The new way of taxing approximately 730.000 self-employed professionals in Greece foresees significant changes. Their incomes are now taxed on a presumptive basis. In addition, over 1.3 million taxpayers with children will enjoy an increase in their earnings due to the increased tax-free amount of €1,000. Civil servants and pensioners will see the increase from the current month, while private employees from next.
In the real estate sector,changes are expected for property managers who rent them out on a short-term basis. Those with more than 3 properties will be considered entrepreneurs and required to keep books. Also, all real estate purchases and sales will now have to be done through the banking system, not cash.
In addition, those who insure their homes for natural disasters will have a 10% discount, while all professionals and businesses are required to transmit their income and expenses to AADE's myDATA platform.
The 22 most important changes:
- The taxation of freelancers,, of self-employed and sole proprietorships will be made in 2024, for the incomes they earned in 2023, in a presumptive manner. However, exceptions are foreseen, most of which focus on young professionals, those who have activity in areas with a small population, those with many children, etc. The upper presumptive income is set at 50.000 euros. At the same time, there is a full exemption from the presumption when there are special reasons, such as illness, completion of military service, natural disasters, reasons of force majeure, etc., for the self-employed with a Certificate of Provision of Services up to 3 employers, while the exemption also concerns the farmers. The basic criterion for the amount of the presumption is the basic salary. The presumption varies according to the years of professional activity, the total payroll, and the amount of turnover of the business in relation to the average of the sector.
- Horizontal reduction by 50% of the application fee which is currently 650 euros and will now be 325 euros for all professionals. . For each additional branch, the Fee is reduced to 300 euros from 600 euros.
- The tax-free allowance is increased by 1,000 euros , for employees, pensioners and farmers with children as their main occupation. An annual basis the relief ranges from 90 euros to 220 euros depending on the number of children.
- . Real estate transfers will now be mandatory using banking tools. Any contract recording an advance, partial or full cash payment will be considered void and non-transferable.
- The payment of social and welfare benefits (child benefits, birth benefit, unemployment benefits) will now be made exclusively by debit card.
- The fine for cash transactions is increased. For purchases worth more than 500 euros in cash, from the current 100 euros, it will be double the value of the receipt.
- Mandatory transmission to the myDATA platform of all income and expenses. The income to be declared from business activity cannot be less than the income that has been transmitted to the platform. Also, a business’s expenses that have not been passed on will not be deductible.
- Freelancers and businesses are now required to issue invoices electronically.
- Interconnectionof cash registers with POS in March 2024 10
- Expansion of POS to the remaining branches of the retail market that do not currently have them.
- Activation of the digital consignment note, pilot from the beginning of 2024 and fully by the end of the year.
- Remuneration from 100 to 3.000 euros to citizens who report, through the «Appodixi», application, incidents of issuing receipts from falsified or tampered cash registers.
- Reduced VAT rates. The reduced VAT rates on transport, tourist packages, gyms, dance schools, tickets to cinemas, theaters and zoos, goods related to public health are fixed. The reduced VAT rate on coffee and drinks in catering as well as on taxi fares is extended until June 30, 2024. From January 1, 2024, the VAT rate on served non-alcoholic beverages (soft drinks, non-alcoholic beers, carbonated waters) will return to 24%.
- The tax reduction for real estate renovation will be greater from now on. Expenditures for the purchase of goods and the receipt of services related to the energy, functional and aesthetic upgrading of buildings, reduce, equally distributed over a period of five years, the income tax of natural persons, up to the corresponding tax for each year, with a total upper limit spend 16.000 euros. Costs for materials are taken into account up to an amount corresponding to 1/3 of the amount for service costs. All expenses should arise from invoices that have been paid by electronic means of payment and transmitted to AADE by the supplier through the myDATA system.
- As every year, this year also the applications for separate tax returns from the spouses should be submitted by February 28 and these will be binding for both and cannot be revoked after the said date.
- Changes to the way long-term leases are taxed, with natural persons owning three or more properties on short-term lease will be required to start a business, keep books, and issue tax information. Also, as is natural for all self-employed people, they will be charged with the prescribed insurance contributions, business tax and VAT from the first property.
- The residence tax is abolished and a “resilience fee to the climate crisis” is imposed, which will additionally burden all short-term rentals with 1.5 euros per day.
- The accommodation fee for temporary residents, which is 0.5% of the income, is extended to short-term leases.
- Increase in fines for non-registration in the Short-Term Rental Property Registry: The fine for non-registration in the Short-Term Rental Property Registry, which is currently horizontal, amounts to 5.000 euros and is imposed on the administrator, whether he is a principal or a beneficiary or a third party, will now be defined at 50% of the gross income of the last fiscal year and at least 5.000 euros.
- Establishment of a maximum duration of 60 days: days in each short-term lease: The limit of 60 days concerns the duration of each lease separately.
- Sanctions for forgery, fuel smuggling or obstruction of control are tightened: the installation is sealed for two years, while it is stipulated that the natural or legal persons whose installation was sealed cannot be active in the distribution of energy products also for two years from the detection of the violation.
- Capital accumulation taxes (from 0.5% to 0.2%) and stock market transactions are reduced by 50% to 1‰.
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