If you move to Greece with a Greek spouse or partner, the tax system treats you as a couple from your first return: one joint return, your own AFM, and your freelance income on the same form as your partner’s salary or business.
Moving back with Greek roots yourself? See our Article 5C guide for returning Greeks and the diaspora.
The short answer
- Tax residency: living in Greece with your spouse usually makes you Greek tax resident, even below 183 days, because family counts toward your centre of vital interests.
- AFM: you need your own AFM and myAADE login. Your spouse’s number does not cover you.
- Joint return by default: married couples file one joint return. Each spouse’s tax is still assessed separately and each pays their own.
- Separate returns: either spouse can opt out by notifying AADE by 28 February of the filing year. The choice binds both of you.
- Cohabitation agreement: registered partners can file jointly or separately, no notification needed.
- Working as a freelancer: standard rules. EFKA from about €150.46/month in the first five years, VAT usually quarterly, every invoice reported to myDATA.
Tax residency: why family matters
Under Article 4 of the Income Tax Code, you are a Greek tax resident if your permanent or main home, your habitual abode or your centre of vital interests is in Greece. Separately, more than 183 days in Greece in any 12-month period makes you resident from day one.
For couples, the centre of vital interests is the key test. If you moved in with your Greek partner in Athens, plan on being tax resident from the move, whatever your day count.
Residents are taxed on worldwide income, with foreign tax credited up to the Greek tax. If your old country still claims you, the tie-breaker in the double tax treaty decides. Details are in our guide on tax residency and the 183-day rule.
Your own AFM
Every adult needs their own tax number, spouses included. You need it for the joint return, a lease, a bank account and your business registration.
An AFM issued before the move usually registers you as non-resident. Update your status once you live in Greece. How the number works is explained in what an AFM is and why you need it.
Joint or separate return?
Article 67(4) of the Income Tax Code sets the rules.
The default: one joint return
- Spouses file one joint return during the marriage, starting with the tax year of the wedding.
- One spouse is the designated filer and reports the other spouse’s income on the same form.
- The tax on each spouse’s income is assessed separately, and each spouse is liable only for their own tax.
- One spouse’s business losses cannot be offset against the other spouse’s income.
A joint return does not pool your income into one higher bracket. It pools the paperwork: your freelance profit, foreign income and your partner’s income go into one filing, so both sides must be ready by the deadline.
Opting for separate returns
Either spouse can choose separate returns in myAADE (“Γνωστοποίηση Χωριστής Δήλωσης”), or an authorised accountant can do it for you. Under Article 67 and AADE’s FAQ on separate returns:
- the deadline is 28 February of the year the return is filed;
- the choice binds the other spouse as well;
- it is irrevocable for the first year it covers and stays in force afterwards until revoked, also by 28 February;
- children are listed as dependants by both spouses.
Separate returns make sense if you want to keep your business file apart from your partner’s.
Different tax residence
If one of you is not yet a Greek tax resident, you do not need separate returns for that reason. AADE’s FAQ confirms that the joint return already gives separate tax treatment to spouses with different tax residence. The non-resident spouse is taxed only on Greek-source income.
Cohabitation agreement
Partners in a registered cohabitation agreement (σύμφωνο συμβίωσης) can file a joint return and are then treated like married couples. Or they can file separately, with no notification. An unregistered relationship does not count; each partner files alone.
Working as a freelancer
Marriage to a Greek citizen does not change how you register or are taxed as self-employed; see setting up as a freelancer in Greece.
- Registration: start of business activity with AADE, with the right activity codes (KAD).
- EFKA: new freelancers can apply for the reduced class of €150.46/month for their first five years (Article 39, Law 4387/2016). The lowest regular class is €250.77. See EFKA for freelancers.
- VAT: usually quarterly returns for freelancers on single-entry books. If your Greek turnover stays at or under €10,000, you can opt for the small business exemption (AADE decision A.1011/2026). Foreign clients have their own rules: VAT with foreign clients.
- Invoicing: every invoice is reported to myDATA. Since 2 November 2026, e-invoicing is mandatory for invoices to Greek businesses and to businesses outside the EU, with a transition period until 31 January 2027 only for businesses that declared their invoicing method in time. Invoices to the public sector have been covered since 1 September 2025.
- Advance tax: with each return you pay 55% of your income tax as an advance on next year, halved in your first year with business income. See the hidden costs of moving.
- Penalties: late or missing filings are fined automatically, with no warning letter first: €100 for a late VAT return with nothing to pay, €250 or €500 (depending on your books) if tax is due (Article 53, Law 5104/2024).
Rates and brackets: freelancer taxes in 2026.
The 50% tax break for the foreign spouse
If you move from an EU/EEA country or a country with a tax cooperation agreement with Greece and were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the 6 years before the move, you may qualify for Article 5C: 50% of your Greek employment or business income exempt from income tax for seven years. Your spouse’s citizenship plays no role; each spouse qualifies in their own right. A Greek partner who has lived in Greece in recent years will usually not qualify, and holders of the Digital Nomad Visa are not eligible for 5C, because the visa is tied to working for employers and clients outside Greece.
One household, one file
A common first-year problem: the Greek partner’s accountant files the family return, but your freelance books and foreign income sit elsewhere. The joint return ends up late, or your side is filed on estimates. Decide early who keeps the books and who files. A local accountant typically charges €30–60 a month, with extras billed separately; full-service firms for internationals charge €100–200. Our accountant cost guide breaks this down, and switching accountants takes about a week.
At taxomade we keep your books and prepare and file your VAT returns and annual return, joint or separate, in English, German or Greek, from €89/month with our ongoing bookkeeping service. For a free compliance check, send us a message on WhatsApp.
Frequently asked questions
Do married couples have to file a joint tax return in Greece?
By default, yes. Spouses file one joint return, but the tax on each spouse’s income is assessed separately and each spouse is liable only for their own tax. Either spouse can opt for separate returns by notifying AADE in myAADE by 28 February of the filing year.
Can a cohabitation agreement partner file a joint tax return in Greece?
Yes. Partners in a registered cohabitation agreement (symfono symviosis) can file a joint return and are then treated like married couples. They can also file separately without any prior notification.
Does my foreign spouse need their own AFM in Greece?
Yes. Each spouse needs their own AFM and their own myAADE credentials, even when you file a joint return. A foreign spouse who is not yet tax resident registers as a non-resident and updates the status after the move.
If my spouse lives in Greece, am I automatically a Greek tax resident?
Not automatically, but it weighs heavily. Greece looks at your permanent or main home and your centre of vital interests, and family is a central part of that. If you live with your Greek spouse in Greece, or stay more than 183 days, you will usually be Greek tax resident.
Can the foreign spouse of a Greek citizen use the 50% tax break (Article 5C)?
Yes, if they qualify in their own right: they must not have been Greek tax resident in 5 of the 6 years before the move, must work for a Greek employer or run a business in Greece, and must stay at least two years. Holders of the Digital Nomad Visa are not eligible.
Rules as of November 2026 (Income Tax Code arts. 4, 5C and 67, Law 4172/2013; AADE FAQ on separate spousal returns; EFKA: art. 39 Law 4387/2016; penalties: art. 53 Law 5104/2024; VAT small business exemption: AADE decision A.1011/2026).