Greece has three special regimes for people who move their tax residency here. Two of them get compared constantly: Article 5C, the 50% income tax exemption for people who come to work, and Article 5A, the €100,000 flat tax usually called the non-dom regime. (The third, Article 5B, taxes foreign pensioners at a flat 7%; applications are due by 31 October under AADE decision A.1192/2026.)
The comparison is less of a contest than it looks, because the two regimes tax different income, and AADE even allows holding 5C together with 5A or 5B. Here is what each one does, what it costs, and where the break-even lies.
The short answer
- Article 5C exempts 50% of your Greek employment or business income from income tax for up to seven years. No minimum income, no fee, no investment.
- Article 5A replaces the tax on your foreign-source income with a flat €100,000 a year for up to 15 years. It requires a €500,000 investment in Greece. Income earned in Greece is taxed normally on top.
- If you earn your money by working (salary, freelancing, a Greek business), 5C is the relevant regime. If you live off large foreign capital or foreign business income, 5A is the one to run the numbers on.
The Article 5C Regime (the 50% tax break)
Article 5C is for professionals, executives and freelancers who come to Greece to work.
How it works: if you transfer your tax residency to Greece and take up employment with a Greek company (or the Greek branch of a foreign one), or start your own business here, 50% of that Greek employment or business income is exempt from income tax for seven tax years. For the same seven years, the deemed living expenses for your homes and private cars are not applied to you (AADE). Social security (EFKA) is not reduced.
Conditions:
- You were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the 6 years before the move.
- You move from an EU/EEA state or a country with a tax cooperation agreement with Greece.
- You work for a Greek entity or Greek permanent establishment, or run an individual business in Greece. The “new job position” requirement was removed in July 2025 (Law 5222/2025), and since May 2026 public-sector jobs qualify too.
- You declare that you will stay at least two years.
Deadline: if the job or business starts on or before 2 July, apply by 31 December of the same year; if it starts after 2 July, by 31 December of the following year (AADE). Applying later usually shifts the first year of the regime rather than killing it. Full details in how the 50% tax break works.
Who it’s for:
- Remote workers who set up as freelancers in Greece and invoice foreign clients, including a former employer (EU citizens do this without a visa; see 5C for EU remote workers).
- Employees transferring to a Greek company or a Greek branch of a multinational.
- Founders whose income comes from working, as salaried director of a Greek company or sole proprietor (IKE profits themselves are not covered), not from a portfolio.
Who it’s not for: Digital Nomad Visa holders. The visa forbids work for Greek employers and Greek business activity, so the core condition of 5C cannot be met.
The math: Greek income tax runs on a progressive scale of 9% to 44% (from 2026: 9% up to €10,000, 20% to €20,000, 26% to €30,000, 34% to €40,000, 39% to €60,000, 44% above). Under 5C, €100,000 of income is taxed as if it were €50,000: roughly €12,800 instead of €34,300, a saving of about €21,500 a year, before EFKA. Because the exempt half comes off the top brackets, the saving is more than half the tax. Run your own numbers with the Article 5C calculator.
The Article 5A Regime (the non-dom flat tax)
Article 5A targets people whose wealth is generated outside Greece: dividends, capital gains, foreign business interests, foreign rental income.
How it works: you pay a flat, lump-sum tax of €100,000 per tax year on all your foreign-source income, whatever its size (art. 5A par. 2). Whether you receive €300,000 or €30 million from abroad, the Greek tax on it is €100,000. You can add family members for €20,000 each per year. The regime runs for a maximum of 15 tax years and ends early if the lump sum is not paid in full.
Three things the headline leaves out:
- Greek-source income is taxed normally. Salary from a Greek employer, profits of a Greek business, Greek rent: all under the standard rules, on top of the €100,000.
- No foreign tax credit. Tax withheld abroad on the covered income is not offset against the Greek lump sum. If your dividends already suffer 15% withholding at source, the €100,000 comes on top of that.
- No reporting of the covered income. You do not have to declare the foreign income the lump sum covers, and foreign movable assets you inherit or receive as a gift (or pass on) are exempt from Greek inheritance and gift tax (par. 8, as amended by Law 5222/2025). For some people this simplicity is the main reason to apply.
Conditions:
- You were not Greek tax resident in 7 of the 8 years before the move.
- You, a spouse or partner, a direct relative or a company you majority-own invest at least €500,000 in Greek real estate, businesses, transferable securities or shares of Greek entities, completed within three years of the application. The money has to be shown on a Greek bank account when you apply (AADE decision A.1147/2026).
- The investment condition is waived for holders of a residence permit for investment activity under article 16 of Law 4251/2014. That is the permit for investing in Greek businesses, bonds or funds, not the real-estate Golden Visa as such. A property purchase of €500,000 or more satisfies the investment condition directly anyway.
Deadlines (changed in 2026): Law 5313/2026 scrapped the old 31 March application deadline and moved the annual payment from July to the last working day of December. Under A.1147/2026, the application is now due by 30 September: if you moved on or before 2 July you can apply for the arrival year or the following year; if you moved after 2 July, only for the following year. Supporting documents can follow until 31 October.
Who it’s for:
- Founders who have exited and live off a large foreign portfolio.
- People with substantial foreign business or director income that Greece would otherwise tax on the full scale.
