Moving to Greece from Germany: Tax and Setup Guide (2026)

Moving from Germany to Greece is one of the most common cases we see: freelancers and remote workers, founders with a GmbH, and retirees. The Greek side is the same for everyone who moves here; what differs by country is the exit. This guide covers the German side and points you to the right Greek setup. Rules as of October 2026.

The short answer

• Deregister in Germany within two weeks of moving out and keep the certificate.
• The year you move is still filed in Germany as one tax return; Greek income after the move raises your German rate but isn’t taxed there.
• Double tax treaty 1966: freelance and employment income are taxed where you live and work, German rental income stays German, pensions are taxed in Greece.
• Social security follows your work: freelancers and employees working from Greece join EFKA, not the German system.
• GmbH owners face the German exit tax before they leave.
• Retirees keep their German pension (statutory pensions taxed in Greece, civil service pensions in Germany) and, if they were in the German pensioners’ scheme, German health cover via form S1.
• Article 5C (50% of income exempt from Greek income tax for 7 years) is open to anyone moving from Germany who meets the conditions.

1. Before you leave: deregistration and loose ends

Under §17 of the German registration law (BMG), you deregister at your local registration office within two weeks after moving out, at the earliest one week before. It’s free, and you receive an Abmeldebescheinigung. Keep it: banks, insurers and the broadcasting fee service will ask for it, and it is your first proof that you no longer live in Germany.

Also on the list:

• Rundfunkbeitrag: deregister actively with the Beitragsservice; it does not stop by itself.
• Finanzamt: tell your tax office your new address. If you ran a business, inform them that it has been relocated or closed.
• Gewerbe: if your activity was a registered trade, file a Gewerbeabmeldung (§14 GewO). Liberal professions (Freiberufler) only inform the Finanzamt.
• Church tax ends with your German tax residency; no separate step is needed.
• Your German flat: if a home in Germany remains available to you, German tax law (§8 AO) can still treat you as resident there.

2. The year you move

German income tax is an annual tax. In the year you leave, you file one German return covering the months you lived there plus any German-source income afterwards (§2 (7) EStG). Greek income earned after the move is not taxed in Germany, but it raises your German tax rate on the months before the move (Progressionsvorbehalt, §32b EStG).

From the following year, Germany only taxes German-source income, such as rent from a German property, as a non-resident. Non-residents get no basic allowance (Grundfreibetrag). If at least 90% of your income remains taxable in Germany, or your non-German income stays below the basic allowance, you can apply to be treated as a resident taxpayer (§1 (3) EStG).

3. The double tax treaty

Germany and Greece use the treaty of 1966; no newer treaty is in force. What it means in practice:

If both countries see you as resident, the treaty’s tie-breaker decides: permanent home, then centre of vital interests, then habitual abode. Germany exempts Greek income with progression; Greece credits German tax.

4. Freelancers and remote workers

As a freelancer, you register a sole proprietorship in Greece, join EFKA and invoice from your Greek business. Your German clients are still your clients:

• Invoices to German businesses are issued without VAT under the reverse charge, with both VAT numbers; your Greek number has to be registered in VIES. See VAT for freelancers with foreign clients.
• The German Kleinunternehmerregelung no longer applies, because you are no longer established in Germany. For business clients it doesn’t matter anyway, because the reverse charge applies.
• Social security: under EU Regulation 883/2004, you are insured where you work, so with EFKA. An A1 certificate from Germany only covers temporary postings of up to 24 months, not a permanent move.
• Article 5C: if you were not Greek tax resident in five of the last six years, 50% of your Greek business income can be exempt from income tax for seven years. See how the 50% tax break works.

What the Greek setup looks like: setting up as a freelancer in Greece and freelancer taxes in Greece 2026.

5. Employees of a German employer

If you keep your German employment contract and work from Greece, two things change:

• Tax: income for work physically performed in Greece is taxable in Greece. Days worked in Germany remain German.
• Social security: working permanently from Greece puts you under Greek social security (EU Regulation 883/2004). The EU framework agreement on cross-border telework does not help here: it only covers telework below 50% of working time, and Greece has not signed it. Staying in the German system would need an individual exception agreement (Art. 16), which is rarely granted. Otherwise your employer has to register for Greek contributions, which many German employers decline.

This is why most German remote employees who move here switch to the self-employed route and invoice their former employer. Article 5C as an employee requires a Greek employer or a Greek branch of the German company. Details and risks in 5C for EU remote workers.

6. GmbH owners and founders

Two German rules matter before you move:

Exit tax (§6 AStG). If you hold at least 1% of a corporation (GmbH, UG, AG) and were taxable in Germany for 7 of the last 12 years, Germany taxes the gain on your shares when you leave, as if you had sold them (EY overview). Until 2021, moves within the EU got an indefinite interest-free deferral; for departures since 2022 the tax is due. On application, it can be paid in seven annual instalments, interest-free but usually against security. If you return within seven years (extendable to twelve), the tax falls away, provided you didn’t distribute more than 25% of the share value in the meantime. Every year by 31 July, you also have to confirm your address and your shareholding to the Finanzamt, using the official electronic form.

