Greece
Greece: 5 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Greece
The 5 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Greece is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s3rdWorld-leading exports Yogurt, buttermilk and fermented milkYogurt; buttermilk, curdled milk and cream, kephir and other fermented or acidified milk and cream, whether or not concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured or containing added fruit, nuts or cocoaUS$468 m · 7.6% of world exports of 136 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Greece. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Greece.
Payments and payroll
Services for taking payments, paying people and moving money, as each states where a business based in Greece may open an account.
StripeOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
WiseOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
DeelOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026- RevolutOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
AdyenOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
For individuals only here: PayPal.
Not available here: Square.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Greece: where to register, file and check.
Business registerGeneral Commercial Register (G.E.MI.), Union of Hellenic Chambers of Commercebusinessportal.gr- Tax authorityIndependent Authority for Public Revenue (ΑΑΔΕ)aade.gr
- Tax treaties in forceaade.graade.gr
- Business registerGeneral Commercial Registry (GEMI)businessregistry.gr
- Tax authorityIndependent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE)aade.gr
Tax treatiesMinistry of Finance – international economic affairs and tax treatiesminfin.gr
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Greece belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- European Union: internal market and customs union
- Single market · since 1981
Covers goods, services, establishment, capital, movement of people, a common external tariff.
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EU Member State since 1981, Euro area member since 2001, Schengen area member since 2000 and more about Greece’s participation in the EU.
- European Union: VAT territory
- Inside it
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‘Community’ and ‘territory of the Community’ mean the territories of the Member States as defined in point (2);
- Euro area
- Monetary union · since 2001
Covers a common currency.
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EU Member State since 1981, Euro area member since 2001, Schengen area member since 2000 and more about Greece’s participation in the EU.
- Schengen area
- Free movement area · since 2000
Covers movement of people.
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EU Member State since 1981, Euro area member since 2001, Schengen area member since 2000 and more about Greece’s participation in the EU.
- European Economic Area
- Single market · since 1 January 1994
Covers goods, movement of people, services, establishment, capital.
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which now covers the EU and its 27 Member States, and three of the four EFTA members: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
- Andean Community
- Observer
Listed as observer country ("República Helénica"); no date given.
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La Comunidad Andina, integrada por Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador y Perú es un organismo internacional líder en integración en el continente
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 22%
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Auditors required if a medium or large entity; optional otherwiseOfficial The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-14
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εκλογής νόμιμων ελεγκτών εφόσον ανήκει στην κατηγορία των μεσαίων και μεγάλων οντοτήτων
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- EUR 150Official The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-14
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The above fees shall be paid within the first quarter of each year for those already registered in the G.E.M.I.
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Greece, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 24%Official European Commission, Taxes in Europe Database situation on 2025-01-01
- Other rates
- 13% Basic foodstuffs, live animals, agricultural inputs, goods for persons with disabilities, tourist accommodation, home care services and restaurant, café and patisserie services
- 6% Medicines, books, newspapers and periodicals, theatre and concert tickets, electricity and natural gas
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β) Ο μειωμένος συντελεστής που είναι 13% επί της φορολογητέας αξίας.
- Registration threshold
- EUR 10,000
supplies of goods and services, under the optional small-business scheme of article 39 of the VAT Code; previous tax year
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κατά το προηγούμενο φορολογικό έτος πραγματοποιήσατε παραδόσεις αγαθών και παροχές υπηρεσιών μέχρι δέκα χιλιάδες (10.000) ευρώ.
- Voluntary registration
- Yes
The article 39 small-business scheme is optional: a business below €10,000 may instead join the normal VAT scheme, and exceeding €10,000 in the year makes the move to the normal scheme compulsory from the transaction that crossed the limit.
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Το καθεστώς αυτό είναι προαιρετικό και σε αυτό εντάσσονται οι πραγματικά μικρές επιχειρήσεις
- A foreign company
- Registers from its first taxable supply; needs a local tax representative
A business established outside Greece that carries out taxable operations there obtains a Greek VAT number; the article 39 small-business exemption is for businesses whose seat of economic activity is in Greece. A business established in a third country must act through a Greek tax representative; one established in another EU state may either appoint a representative or register directly and file its own returns.
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η εν λόγω επιχείρηση (τρίτης χώρας) υποχρεούται να λάβει Α.Φ.Μ./Φ.Π.Α., μέσω ορισμού φορολογικού αντιπροσώπου
- Returns filed
- Depends on the business
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μηνιαία όσοι είστε υπόχρεοι να τηρείτε βιβλία και να εκδίδετε στοιχεία με βάση τα πλήρη λογιστικά πρότυπα (διπλογραφικά)
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Greece, tax year 2025 (income tax returns filed 2026); VAT and withholding 2026, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 6 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
Due the last working day of the 6th month after the end of the tax year (hence a shift to the preceding working day when month end is a non-working day). Exceptions on the page: cessation of activity (within a month), liquidation. Page also states 'the ΑΑΔΕ' form N.
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Η δήλωση φορολογίας εισοδήματος υποβάλλεται μέχρι και την τελευταία εργάσιμη ημέρα του 6ου μήνα, από το τέλος του φορολογικού έτους.
