The Greek government is drafting a comprehensive tax relief package for companies, self-employed workers, landlords and households ahead of the 2027 parliamentary elections.
Economic planning in Athens is operating on two distinct timelines as the poll approaches, balancing strict fiscal limits against the time needed for tax cuts and income increases to deliver tangible benefits to voters.
Ministers are preparing interventions across four main sectors, seeking to boost business competitiveness, reward tax compliance, ease household living costs and increase the supply of rental housing.
Greece faces national parliamentary elections in 2027, when the four-year term of the governing administration concludes. Following years of strict fiscal oversight under international bailout agreements, the government has sought to deploy available budgetary surpluses to reduce emergency taxes introduced during the financial crisis.
Relief for Corporate Enterprises
A central component of the corporate package is the permanent abolition of the trade tax for companies. The levy, introduced during the bailout period, was eliminated for self-employed professionals starting in 2025, but remains in place for corporate entities at an annual cost of 800 euros to 1,000 euros per firm.
Scrapping the trade tax entirely for corporate entities is projected to cost the state budget approximately 240 million euros per year.
The government is also examining significant reductions in tax advance payments. Businesses currently prepay an amount equal to 80 percent of their annual income tax, while self-employed professionals pay an advance rate of 55 percent.
Under plans under review, tax advance payments could fall to 40 percent for professionals and between 50 percent and 60 percent for small businesses, based on turnover criteria. Legal entities currently generate about 3.5 billion euros in tax advance payments annually, while self-employed professionals generate 645 million euros.
Because broad reductions in advance payments remove substantial immediate revenue from the budget, final adjustments will depend on available fiscal space.
Ministers are further evaluating a proposal to reduce the corporate profit tax rate from 22 percent to 20 percent.
The package also includes a proposed 0.5 percentage point reduction in employer social security contributions. Employers have seen total contribution rates decline by 5.4 percentage points since 2019, and the new cut would lower the overall rate to 35.66 percent, at an annual cost of roughly 245 million euros to the state.
New Terms for Self-Employed Workers
For approximately 700,000 self-employed professionals, the government is formulating modifications to the presumptive tax system by linking tax thresholds directly to compliance records.
State authorities intend to reduce presumptive income calculations for taxpayers who consistently demonstrate high compliance, utilizing enhanced digital data collection to ease burdens on verifiable taxpayers.
Evaluation criteria for lower presumptive tax assessments include the punctual payment of taxes and social security contributions, full integration with the myDATA electronic reporting platform, regular point-of-sale terminal usage, higher volumes of digital transactions and reduced reliance on cash.
Officials are also assessing compliance based on the timely transmission of digital invoices, the implementation of electronic delivery notes and adherence to debt settlement agreements. Taxpayers who object to presumptive assessments will retain the legal right to challenge them.
The myDATA system is the digital accounting platform operated by Greece's Independent Authority for Public Revenue to track commercial transactions in real time. Combined with mandatory point-of-sale terminal connections, the platform aims to curb tax evasion among independent contractors.
Household Income and Housing Measures
Direct assistance for households includes a planned increase in the minimum wage, which the government aims to raise above 950 euros per month by 2027.
Policy teams are also considering additional adjustments to the ENFIA unified property tax alongside targeted incentives for families with children.
Addressing the national housing shortage forms a primary focus of the package as rising purchase prices and rents consume an expanding portion of household income.
The leading proposal for rental housing involves lowering the introductory tax rate on rental income from 15 percent to 9 percent for annual income up to 10,000 euros. This measure targets small property owners, adjusting the previous 15 percent bracket limit of 12,000 euros.
An intermediate rental tax rate of 25 percent was introduced this year for rental income between 12,000 euros and 24,000 euros, down from 35 percent previously, which aided middle-income landlords but left lowest-tier earners unaffected.
Property Tax Exemptions and Market Freezes
Ministers are considering an extension to 31 December 2027 for tax exemptions granted to owners who shift vacant homes or short-term holiday rentals into long-term leases.
The existing framework provides a complete three-year income tax exemption for qualifying properties returned to the long-term rental market. To qualify, a property must have been vacant or used exclusively for short-term lets for at least three years, measure no more than 120 square meters with allowances for larger families, and be leased as a primary residence for a minimum of three years.
Under the exemption, a property leased at 700 euros per month generates 8,400 euros in annual rental income. At the standard 15 percent tax rate, the annual tax bill of 1,260 euros creates total savings of 3,780 euros over the three-year period.
For newly built housing, the government is considering extending the suspension of the 24 percent value-added tax on first-time sales for an additional one to two years, alongside a continued freeze on the 15 percent capital gains tax.
Freezing value-added tax aims to prevent further price increases in a market constrained by limited supply and elevated construction costs, whereas capital gains tax freezes prevent sellers from delaying property transactions out of concern over net returns.
The overall package requires balancing simultaneous implementation across business, self-employed, household and real estate sectors. As the 2027 election approaches, the budget must align broader economic stability with visible impacts on pay slips, rental costs and tax returns.
