Freelancers, remote workers, BV owners and retirees moving from the Netherlands all land in the same Greek system. What differs is the Dutch exit. This guide covers the Dutch side and points you to the right Greek setup.
The short answer
- Deregister from the BRP if you leave for more than 8 months, no earlier than 5 days before departure.
- The year you move is filed with an M return, split into a resident and a non-resident period.
- The 1981 treaty: freelance income and pensions are taxed in Greece, Dutch property and government pensions stay Dutch.
- AOW stops building up, 2% less per year abroad, unless you take voluntary insurance within one year.
- BV owners and pension holders receive a protective exit assessment (conserverende aanslag).
- Retirees with a Dutch statutory pension who no longer work get Greek state healthcare through the CAK and an S1.
- Article 5C (50% of income exempt from Greek income tax for 7 years) is open to Dutch movers who meet the conditions.
1. Before you leave: deregistration
If you will live abroad for more than 8 months within one year, you deregister from the Personal Records Database (BRP), in person at your municipality and no earlier than 5 days before you leave. Keeping your Dutch home does not change this.
Your record moves to the RNI, the register of non-residents, and the BRP passes your new address to the Belastingdienst and your pension funds. In Greece, residence for tax purposes follows the 183-day rule and your centre of life.
Also on the list:
- DigiD: activate the app and ID check before you go; you need it (or an EU-recognised login) to file the M return online.
- Toeslagen and voorlopige aanslag: both are based on your Dutch situation; stop or adjust them.
- KVK: with no business activity left in the Netherlands, you report that the Dutch business stops. Dutch clients don’t require a KVK registration.
2. The year you move: the M return
In the year you emigrate, you file an M return (M-aangifte), online through Mijn Belastingdienst or on the paper M form. The year is split into a period as a Dutch resident and a period as a non-resident.
From the following year, the Netherlands only taxes your Dutch income. Dutch real estate is always taxed there: a rented flat or holiday home goes into box 3 on your non-resident return, together with its mortgage. Income the treaty assigns to Greece, such as your pension, is exempted in that return.
3. The double tax treaty
The Netherlands and Greece use the convention signed in Athens on 16 July 1981.
| Income | Taxed in |
|---|---|
| Freelance work done from Greece | Greece, unless you keep a fixed base in the Netherlands |
| Employment | Where the work is physically done; Dutch workdays can stay Dutch |
| Director’s fees from a Dutch BV | The Netherlands may tax them; Greece credits |
| Dutch property | The Netherlands (box 3); Greece credits |
| Private and occupational pensions | Greece; lump sums for past Dutch work may also be taxed in the Netherlands |
| AOW, WIA and other social benefits | Greece |
| Government service pensions (e.g. civil servants, via ABP) | The Netherlands, unless you are a Greek national living in Greece |
| Dutch dividends | The Netherlands withholds up to 15%; Greece credits |
| Gains on Dutch company shares | The Netherlands may tax them for 5 years after you leave; an exit assessment on gains built up before you left stays collectible (section 6) |
If both countries claim you as resident, your permanent home decides first, then where your personal and economic ties are closer.
4. Freelancers and remote workers
As a zzp’er, you register as a sole proprietor in Greece, join EFKA and invoice from your Greek business. Your Dutch clients stay your clients; invoices to Dutch businesses go out under the reverse charge (VAT with foreign clients).
If you work permanently in another EU country, you are insured there, so with EFKA. New freelancers pay a reduced €150.46 per month plus €10 unemployment contribution; the standard lowest class is €250.77. You register by the 10th of the month after you start (EFKA guide).
Expect a tax advance on next year’s tax (27.5% in the year you first earn business income, then 55%), monthly VAT for 24 months, and e-invoicing from 2 November 2026. The full setup is in registering as a freelancer in Greece, starting with your AFM.
If you were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the last 6 years, Article 5C exempts 50% of your income from Greek income tax for 7 years. Digital Nomad Visa holders are not eligible.
5. Employees of a Dutch employer
If you keep your Dutch contract and work from Greece, salary for work done in Greece is taxed in Greece. The treaty’s short-stay exemption doesn’t cover pay from an employer resident in the Netherlands, so days you physically work there can stay Dutch.