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 7 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
Rule: eight equal monthly instalments; the first is due on the last working day of July of the following year (tax year ending 31 December), the other seven on the last working day of each of the next seven months (the 4th instalment of tax year 2025 therefore falls on 30/10/2026, as AADE's homepage list shows). For other year-ends the FAQ states the first instalment is due on the last working day of the month after the return deadline. Exception: companies dissolved or in liquidation pay in one payment no later than the working day after the return is filed. Earlier read of AADE's Form N page showed the return deadline only; the instalment rule is in AADE's Form N FAQ (update 13-03-2026), linked from that page.
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31η Δεκεμβρίου, η καταβολή του φόρου γίνεται σε οκτώ (8) ισόποσες μηνιαίες δόσεις, από τις οποίες η πρώτη καταβάλλεται μέχρι την τελευταία εργάσιμη ημέρα του μηνός Ιουλίου του αμέσως επόμενου φορολογικού έτους
- Corporate tax, instalments
- Not in our records
aade.gr/dilosi-forologias-eisodimatos-nomikon-prosopon-ontotiton inaccessible when checked
- Personal income-tax return
- Set each year by decree · each year
Tax year 2025, due 24/07/2026; the same page adds 31/07/2026 for natural persons who are partners in entities keeping single-entry books. Set each year.
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Οι δηλώσεις φορολογίας εισοδήματος για το φορολογικό έτος 2025 υποβάλλονται εμπρόθεσμα μέχρι τις 24/07/2026.
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 7 months after the end of the tax year · each year
Rule (tax year 2025, per AADE's E1 instructions): eight equal monthly instalments, the first by the last working day of July and the other seven by the last working day of each of the following seven months. A discount of 4%, 3% or 2% applies if the return is filed by 30 April, 15 June or 15 July and the tax is paid by the first-instalment date. Foreign-source income taxed under art. 5B is paid in one instalment by the last working day of July. Where the return is assessed after the first-instalment date, the tax is also paid in eight instalments.
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σε οκτώ (8) ισόποσες μηνιαίες δόσεις, από τις οποίες η πρώτη καταβάλλεται μέχρι την μέχρι τελευταία εργάσιμη ημέρα του μηνός Ιουλίου και οι υπόλοιπες επτά (7) μέχρι την τελευταία εργάσιμη ημέρα των επόμενων επτά (7) μηνών
- Personal income tax, instalments
- Not in our records
aade.gr/dilosi-forologias-eisodimatos-nomikon-prosopon-ontotiton inaccessible when checked
- VAT return
- Day last_working_day of the following month · each month
Last working day of the month after the reference month (books category C, monthly) or after the quarter (books category B, quarterly). The homepage shows 'Δήλωση ΦΠΑ Γ΄ Τριμήνου 2026' on 30/10. Intra-EU summary tables (F4/F5) are due the 26th.
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υποβάλλονται εμπρόθεσμα μέχρι την τελευταία εργάσιμη ημέρα του επόμενου μήνα από τον μήνα ή το τρίμηνο αναφοράς
- Payroll withholding
- Day last of the following month · each month
General rule on the withholding-return page: tax withheld is remitted by the end of the second month after the payment. CAUTION: AADE's own homepage list shows the salary-withholding return ('παρ. φόρου μισθωτής εργασίας') for September due 02/11/2026, i.e. about one month after the month, so the 2-month rule may not apply to salaries; re-check before use.
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Ο φόρος που παρακρατείται, αποδίδεται το αργότερο μέχρι το τέλος του δεύτερου μήνα από την ημερομηνία καταβολής της υποκείμενης σε παρακράτηση πληρωμής.
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Greece yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Greece exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Greece’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 30.5% | 27.8% | 27.0% | US$14.3 bn |
| Medicaments (excluding goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses (including those in the form of transdermal administration systems) or in forms or packings for retail sale HS 3004 | 4.9% | 5.4% | 5.6% | US$3 bn |
| Aluminium plates, sheets and strip, of a thickness exceeding 0,2 mm HS 7606 | 2.0% | 2.2% | 2.4% | US$1.3 bn |
| Cheese and curd HS 0406 | 1.5% | 1.8% | 2.0% | US$1.1 bn |
| Olive oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified HS 1509 | 1.6% | 2.4% | 1.9% | US$1 bn |
| Products containing tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, nicotine, or tobacco or nicotine substitutes, intended for inhalation without combustion; other nicotine containing products intended for the intake of nicotine into the human body HS 2404 | 0.52% | 1.3% | 1.8% | US$935 m |
| Other vegetables prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, not frozen, other than products of heading 2006 HS 2005 | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.5% | US$823 m |
| Fish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304 HS 0302 | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.5% | US$782 m |
| Insulated (including enamelled or anodised) wire, cable (including coaxial cable) and other insulated electric conductors, whether or not fitted with connectors; optical fibre cables, made up of individually sheathed fibres, whether or not assembled with electric conductors or fitted with connectors HS 8544 | 0.88% | 0.86% | 1.4% | US$724 m |
| Copper tubes and pipes HS 7411 | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.2% | US$644 m |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$53.1 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.