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The finance ministry has announced new measures aimed at easing freelancers, new parents and the rental property market. The measures will apply from January 2025. The changes are summarised in the following categories:
- Abolition of the business tax and reduction of the presumed income of freelancers.
- Reduction of insurance contributions for employees and employers from 1.1.2025.
- Property tax reduction for insured homes and exemption for buildings classified as listed.
- Income tax exemption for rents for buildings that remained closed and will be rented out or will abandon short-term lease and return to long-term lease.
- Suspension of VAT on properties that are unsold.
- Increase in accommodation fees imposed on hotel rooms and short-term rentals per night.
- Prohibition of new registration in the short-term rental property register for one year in the Municipality of Athens.
- Voluntary financial benefits from the employer, which are provided to a new parent for a period of up to twelve months from the birth of a child, up to the amount of 5,000 euros per year, increased by an additional 5,000 for each dependent child, are exempt from tax.
- Increase in income tax deduction for a lump sum payment.
In more detail:
Self-employed
Those who are self-employed or have a sole proprietorship will see a tax reduction of €325 from the abolition of the business tax, and with the changes in the documents, those who employ workers and have a higher turnover are favored. Those who are paid with a service voucher will have a tax reduction of between €400 and €500.
Social security contributions
A 1% reduction in social security contributions will benefit the employee by 0.5% and the employer by 0.5%.
Real estate tax
Listed buildings are exempt from real estate tax and the tax deduction is increased from 10 to 20% for buildings that are insured against natural disasters and have a taxable value of up to €500,000.
Income tax
Those who choose to rent the properties that remained closed until September 8, 2024 and those who choose long-term leases over short-term ones will be exempt from income tax for 36 months.
Accommodation fee
The accommodation fee is increasing, specifically for hotel rooms and properties rented through short-term lease, this fee increases from 1.5 euros to 8 euros per day during the summer period (April - October) and from 0.5 euros to 2 euros per day during the period November - March. Detached houses over 80 sq m. will be charged an even higher fee, reaching 15 euros per day in summer and 4 euros in winter.
Short-term rental permits
Registration in the short-term rental property registry for three large municipal districts of Athens is prohibited in 2025, as finding a residence for rent is now impossible.
Tax deduction
The deduction for a one-time payment of income tax is increased to 4% for those who submit a tax return by April 30.
In the case of submitting the return from May 1 to June 15, the deduction is reduced to 3% and drops to 2% if the return is submitted from June 16 to July 15.
These are the most important changes and measures that came into effect since the start of the new year.
Reference/ Citation
CNN Greece
