If you freelance from Greece and your clients are in Germany, the US, or anywhere outside the country, VAT is the part of your setup most likely to go wrong. Not because the rules are unreasonable — but because they depend entirely on who your client is and where they are, and because Greece adds two administrative steps most newcomers have never heard of.
The short answer
- EU business clients: No Greek VAT on your invoice. The reverse charge applies — your client accounts for VAT in their own country. You need their valid EU VAT number and a specific line on your invoice.
- Non-EU business clients (US, UK, Switzerland…): For most ordinary B2B services, no Greek VAT — the place of supply is where your client is established.
- Private individuals (B2C): For most ordinary services, Greek VAT at 24% applies wherever they live in the EU. Electronically supplied services follow special rules.
- Either way: Your invoices fall under Greek myDATA reporting rules, and invoicing EU businesses triggers extra registrations and monthly filings.
The one question that decides everything
Greek VAT on services follows the EU-wide place-of-supply rules. For B2B services, the general rule (Article 44 of the EU VAT Directive) is that the place of taxation is where your customer is established. For services to private individuals, the default is where you are established — which usually means Greek VAT.
Both rules have exceptions for specific service types (property-related services, admission to events, passenger transport, and a few others). But for the typical freelancer selling consulting, development, design, writing, or marketing services, the general rules apply. So before you write any invoice, you need two answers: is my client a business or a consumer, and where are they?
Invoicing EU business clients: the reverse charge
This is the most common setup — a developer billing a German agency, a consultant with clients in France.
Two articles of the VAT Directive work together: Article 44 places the supply in your client’s country, and Article 196 makes your client liable for the VAT there. You issue your invoice without Greek VAT; your client self-accounts for VAT at their local rate — for most of them cash-neutral, since they declare and deduct it in the same return.
For this to be valid, three things must be true:
- Your client has a valid EU VAT number. Verify it in the EU’s VIES system before your first invoice — and keep proof. If the number turns out invalid, the no-VAT treatment can be challenged, and the VAT bill lands on you.
- Your invoice shows both VAT numbers — yours (EL + your AFM) and your client’s.
- Your invoice carries the reverse charge wording. A clean formulation: “Reverse charge — Articles 44 and 196 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC. VAT to be accounted for by the recipient.”
The step almost everyone misses: VIES registration
You can’t just start invoicing EU businesses. Before your first intra-Community transaction, your Greek VAT number must be entered in the intra-Community (VIES) register with the tax authority (AADE). Without this, your number won’t validate when your client checks it — and many EU companies will refuse to pay an invoice from a supplier whose number doesn’t validate.
This is a separate step from getting your AFM and starting your business activity. Your accountant should handle it as part of your setup — before you sign your first foreign client, not after.
The monthly filing on top: recapitulative statements
Once you invoice EU businesses, you have a second reporting obligation: the recapitulative statement (Φ4 form, sometimes called an EC Sales List). It lists every EU business client you invoiced that month, with VAT numbers and amounts.
It’s filed monthly, by the 26th of the following month — even in months where no regular VAT return is due. Miss it, and penalties are issued automatically, without a warning letter first. This is one of the most common gaps we see in the books of freelancers who set things up on their own, or with an accountant who rarely handles international clients.
Non-EU clients: US, UK, and everywhere else
For business clients outside the EU, the same logic applies: for ordinary B2B services — consulting, software, design, marketing and the like — the service is taxed where the customer is established. Since that’s outside the EU, your invoice carries no Greek VAT and needs no reverse charge note.
This is the general rule, not a blanket one: specific categories (property-related work, events, and others) follow their own rules, and EU law allows “use and enjoyment” adjustments in certain cases. If your work doesn’t fit the ordinary-services mould, check first.
Two things still matter: the invoice remains subject to Greek myDATA reporting and must be classified correctly — and keep evidence that your client is a business (contract, company details, foreign tax ID). For private individuals outside the EU, treatment depends on the service type; get specific advice if that’s a meaningful share of your income.
Private clients in the EU: when 24% applies — and when it doesn’t
For ordinary services to private individuals — live coaching, consulting, tutoring delivered by you in real time — the default applies: Greek VAT at 24%, regardless of where in the EU they live.