Working permanently from Greece normally puts you under EFKA, and your Dutch employer then pays Greek contributions instead of Dutch premiums. A temporary posting with an A1 certificate can keep you in Dutch social insurance. Article 5C as an employee needs a Greek employer or Greek branch; see 5C for EU remote workers.
6. BV owners
Conserverende aanslag. When you emigrate with a substantial interest (aanmerkelijk belang) in a company, the Belastingdienst treats your shares as sold and issues a protective box 2 assessment. For EU moves, payment is deferred automatically and interest-free. For emigrations since 15 September 2015, the assessment never lapses: it becomes (partly) payable if you sell the shares, receive dividends or the company stops. Moving on to a non-EU country ends the deferral.
Director’s fees and management. The treaty lets the Netherlands tax board fees from a Dutch company even when you live in Greece. A company’s residence follows its place of effective management, so running a BV alone from Greece can move its tax residence; check this before you leave. For a new Greek company, see setting up an IKE.
7. Retirees
Pensions. Your occupational pension and AOW are taxed in Greece. Until you arrange otherwise, Dutch payers keep withholding wage tax. To stop this, you send the Belastingdienst an exemption request (vrijstelling van loonheffing) with a residence declaration stamped by your Greek tax office, once for each payer (SVB, pension fund, UWV). Tax already withheld is reclaimed through your Dutch non-resident return. If you live abroad when you reach AOW age, you apply yourself, ideally six months ahead.
Exit assessment. Pension and annuity rights built up with tax relief also receive a conserverende aanslag. You pay nothing as long as you follow Dutch rules, for example by not buying out (afkopen) the pension or an annuity (lijfrente); after 10 years you can request remission.
Health insurance. If you receive a Dutch statutory pension and no longer work, you register with the CAK, up to 5 months ahead. You receive an S1, which you register in Greece to get state healthcare through EOPYY; the CAK deducts a monthly contribution from your pension.
Greek side. Pensioners who were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the last 6 years can apply for a 7% flat tax on foreign income for 15 years, by 31 October (A.1192/2026). Otherwise the scale of 9% to 44% applies. Details in retiring to Greece: the 7% flat tax.
8. AOW, benefits and health cover for working-age movers
Abroad, your AOW is reduced by 2% for each uninsured year. You can apply to the SVB for voluntary AOW and Anw insurance within one year of leaving, if you were insured for the full year before, for a maximum of 10 years. Ask the SVB how it combines with EFKA.
A WIA, WAO or WAZ benefit can go with you within the EU. Tell UWV at least 2 weeks before you leave; a WGA benefit abroad is not always the same amount.
Dutch basic health insurance is for people who live or work in the Netherlands. Give your insurer your departure date, ideally two months ahead. In Greece, EFKA contributions give you state healthcare.
How we can help
At taxomade, we prepare and file the Greek side: tax residency, business registration, the 5C or 7% application, and monthly bookkeeping from €89/month. The Dutch exit stays with your Dutch adviser; we coordinate with them. Send us a message on WhatsApp or through the form.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to deregister from my Dutch municipality when I move to Greece?
Yes, if you will live abroad for more than 8 months within a year. You deregister in person, no earlier than 5 days before you leave. Your record then moves to the RNI, the register of non-residents.
Is my Dutch pension taxed in Greece or in the Netherlands?
Under the 1981 treaty, private and occupational pensions and AOW are taxed in Greece once you live there. Government service pensions, often paid through ABP, stay taxable in the Netherlands unless you are a Greek national living in Greece.
Do I keep building up AOW if I move to Greece?
No. Your AOW is reduced by 2% for each year you are not insured in the Netherlands. You can apply to the SVB for voluntary insurance within one year of leaving, for up to 10 years.
What is the Dutch conserverende aanslag when you emigrate?
A protective assessment on pension rights built up with tax relief and, for owners of a substantial interest in a BV, on a deemed sale of the shares. Within the EU, payment is deferred automatically; it becomes due on events such as buying out the pension, selling the shares or receiving dividends.
Can I use the Greek 50% tax break (Article 5C) when moving from the Netherlands?
Yes, if you were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the last 6 years and take a job with a Greek employer or register a business in Greece. Digital Nomad Visa holders are not eligible.
Rules as of October 2026. Dutch and Greek rules change; check the current figures before you act.