ATHENS, 5 June (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Greece is preparing new legislation to impose a 15% capital gains tax on cryptocurrency profits. This move aims to integrate cryptocurrency into the national tax code, providing regulatory clarity while exempting the first 500 euros of annual gains for individual investors across the country.
Moving Toward Regulatory Clarity
The push to tax assets is part of a broader strategy by the state to improve transparency and financial oversight. While taxation levels for digital assets vary across the European Union, Greece is opting for a middle-ground approach. By formalizing these rules, authorities hope to align with wider European standards, including the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation and upcoming reporting requirements designed to combat tax evasion. Government officials emphasized that the objective is to treat digital assets as formal financial instruments, effectively transitioning them out of the current regulatory uncertainty. This will impact anyone holding a cryptocurrency wallet within the nation.
Understanding The New Tax Framework
Under the proposed law, individual investors will be subject to a flat 15% tax on net capital gains realized from the selling or swapping of digital assets. However, the government has included a specific provision to protect smaller participants, as the first 500 euros of annual gains will be completely tax-free. It is important to note that this capital gains tax applies to a wide range of activities, including selling assets for fiat currency, executing swaps, and using digital tokens to purchase goods or services. Officials confirmed that this tax structure does not apply to individual mining, though entities registered as corporations will face different obligations. Every cryptocurrency holder must prepare for these reporting obligations.
Corporate And Mining Tax Considerations
While individual investors benefit from the flat 15% rate, the legislative framework differentiates between various types of commercial activity. Corporations engaging in digital asset trading will be taxed under standard corporate income regimes at a 22% flat rate. Additionally, staking rewards and income derived from individual mining operations will be subject to the progressive ordinary income tax scale, which ranges from 9% to 44% depending on total annual earnings.
“The aim is to include cryptocurrency in the country’s tax code,”
one government official stated, highlighting the necessity of capturing revenue from a rapidly growing market that has seen significant interest from investors around the age of 30. Using cryptocurrency for commerce will now require careful tracking.
Enforcement And Global Integration
To ensure compliance with the new law, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue is preparing a robust infrastructure for tracking and enforcement. All digital wallet providers and asset service providers operating within the country must register with the Hellenic Capital Markets Commission. These platforms will be legally required to provide transaction histories and KYC records to tax authorities. This measure aligns Greece with the EU’s DAC8 directive, facilitating the automatic exchange of information to match investments against declared income. Residents will be required to report all digital asset activity during the annual tax filing season, with a firm deadline of June 30 each year to calculate their liabilities accurately. Properly reporting your cryptocurrency holdings remains essential for tax compliance.