WORLDTECHGreece Passes 10% Tax on Crypto Capital Gains From January 2027
Greece's parliament has passed a bill imposing a 10% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies, the first comprehensive legal framework of its kind in the country. The levy is set to take effect in January 2027.
What the levy captures
The tax is charged on net gain, meaning the gap between the acquisition price and the transfer price, rather than on the full sale proceeds. Trading fees and other costs tied to a transaction can be deducted in that calculation.
A taxable transfer is not confined to a sale for euros. Spending cryptocurrency on goods or services, or contributing it to cover or enlarge a company's capital, can also crystallise a gain under the new rules. Merely holding bitcoin while its euro value climbs does not, on its own, trigger a bill. According to the explanatory material accompanying the bill, swaps from one crypto asset to another are treated as non-taxable events.
Exemption and loss treatment
Net annual gains at or below €500 are exempt. Greek analyses of the text indicate that once net gains exceed that ceiling, the 10% rate applies to the full net gain for the year, not just the portion above €500. Losses beyond €500 in a tax year can be carried forward for up to five years and set only against future crypto capital gains.
Rate lower than the earlier draft
An earlier draft circulated in October had floated a 15% rate. The version lawmakers approved sits five percentage points lower and keeps the €500 annual exemption that the proposal already included.
Stricter scrutiny of purchases
From 2027, purchases of crypto assets will also fall under Greece's existing source-of-funds checks, so buyers may have to show that the euros they used came from declared income or other lawful capital. The rule adds no separate purchase tax, but it widens the paper trail on how coins were financed.
A senior finance ministry official told Reuters that further implementation directives will be issued in the coming weeks and will also set out transparency and audit rules.
A patchwork across the EU
European Union members do not operate a unified tax regime for the sector. According to the same finance ministry official, rates on cryptocurrency gains generally range from roughly 8% to 30% across member states and are usually levied on capital gains.
Open questions
- What transparency and audit rules will the forthcoming implementation directives set?
- How will the source-of-funds checks be applied to crypto purchases in practice?