Greece Passes 10% Tax on Crypto Gains From 2027
Greece's parliament has approved its first dedicated crypto tax. The rate is 10% on net gains from 2027, with small annual gains exempt.
From 1 January 2027, a profit on crypto in Greece will cost 10%. Parliament approved the bill on Thursday. It is the country's first dedicated legal framework for taxing digital assets.
Where 10% sits in Europe
A senior finance ministry official said crypto gains in EU countries are usually taxed as capital gains, with rates from about 8% to 30%. Greece lands toward the softer end: below the 30% often cited for France, above the 8% of Cyprus.
The figure was lower when it reached the vote than when it first appeared. A draft circulated in October floated 15%. Lawmakers cut five points and kept the €500 ($563) annual exemption from that draft.
The rest of the bloc is not standing still. The Netherlands is heading toward a tax on realized gains from 2028. In Germany and Portugal, coins kept for over a year still go untaxed.
What triggers the tax
The base is the net gain, meaning the acquisition price subtracted from the transfer price. The full sale proceeds are not taxed. Fees and similar costs of the trade can enter the calculation.
Selling for euros is only one way to realize a gain. Paying a merchant in crypto counts, as does putting coins into a company's capital.
Two things do not trigger it. A rising euro value alone creates no bill while the coins stay unsold. Swaps from one token to another are treated as non-taxable in the explanatory material that came with the bill, the same approach France has used.
The €500 line
Net annual gains at or below €500 are exempt. Greek analyses of the text read it as a cliff: a net gain even slightly over €500 is taxed at 10% in full, with no relief on the first €500. For bitcoin holders it is a small cushion, and it gives larger positions no break.
Losses above €500 in a tax year can be carried forward for up to five years. They can be set only against future crypto capital gains.
Enforcement and the foreign-platform problem
From 2027, crypto purchases also fall under Greece's existing "source of funds" checks. Buyers may have to show that the euros they spent came from declared income or other lawful capital. No separate purchase tax follows from this, only a longer paper trail on how coins were funded.
Since January, the EU's DAC8 rules have obliged crypto platforms to hand national tax authorities records of their users and trades. Greece has already put that tool into its own law.
The official could not project what the levy will raise. Most investors trade on platforms abroad, so the size of the Greek crypto market is hard to gauge.
The same official told Reuters: "Further implementation directives will be published in the coming weeks, which will also define transparency and audit rules." For holders on foreign exchanges, the open question is cost-basis data, and whether Athens can enforce a 10% rate on figures from offshore platforms.
Source: Bitcoin Magazine