The big exception is electronically supplied services — services delivered over the internet in an essentially automated way: pre-recorded courses, downloads, software subscriptions, streaming. For these (together with telecoms and broadcasting — the “TBE services”), VAT is due where the customer lives. It’s the same rule that makes streaming platforms charge each subscriber their own country’s VAT rate.
There’s a simplification: while your total cross-border B2C sales of TBE services (plus intra-EU distance sales of goods) stay under €10,000 per year, you can keep charging Greek VAT. Above that, you charge each customer’s local rate — reported through the EU’s One-Stop-Shop (OSS): one registration, one quarterly return, instead of registering in every country.
The dividing line is automation, not the internet. A live Zoom session is an ordinary service (Greek 24%). A pre-recorded course bought and watched without you is electronically supplied.
How often you file — and why “quarterly” no longer covers everyone
Greece changed its filing rules in 2025, and it matters most for exactly the people reading this:
- Businesses that started activity from April 2025 onward file VAT returns monthly for roughly their first two years, regardless of bookkeeping type. After 24 months from commencement, they can switch to quarterly.
- Established freelancers with single-entry books file quarterly, due the last working day of the month following the quarter.
If you’re registering as a freelancer now, plan for monthly VAT returns from day one — plus monthly recapitulative statements if you have EU business clients. That’s a heavier cadence than most people expect, and the main reason DIY bookkeeping breaks down within months.
E-invoicing: what changes in October 2026
Greece is rolling out mandatory e-invoicing on top of myDATA — and the two are not the same thing. myDATA is the reporting layer (your invoice data reaches AADE); the e-invoicing mandate is about how the invoice is issued: through a certified e-invoicing provider or AADE’s free tools (timologio or myDATAapp).
The rollout is phased: large businesses came first in early 2026, and all other businesses — freelancers included — must comply from October 1, 2026, with a transition period to the end of 2026. Under the current framework, the mandate covers domestic B2B invoices and invoices to non-EU businesses; for invoices to EU-based businesses, e-invoicing remains optional. If you’re setting up now, choose a compliant invoicing channel from the start — one migration you can simply skip.
What we charge at taxomade
Ongoing bookkeeping for freelancers is €119 per month, and cross-border invoicing is exactly what it’s built for: myDATA transmission, VAT returns (monthly or quarterly), VIES registration and recapitulative statements, and your annual income tax declaration — all included, in English.
If you’re setting up now, or your current accountant hasn’t mentioned half the obligations on this page, see what’s included in our ongoing bookkeeping service or book a free call.
For context on pricing, see our guide on accountant prices in Greece, and if you’re comparing providers, what to look for in an English-speaking accountant.
Frequently asked questions
Do I charge VAT to clients outside Greece?
For business clients — EU or non-EU — no Greek VAT is charged on ordinary B2B services. EU business invoices use the reverse charge and require the client’s valid VAT number. For private individuals in the EU, ordinary services carry Greek VAT at 24%.
What is the reverse charge on invoices to EU companies?
It shifts VAT liability to your client: you invoice without Greek VAT, they account for VAT at their local rate. The legal basis is Articles 44 and 196 of the EU VAT Directive; your invoice must show both VAT numbers plus a reverse charge note.
Do I need to register for VIES in Greece?
Yes — before your first invoice to an EU business. Your Greek VAT number must be entered in the intra-Community register with AADE, otherwise it won’t validate when clients check it.
What is a recapitulative statement (Φ4)?
A monthly report listing your EU business clients, their VAT numbers, and invoice amounts — due by the 26th of the following month, separate from your VAT return. Missing it triggers automatic penalties.
How often do freelancers in Greece file VAT returns?
Businesses that started activity from April 2025 file monthly for roughly their first two years. Established freelancers with single-entry books file quarterly, by the last working day of the month after the quarter ends.
Does the €10,000 threshold apply to all services to EU consumers?
No. It applies to TBE services — telecommunications, broadcasting and electronically supplied services — plus intra-EU distance sales of goods. Ordinary live services to EU consumers carry Greek VAT regardless of volume.
[!NOTE] Disclaimer: Rules reflect Greek and EU VAT legislation as of September 2026. This guide covers the general rules for ordinary freelance services — several categories follow special place-of-supply rules not detailed here. General information, not tax advice; talk to an accountant before relying on any single rule for your situation.