Greece approves crypto tax: 10% on gains, 500 euros free
Greece's parliament passed the crypto tax on 5 November: 10% on gains, 15% on staking, 500 euros a year exempt, from 1 January 2027.
On 5 November 2026, the Greek parliament passed a law that taxes crypto gains at their own rate for the first time: 10% on the gain, and nothing if your net gain for the year does not exceed 500 euros. Reuters reported this. According to the reports, the tax takes effect on 1 January 2027. What was still a draft on 2 November, which we described at the time, has now been passed; the implementing rules are still to come.
The Greek crypto tax in short
- Passed on 5 November 2026. Parliament approved a bill from the Ministry of Finance. Reuters calls it the first comprehensive legal framework for taxing crypto in Greece. We did not find a vote count in the sources.
- 10% on the gain. Profit from selling crypto counts as a capital gain. According to Decrypt, the gain is what you receive minus what you paid.
- 500 euros a year exempt. If your net gain for a year is at or below 500 euros, you pay nothing. If it is above that, Decrypt says the whole gain counts, not just the part above 500 euros.
- 15% on staking, lending and providing liquidity. This income is treated as interest. That is what Decrypt (citing the Ministry of Finance) and Cointelegraph (citing the Greek newspaper Oikonomikos Tachydromos) write.
- Paying with crypto can count as a sale. According to the government, swapping one crypto for another should not be taxed, but a parliamentary review found the text of the law unclear on this.
- Effective 1 January 2027, according to Decrypt and Cointelegraph.
- Still to come: implementing rules on transparency and oversight, ‘in the coming weeks’, a senior ministry official told Reuters.
What parliament passed
The crypto rules are part of a larger package from the Ministry of Finance covering, among other things, debt management, supervision of the financial sector and government accounting, Decrypt and Cointelegraph write. Reuters published the report that parliament had passed the bill on 5 November at 16:59.
The rate ending up at 10% differs from June, when Greek officials were still talking about 15%, Decrypt writes. The 15% is now the rate for staking and similar income.
Three worked examples
Worked examples based on the rules above, not a tax assessment. Decrypt itself gives the example of 600 euros.
Note the jump at 500 euros: 100 euros of extra gain costs 60 euros in tax here. That follows from Decrypt's reading that the whole gain counts. We could not open the bill itself at the time of writing (see below).
Where the law still leaves questions open
Swapping crypto for crypto. The government says that swapping one coin for another does not produce a taxable gain. According to Decrypt, parliament's Scientific Service pointed out that the text speaks of a sale ‘for consideration’, and that this could also include a swap. The service recommended an explicit exemption and clearer rules for swaps involving stablecoins and e-money tokens. The sources do not say whether the passed text adopted this. You can read what an e-money token is in our explainer on stablecoins.
Who is taxed. The reports do not say exactly how the law treats people who live outside Greece or hold their crypto on a foreign platform. According to Reuters, most investors there use platforms abroad, so the ministry cannot estimate how much the tax will raise.
How to prove your purchase price. Decrypt writes that you need transaction records to show what you paid and what your holdings were worth when you sold. So keep track of the purchase date, amount and platform, even if you do not have to pay the tax yet.
How does Greece compare with the rest of Europe?
Reuters writes that EU countries have no joint tax system for crypto and that the tax in Europe ranges from 8% to 30%, mostly as capital gains tax. At 10%, Greece is on the low side. You can compare how it works in your own country in our overview of crypto tax in Europe.
What applies in all EU countries is the exchange of data: crypto-asset service providers must report transactions of EU residents to the tax authority under the DAC8 directive. You can read what that means for you in DAC8 crypto reporting: what exchanges send tax authorities. You can see which providers in the EU hold a MiCA authorisation in our authorisation register.
What does this mean for you as a European investor?
You live or invest in Greece. From now on, keep track of what you paid and what you received for each sale, and reckon with 10% on the gain and 15% on staking. Wait for the implementing rules for the details of filing. If you have gains from before 2027 that you have not yet declared, the law gives you twelve months for that, according to Decrypt and Cointelegraph. For your own situation, consult a Greek tax adviser.
You live in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal or Poland. This law is about Greece and does not change your tax return. The sources do not say that the law applies to residents of other countries. What applies to you is set out country by country in our overview of crypto tax in Europe.
You hold crypto on a foreign platform. According to Reuters, most Greek investors do. The ministry wants more insight through transparency rules; the precise rules have yet to appear.
What is not certain yet
- The text of the law. The Greek parliament's website returned an error (403) at the time of writing, and a copy in the web archive failed. Everything about the content comes from Reuters (via Euronext), Decrypt and Cointelegraph, which cites Oikonomikos Tachydromos. We have not checked figures against the bill itself.
- Differences between the sources. Reuters and Cointelegraph mention the 500 euro exemption without saying what happens above that threshold. Decrypt says the whole gain then counts. The 2 November article, based on the explanatory notes to the draft, reached the same reading.
- Publication in the Government Gazette. A law only applies once it is published in the Greek Government Gazette. We could not establish whether that has happened yet.
- Swapping crypto for crypto and the role of stablecoins: the government and the Scientific Service say different things.
- Implementing rules on transparency and oversight: ‘in the coming weeks’, with no date.
- Revenue for the treasury: the ministry has no estimate.
This article is not investment or tax advice. Crypto can lose a lot of value and you can lose your entire stake.
Frequently asked questions
How much tax do you pay on crypto gains in Greece?
According to Reuters, 10% on the gain. The start date is 1 January 2027, according to Decrypt and Cointelegraph. Income from staking, lending and providing liquidity is taxed at 15%, as interest, according to Decrypt and Cointelegraph.
How much crypto gain is exempt in Greece?
Net gain up to and including 500 euros a year. If your gain is above that, Decrypt says the whole gain counts for tax, not just the part above 500 euros.
Do you pay tax if you swap one crypto for another?
According to the Greek government, no. Parliament's Scientific Service warned, according to Decrypt, that the text does not make this clear. Wait for the implementing rules.
Does the Greek tax also apply if you do not live in Greece?
The reports we read say nothing about this. For your country, your own tax law applies; you can find it in our overview of crypto tax in Europe.
Can you still declare gains from before 2027?
According to Decrypt and Cointelegraph, you get twelve months to declare earlier gains voluntarily, and you must pay within 60 days of filing to avoid penalties and interest.
Sources
Read on 11 November 2026.
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