Extended limited tax liability (§2 AStG). German citizens who were taxable in Germany for at least five of the last ten years, move to a country with low taxation and keep substantial economic interests in Germany can remain taxable in Germany on a wider range of German income for ten years after leaving. “Low taxation” can include preferential regimes, so the Greek 7% (Article 5B) or the 50% exemption (Article 5C) may be relevant here; the rule only bites above a German-income threshold and can be avoided by showing that the Greek tax reaches at least two thirds of the German tax (§2 AStG). Have this checked before you rely on 5B or 5C with significant German income.

**Place of management (§10 AO). If the sole managing director runs the GmbH from Greece, its place of effective management may move with them. The company can then become tax resident in Greece under the treaty. Talk to a German Steuerberater before the Abmeldung, not after.

For a new company in Greece, see setting up an IKE in Greece.

7. Retirees

• Your pension follows you. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung pays to a Greek account; once a year you confirm you are alive (Lebensnachweis).
• Tax: statutory and private pensions are taxed in Greece only; German civil service pensions stay in Germany. The Finanzamt Neubrandenburg is responsible for pensioners abroad and may still request a return.
• Health insurance: if you receive only a German pension and were compulsorily insured in Germany, you stay in the German pensioners’ scheme after an EU move (EU rules). Ask your Krankenkasse for the S1 form; it registers you with the Greek system (EOPYY), while Germany bears the cost.
• Greek side: you file an annual Greek tax return. Greece also offers a flat-tax regime for foreign pensioners who move their residency here (Article 5B, 7% on foreign income, application by 31 October); whether it beats normal taxation depends on your income. Details in retiring to Greece and the 7% flat tax.

8. Health insurance for working-age movers

Your German statutory insurance (GKV) ends when you gain cover in Greece through work, which is the case once you register with EFKA (Verbraucherzentrale). The European Health Insurance Card is for temporary stays only. A private German policy (PKV) continues within the EU. If you don’t rule out returning, ask your private insurer about an Anwartschaftsversicherung, which preserves your right to re-enter the policy without a new health check.

Kindergeld usually stops once your unlimited German tax liability ends; Greek family benefits then come first, and Germany pays at most a top-up if a parent still works or is insured in Germany. German pension rights you have built up are kept and later combined with Greek periods under EU rules; a refund of German contributions is not possible within the EU.

9. Car and household goods

Within the EU there are no customs formalities for household goods. For your car, Greece offers relief from registration tax on transfer of residence, if you lived abroad for at least two years, used the car for at least six months, and don’t sell it for a year. The certificate is issued by the Greek consulate in Germany; ideally get it before you move.

10. Returning Greeks

If you are Greek and lived in Germany, everything above applies to you as well. Article 5C does not depend on nationality: if you were not Greek tax resident in five of the last six years, you can apply.

Already in Greece without a setup?

If you moved months ago and never sorted out the German exit or the Greek registration, start with our fix-it checklist. Late is better than never.

What we charge

At taxomade, we handle the Greek side in German: tax residency transfer, business registration, Article 5C application, and ongoing bookkeeping from €89/month with myDATA, VAT returns and your annual tax return included. We don’t replace your German Steuerberater for the exit, but we coordinate with them. See what’s included, or send us a message for a free check.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to deregister in Germany when I move to Greece?

Yes. Under the German registration law (§17 BMG), you deregister at your local registration office within two weeks after moving out, at the earliest one week before. Keep the deregistration certificate (Abmeldebescheinigung); you’ll need it for the broadcasting fee, banks, insurers and later as proof that you left.

Is my German pension taxed in Greece or in Germany?

Under the 1966 Germany–Greece double tax treaty, private and statutory pensions are taxed only in the country of residence, so in Greece once you live there. Civil service pensions (Beamtenpensionen) remain taxable in Germany. The German tax office for pensioners abroad (Finanzamt Neubrandenburg) may still ask for a return.

Do I keep paying German social security if I work remotely from Greece?

Normally not. Under EU rules, you are insured in the country where you work. A freelancer who moves to Greece and works from there joins EFKA. An employee of a German employer who works permanently from Greece also falls under Greek social security; the EU telework framework agreement only covers telework below 50% of working time, and Greece has not signed it.

What is the German exit tax, and does it apply to me?

The exit tax (§6 AStG) applies if you hold at least 1% of a corporation such as a GmbH and were taxable in Germany for at least 7 of the last 12 years. When you leave, Germany taxes the gain on your shares as if you had sold them. Until 2021, moves within the EU got an indefinite interest-free deferral; for departures since 2022 the tax is due, and you can apply to pay in seven annual instalments, usually against security.

Can I use the Greek 50% tax break (Article 5C) when moving from Germany?

Yes, if you were not Greek tax resident in five of the last six years and either register a business in Greece or take a job with a Greek employer. Germany is an EU country, so the origin condition is met. Remote employees of a purely German employer don’t qualify as employees; the self-employed route is the common solution.

Rules as of October 2026 (EStG, AStG §§2 and 6, Germany–Greece tax treaty 1966, Income Tax Code art. 5B/5C).