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

The Irish moving to Greece are mostly freelancers with Irish clients, remote employees, owners of their own limited company and retirees. This guide covers the Irish exit and points you to the right Greek setup.

The short answer

• Residence is a day count: under 183 days in the tax year and under 280 days over two years, and you are non-resident.
• Ordinary residence lasts three more years, so Ireland can still tax some foreign investment income after you leave.
• The year you leave: split-year relief for employment income, and a refund claim if you overpaid PAYE.
• No general exit tax, but Irish property gains stay taxable in Ireland, and the treaty lets Ireland tax other gains for three years.
• The 2003 treaty: the Irish State Pension, private pensions and freelance income are taxed in Greece; Irish rent in Ireland with a Greek credit; government pensions only in Ireland.
• Social security follows your work: freelancers working from Greece join EFKA.
• Article 5C (50% exemption for 7 years) and Article 5B (7% on all foreign income for 15 years) are open to Irish movers who qualify.

1. Ending Irish tax residence

Irish residence is counted in days. You are resident for a tax year if you spend 183 days or more in Ireland in that year, or 280 days or more across that year and the year before. A year with 30 days or less in Ireland does not count towards the 280-day test.

Ordinary residence is separate. It starts after three consecutive years of residence and ends only after three consecutive years of non-residence (sections 819 to 821 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997). While you are still ordinarily resident, Ireland can tax your foreign investment income if it exceeds €3,810 in a year. Income from a trade, profession or employment carried on wholly outside Ireland is excluded.

If both countries treat you as resident, the Ireland–Greece treaty (signed in Athens on 24 November 2003, ratified in Greece by Law 3300/2004, in effect from 1 January 2005) decides: permanent home, then centre of vital interests, then habitual abode, then nationality. In Greece, you become tax resident with your main home or centre of life here, or after 183 days in 12 months.

2. The year you leave

Employees should check their job is ceased with Revenue; if the employer does not do it, you can in myAccount.

Split-year relief applies if you are resident in the year you leave and non-resident the following year. It covers employment income only: salary up to your departure is taxed normally, usually with a full year’s tax credits, and salary for work abroad after that date is outside Irish tax. If you left after 31 December 2024, you can claim it on your PAYE income tax return. There is no split-year relief for self-employment: if you are Irish resident in the year you leave, your final Form 11 covers your worldwide income for that whole year, and the treaty and credits deal with the months also taxed in Greece.

If you overpaid, you claim a refund in myAccount, or on paper with Form P50 plus Form 12 (PAYE) or Form 11 (self-employed) and a statement that you are leaving permanently.

3. Capital gains and the exit

Ireland has no general exit tax that taxes an individual’s unrealised gains on departure. Three rules still matter:

• Irish property: non-residents pay Irish capital gains tax, 31% for most gains from 7 October 2026 (33% before that and on development land), on Irish land, buildings and minerals, and on unquoted shares deriving most of their value from them.
• The treaty’s three-year clause: other gains are taxed in Greece, but under Article 13(5) Ireland can still tax them if you were Irish resident during the three years before the year of sale (in practice while you are still ordinarily resident). Greece then credits the Irish tax.
• Temporary non-residence: if you are Irish-domiciled and hold 5% of a company or shares worth more than €500,000, and you become Irish taxable again within five years, shares sold while abroad are taxed as if you had sold them in your last year of Irish residence.

If you run an Irish limited company alone from Greece, its place of effective management, and under treaty Article 4(3) its tax residence, can move here. Ireland then treats the company’s assets as sold: exit tax of 12.5% on unrealised gains, payable in instalments if you choose. Directors’ fees from an Irish company can still be taxed in Ireland under treaty Article 16, with a Greek credit, and dividends carry 25% DWT until you can use Form V2A. As a director working from Greece you are insured with EFKA. Agree the structure with your Irish accountant before you leave. For a new Greek company, see setting up an IKE.

4. The double tax treaty

Irish rent stays taxable in Ireland. As a non-resident landlord you appoint a collection agent, or your tenant withholds 20% of the rent for Revenue. Since July 2023, landlords in the withholding system file an Irish income tax return every year.

5. Freelancers and remote workers

You cease your Irish sole trade, file a final Form 11, cancel your VAT registration through your Revenue office (otherwise estimated VAT demands keep coming), register as a sole trader in Greece and invoice from there.

