Article 5C applies to returning Greeks exactly as it does to foreigners. If you were born abroad to Greek parents, or left Greece during the crisis years and now want to come back, you may pay income tax on only half of your Greek salary or business profit for seven years. Your passport does not matter. Your tax history does.
This guide covers the points that are specific to the diaspora. For the general rules, see how the 50% tax break works.
The short answer
- Benefit: 50% of your Greek employment or business income is exempt from income tax for 7 tax years.
- Citizenship: irrelevant. Greek citizens qualify on the same terms as anyone else.
- Key test: you were not Greek tax resident in at least 5 of the 6 years before the move.
- Greek AFM, property or bank account: not an obstacle in themselves, but if Greek records do not show you as resident abroad, you must prove your years abroad.
- Deadline: start work by 2 July → apply by 31 December that year; start later → by 31 December of the following year. Filing late in the following year still works, but you lose the first year.
The conditions, without the jargon
Article 5C of the Income Tax Code (Law 4172/2013) sets four conditions, and you need all of them:
- You were not a Greek tax resident in 5 of the 6 years before you move your tax residence to Greece.
- You move from an EU/EEA country, or from a country that has an administrative cooperation agreement on tax matters with Greece.
- You work for a Greek employer (or the Greek permanent establishment, such as a branch, of a foreign company), or you run an individual business in Greece as a sole proprietor.
- You declare that you will stay in Greece for at least two years.
If you live outside the EU/EEA, check that your country is covered by condition 2 before you plan around 5C.
Since 28 July 2025 the job no longer has to be a newly created position: Law 5222/2025 removed that requirement, including for applications pending on that date.
Don’t confuse 5C with Articles 5A and 5B (investors and pensioners); returning retirees should look at the 7% flat tax.
The 5-of-6-year test for people who left Greece
The test counts how many of the six tax years before the year you move your tax residence to Greece you were a Greek tax resident. You can afford at most one. For a return in 2026, the window is 2020 to 2025.
Some examples, for a return in 2026:
- You left in 2012 and have been tax resident in Germany since. None of the six prior years were Greek. The test is met.
- You lived abroad for years, were Greek tax resident again in 2021 only, then left again. One Greek year out of six. Still met.
- You moved to the Netherlands in 2023 after living in Greece. At least 2020 to 2022 were Greek years. Not met for a 2026 return.
A short spell abroad does not help: if you were Greek tax resident until 2023 and abroad in 2024 and 2025, four of the six years are still Greek. What matters is your tax residence, and under Article 4 of the Income Tax Code that turns on your permanent residence, habitual abode or centre of vital interests, or more than 183 days in Greece in any 12-month period (stays purely for tourism or medical reasons of up to 365 days excepted). Keeping your main home or family life in Greece can make you resident even while working abroad. More in tax residency in Greece and the 183-day rule.
If you still have a Greek AFM, property or bank account
Many in the diaspora kept their Greek AFM, inherited a flat or kept a Greek bank account. None of this disqualifies you by itself; an AFM is a tax number, not a residence status (see what a Greek AFM is). What matters is how AADE’s records list you. Under decision A.1138/2025, the 5-of-6-year condition is checked against the tax administration’s own records:
- Records already show you as a foreign tax resident for five of the six years: no documents needed.
- You never had a Greek AFM (common if you were born abroad) and apply for one for the first time as a Greek tax resident: no documents needed for this condition.
- Records do not cover some years: you provide proof for each of those years.
Records can fall short if you left Greece but never applied to transfer your tax residency abroad, as AADE requires of residents who move. If you skipped that step or kept a Greek address in the registry, expect to document your years abroad.
What counts as proof of foreign tax residence
A.1138/2025 lists the evidence for each year Greek records do not cover, in this order:
- A tax residence certificate from the foreign tax authority, or the double tax treaty form that includes the certificate.
- If no certificate is issued, a copy of your foreign tax assessment, or of the tax return you filed as a resident if there is no assessment.
- If neither is issued, a certificate from another public, municipal or recognised authority confirming your permanent residence in that country.
Treaty forms are exempt from legalisation and translation, with special rules for the US, Turkey and Moldova; check apostille and translation rules for other documents.
The application also asks for your foreign tax identification number and foreign address. Missing documents can be supplied within 30 days of being notified, and a rejection for missing documents is reviewed again if you submit them by 31 March of the following year.
Which income qualifies
The income has to come from a Greek job or your own Greek sole proprietorship. A remote job for a foreign employer with no Greek entity does not fit the employment route; the common alternative is registering as self-employed here (see 5C for employees and remote workers). A company such as an IKE does not count as your individual business, one of the most common 5C mistakes.
If you hold only a non-EU passport, check which residence permit lets you work or run a business in Greece. The Digital Nomad Visa does not: its holders cannot meet the employment or business condition (see 5C vs the Digital Nomad Visa).
Deadlines and how to apply
You apply online in myAADE with TAXISnet credentials, so you need a Greek AFM first; an accountant can also file for you (AADE). The deadline depends on your start date (AADE):
- Start on or before 2 July: apply by 31 December of the same year. The regime covers that year. If you only apply during the following year, the regime starts in that following year.
- Start after 2 July: apply by 31 December of the following year. The regime starts in that following year.
The seven years cannot be extended. If you stop working in Greece or move your tax residence away, the regime ends from that tax year onward (Article 5C, par. 5). A new Greek job or business started within 12 months keeps it going for the remaining years (AADE FAQ).
Frequently asked questions
Can Greek citizens get the 50% tax break when they move back to Greece?
Yes. Article 5C does not look at nationality. Greek citizens qualify on the same terms as anyone else, provided they were not Greek tax resident in at least 5 of the 6 years before the move and meet the work and stay conditions.
I emigrated from Greece in 2012. Do I qualify for Article 5C?
Possibly. The residence test is met if you were Greek tax resident in no more than one of the six years before your return. Years for which Greek records do not show you as a foreign tax resident need foreign proof, ideally a tax residence certificate.
Does having a Greek AFM or property in Greece stop me from using 5C?
No. An AFM, a Greek bank account or Greek property do not by themselves make you a Greek tax resident. AADE checks its own records; for any year they do not show you as a foreign tax resident, you provide foreign proof.
What documents prove I was a tax resident abroad?
A tax residence certificate from the foreign tax authority (or the treaty form with the certificate); if none is issued, your foreign tax assessment or return; failing that, a certificate from another public authority confirming your residence there.
Can I use 5C if I move to Greece on a Digital Nomad Visa?
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 Article 5C.
Before you book the move
Check your six-year window and order foreign tax residence certificates before you start work in Greece. taxomade reviews your residence history and prepares and files the 5C application through our 50% tax break service; message us on WhatsApp for a free check.
Rules as of October 2026 (Income Tax Code art. 4 and 5C, A.1087/2021 as amended by A.1138/2025).