- Families with complex foreign holdings who value not having to report them.
Side by side
| Article 5C | Article 5A (non-dom) | |
|---|---|---|
| Income covered | Greek employment or business income | All foreign-source income |
| Benefit | 50% exempt from income tax | Flat €100,000/year, whatever the amount |
| Duration | 7 tax years | Up to 15 tax years |
| Non-residency test | 5 of the previous 6 years | 7 of the previous 8 years |
| Investment | None | €500,000 within 3 years |
| Fee / minimum income | None | €100,000/year is the minimum tax |
| Greek-source income | Half taxed at the normal scale | Fully taxed at the normal scale |
| Application deadline | 31 December (same or following year) | 30 September (same or following year) |
| Payment | Through payroll / annual return | One instalment by end of December |
The break-even: when does €100,000 beat the normal rules?
This is where most online comparisons go wrong. The non-dom regime is not “10% on a million”. It is €100,000 instead of whatever Greece would normally charge on your foreign income, and that depends on the type of income (rates):
- Foreign salary, business profits, pensions: taxed on the progressive scale. €100,000 of tax corresponds to roughly €250,000 of income. Above that, the flat tax is cheaper.
- Capital gains on securities: 15%. Break-even at about €670,000 of gains per year. Note that gains on listed shares where you hold less than 0.5% are often tax-exempt in Greece anyway, so for many portfolio investors 5A does not pay off on gains at all.
- Dividends: 5%. Break-even at about €2 million of dividends per year. On €1,000,000 of foreign dividends, the normal Greek tax would be €50,000 (with foreign withholding credited up to that amount); the non-dom regime charges €100,000 and credits nothing.
- Interest: 15%, same bar as capital gains.
So for a pure dividend investor, Article 5A is often the more expensive choice unless the amounts are very large or the reporting exemption matters more than the tax. For someone with €400,000 a year of foreign consulting profits or director fees, the flat tax saves well over €60,000 a year.
Article 5C needs no break-even. It only ever reduces tax on income you would otherwise pay full rates on, and it costs nothing to hold. The one thing to check is that you qualify at all: a qualifying job or business in Greece, the 5-of-6-years test and the right application year. The common 5C mistakes are almost all about those three points.
Which one is right for you?
Choose Article 5C if your income comes from working, whether as an employee of a Greek entity or as a freelancer invoicing clients abroad from a Greek business. This covers the vast majority of remote workers and professionals who move to Greece. Income level does not matter; the regime scales with you.
Run the numbers on Article 5A if you have large foreign-source income that Greece would tax on the full scale, or very large capital gains, and you can commit €500,000 to Greek investments. Model it with your actual income mix and foreign withholding before deciding; the answer is often “not worth it” below a few hundred thousand euros of foreign income.
Look at Article 5B instead if you are retired and your income is a foreign pension: 7% flat on all foreign income for 15 years, with no investment requirement. See retiring to Greece and the 7% flat tax.
Whichever regime fits, the move itself has to be done properly: Greek tax residency, an AFM, and for 5C a registered job or business before the deadline. At taxomade we advise on Article 5C and prepare and file the application together with the freelancer registration and ongoing bookkeeping, so the start date, the regime year and the first tax return line up.
Frequently asked questions
Can I combine Article 5C and the non-dom regime in Greece?
Yes. AADE confirms that a person can hold Article 5C and Article 5A (or 5B) at the same time, if the conditions of each are met. 5C then halves the tax on Greek employment or business income, while the €100,000 lump sum covers foreign-source income. 5A and 5B cannot be combined with each other.
How much is the Greek non-dom tax?
A flat €100,000 per tax year on all foreign-source income, regardless of the amount, plus €20,000 per family member you add. Since 2026 it is paid in one instalment by the last working day of December. Tax paid abroad on that income is not credited against it.
What is the investment requirement for the Greek non-dom regime?
At least €500,000 in Greek real estate, businesses, transferable securities or shares of Greek entities, completed within three years of the application. The investment can be made by you, a spouse or partner, a direct ascendant or descendant, or a company you majority-own. Holders of a residence permit for investment activity under article 16 of Law 4251/2014 are exempt from this condition.
At what income does the non-dom flat tax pay off?
Roughly from €250,000 a year of foreign income that Greece would otherwise tax on the progressive scale (foreign salary, business profits, pensions). For income Greece taxes at flat rates the bar is much higher: foreign dividends are taxed at 5%, so you would need about €2 million a year in dividends before €100,000 is the cheaper option.
Does Article 5C have a minimum income or an application fee?
No. Article 5C has no minimum income and no fee. You need a job with a Greek employer or Greek permanent establishment, or your own business in Greece, a clean non-residency history of 5 of the previous 6 years, and an application filed by 31 December of the right year.
Are Digital Nomad Visa holders eligible for Article 5C?
No. The Digital Nomad Visa does not allow work for a Greek employer or business activity in Greece, which is exactly what Article 5C requires. DNV holders are taxed under the normal rules once they become Greek tax residents.
Rules as of October 2026 (Income Tax Code arts. 5A, 5B and 5C as amended by Laws 5222/2025 and 5313/2026; A.1147/2026 for 5A, A.1192/2026 for 5B, A.1087/2021 as amended for 5C).