• Irish business clients are invoiced without VAT under the reverse charge, private clients with Greek VAT; the Irish VAT registration threshold no longer applies (VAT with foreign clients).
• Social security: under EU Regulation 883/2004 you are insured where you work, so with EFKA, from about €150 per month for new freelancers (EFKA guide), not through Class S PRSI. An Irish A1, valid for up to two years, only helps for temporary work abroad or if you also work substantially in Ireland.
• Greek routine: VAT returns monthly for the first 24 months for new businesses with simple books, then quarterly on request, myDATA for every invoice, e-invoicing for invoices to Greek and non-EU businesses from 2 November 2026, with a transition to 31 January 2027; invoices to Irish clients are not covered (e-invoicing), and a tax advance halved only in your first year with business income.

Steps in order: AFM, freelancer setup, freelancer taxes 2026.

Employees who keep an Irish contract and work permanently from Greece are taxed in Greece on those workdays and fall under EFKA, so the employer must register in Greece. Many switch to freelancing instead (5C for EU remote workers).

6. Retirees

• Tax: under treaty Article 18, pensions for past employment are taxed only in the country where you live. Revenue confirms that the Irish State Pension and private occupational pensions are then taxed in Greece; for an occupational pension you can ask for a PAYE Exclusion Order so no Irish tax is deducted. Government and local authority pensions stay taxable in Ireland under Article 19. ARF and vested PRSA withdrawals are taxed at source in Ireland regardless of residence.
• Payment: the State Pension (Contributory) can be paid into an account in the country you live in. Tell the Department of Social Protection when you move abroad permanently.
• Health: with an Irish State Pension, you generally stay covered through Ireland and apply to the HSE for form S1 before you leave, to register for Greek public care.
• Article 5B: if you receive a foreign pension and were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years, your foreign income is taxed at 7% for 15 years. Move by 2 July and you can apply by 31 October of that year; move later and it starts the following year (A.1192/2026). Irish government pensions stay taxable only in Ireland under treaty Article 19, and ARF withdrawals are taxed at source there; Irish tax on income inside the regime is credited against the 7% up to the Greek tax on that income where the treaty lets the source country tax it (or there is no treaty), and any excess is not refunded (A.1192/2026, art. 5), so 5B mainly pays off for the State Pension, private pensions and other foreign income (7% flat tax).

Child Benefit requires the child to be ordinarily resident in Ireland and is generally not paid abroad, unless a parent keeps working in Ireland or is temporarily employed abroad by an Irish employer and pays Irish PRSI. Notify the Department when the family leaves.

7. Article 5C: the 50% exemption

If you were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years, Article 5C exempts 50% of Greek employment or business income for 7 years. You need a Greek employer, a Greek establishment of a foreign employer, or your own sole proprietorship in Greece (an IKE does not count, nor does a salary from your Irish limited company). Start by 2 July and you apply by 31 December of that year; later, by 31 December of the next. AADE allows it alongside 5A or 5B. Digital Nomad Visa holders are not eligible (5C vs DNV).

How we can help

We prepare and file the Greek side: tax and business registration, the 5C or 5B application, and your returns as part of our ongoing bookkeeping. The Irish exit stays with your Irish accountant; we share the Greek documents they need. Send us a message for a free check.

Frequently asked questions

When does my Irish tax residency end if I move to Greece?

You are non-resident for a tax year in which you spend fewer than 183 days in Ireland and fewer than 280 days across that year and the previous one; 30 days or less in a year are ignored for the two-year test. You stay ordinarily resident until you have been non-resident for three consecutive years. If both countries claim you, the 2003 treaty decides: permanent home first, then centre of vital interests.

Does Ireland charge exit tax when I move to Greece?

Ireland has no general exit tax that taxes an individual’s unrealised gains on departure. But Irish land and buildings stay within Irish capital gains tax, the treaty lets Ireland tax other gains for three years after you leave, and Irish-domiciled people with large shareholdings who return within five years can be taxed on shares sold while abroad.

Is my Irish pension taxed in Greece or in Ireland?

The Irish State Pension and private occupational pensions are taxed only in Greece once you are Greek resident; for an occupational pension you can ask Revenue for a PAYE Exclusion Order. Government and local authority pensions stay taxable in Ireland unless you are a Greek national living in Greece. ARF and vested PRSA withdrawals are taxed at source in Ireland.

Do I keep paying Irish PRSI if I freelance from Greece?

No. Under EU Regulation 883/2004 you are insured where you work, so a freelancer living and working in Greece joins EFKA. An Irish A1 only helps for temporary work abroad, for up to two years, or if you also work substantially in Ireland.

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

Yes, if you were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years and take a job with a Greek employer or register as a sole trader in Greece. Digital Nomad Visa holders are not eligible.

Rules as of October 2026 (Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ss. 29A and 819–821, Ireland–Greece tax treaty 2003, EU Regulation 883/2004, Greek Income Tax Code art. 5B/5C, A.1192/2026).