
Not covered: EFKA contributions, and Digital Nomad Visa holders.

What the 5C tax break is

Under Article 5C, qualifying individuals who transfer their tax residency to Greece pay income tax on only 50% of their employment or business income. In addition, the deemed annual living costs of your home and private car are not counted when Greece calculates presumptive income.

The incentive applies for seven tax years and cannot be extended. Social security contributions (EFKA) are not reduced. Because the remaining 50% is taxed on the progressive scale, the actual saving is often more than half of your normal tax.

There is no minimum income. Whether you earn €30,000 or €300,000, you can qualify; the higher your income, the more you save.

Who qualifies

You must meet all of the following conditions:

Previous non-resident status: you were not a Greek tax resident in at least 5 of the 6 years before the move.
Where you come from: you transfer your tax residency from an EU or EEA member state, or from a country with which Greece has an administrative cooperation agreement on tax matters.
Activity in Greece: you take up employment with a Greek legal entity or the Greek permanent establishment of a foreign company, or you register an individual business (sole proprietorship, ατομική επιχείρηση) in Greece. Profits from a company such as an IKE are not covered: only salary from a Greek employer or income from your own sole proprietorship.
Intent to stay: you declare that you will remain in Greece for at least two years, counted from 1 January of the first year of the regime.

Law 5222/2025 removed the condition that a job had to be a “newly created position”, effective 28 July 2025. And since decision A.1096/2026 (spring 2026), people moving to work in the Greek public sector can also apply, including for applications filed from 28 July 2025.

How it works for remote workers

If you are a remote worker employed by a foreign company (for example in the US or UK), simply moving to Greece and working from your laptop does not give you the 5C tax break.

Digital Nomad Visa holders are not eligible. The DNV does not allow work for Greek employers or Greek business activity, so its holders cannot meet the employment or business condition. See 5C vs Digital Nomad Visa.

For EU citizens, and non-EU citizens with a permit that allows self-employment, the usual route is:

Register as self-employed (sole proprietorship) in Greece.
Invoice your foreign employer, who becomes your client, through your Greek business.
Apply for 5C as a new Greek freelancer.

One caution: if your former employer becomes your only client under the same working conditions, the arrangement can be challenged as disguised employment, in Greece or in your client’s country. The alternative for employees is a job with a Greek company or the Greek branch of a foreign company. See 5C for EU remote workers.

Deadlines and how to apply

You cannot apply before you move. First you relocate, get your tax number (AFM), and register your employment or business. Then you, or your accountant, file the application digitally in myAADE.

The deadline depends on when your job or business starts (AADE):

Start on or before 2 July: apply by 31 December of the same year. The regime then covers that year.
Start after 2 July: apply by 31 December of the following year. The regime starts in that following year.

If you started by 2 July, a late application within the following year shifts the regime to that year; after that, the window is gone.

The procedure follows decision A.1087/2021 as rewritten by A.1138/2025. For employees, the system checks your employment automatically against the ERGANI register; if everything matches, the decision is immediate. Otherwise you upload documents, typically including a tax residence certificate from your previous country, and the tax office decides, with 30 days to supply anything missing (A.1138/2025). 5C can run alongside Article 5A or 5B if you meet the conditions of each (AADE 5C FAQ). Once approved, employers withhold tax on only the taxable half, and the exemption also appears in your annual return.

To estimate what 5C saves in your case, use the 5C tax calculator; for help with the application, see our 50% tax break service.

Common mistakes

Applying in the wrong year, or missing the 31 December deadline.
Assuming a remote job for a foreign employer qualifies on its own.
Expecting the exemption to cover EFKA.
Setting up through a company instead of an individual business.

Frequently asked questions

Who qualifies for the 50% tax break in Greece?

People who move their tax residence to Greece from an EU/EEA country or a country with a tax cooperation agreement, were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years, take up employment with a Greek employer (or the Greek branch of a foreign company) or start an individual business in Greece, and declare they will stay at least two years.

What is the deadline to apply for Article 5C?

If your job or business starts on or before 2 July, apply by 31 December of the same year. If it starts after 2 July, apply by 31 December of the following year. A later application usually shifts the first year of the regime rather than losing it.

Can remote workers for foreign companies get 5C?

Not as employees of a foreign company without a Greek presence. The usual route is to register as self-employed in Greece and invoice the foreign company as a client, or to work for a Greek employer or the Greek branch of a foreign company.

Can Digital Nomad Visa holders apply for 5C?

No. The Digital Nomad Visa does not allow work for Greek employers or Greek business activity, so its holders cannot meet the employment or business condition of 5C.

No. The 50% exemption applies to income tax only. EFKA contributions are paid in full.

After the application

5C only pays off if the books behind it are right every year: the exemption appears in each annual return, and self-employed people still file VAT and myDATA. We prepare and file the 5C application and the ongoing filings as part of our ongoing bookkeeping; send us a message for a free check of your setup.

Rules as of October 2026 (A.1138/2025, A.1096/2026).