Crypto: Greece will tax capital gains at 10%, less than expected

Athens clarifies its crypto taxation. Greece is proposing a 10% tax on capital gains made by individuals when selling cryptoassets. This rate is lower than the 15% mentioned in June by two government officials to Reuters. The project, currently in public consultation, provides for an exemption when annual net earnings do not exceed 500 euros. Its presentation to Parliament is expected in November.

The Greek Ministry of Economy and Finance intends to close the loopholes in the tax treatment of cryptoassets. The proposed 10% rate concerns capital gains of individuals, calculated from the difference between the sale price and the acquisition cost.

Sales against traditional currency, purchases of goods or services in crypto and contributions to the capital of a company are among the operations concerned. On the other hand, exchanging one cryptocurrency for another would not create taxable capital gains.

Annual net capital gains would be exempt up to and including 500 euros. Beyond that, the 10% tax would apply to the entire gain, and not only to the portion exceeding this threshold. Thus, a net gain of 600 euros would result in a tax of 60 euros.

The retention of supporting documents would also be decisive. The project makes it possible to document transactions based on intermediary statements or data from the blockchain. If the acquisition price cannot be established, it would be considered zero, which could lead to the entire sale price being taxed.

Finally, annual losses greater than 500 euros could be carried forward for five years, solely to compensate for future crypto capital gains.

And the project goes beyond just selling tokens. Income from staking, lending cryptocurrencies and providing liquidity would be treated as interest, with a rate of 10%. Crypto purchases would also fall under the Greek system which compares asset acquisition expenses to resources declared by taxpayers.

A voluntary declaration procedure would cover previous capital gains. The persons concerned would have twelve months from the entry into force of the provisions to declare these gains, then sixty days to pay the tax. The absence of penalties and interest would depend on compliance with the stipulated conditions.

At the same time, transparency is progressing at European level. DAC8 requires the collection of data on reportable transactions from users residing in the Union since January 1, 2026. The first exchanges between tax administrations must take place no later than September 30, 2027. This directive organizes the transmission of information, without however harmonizing national tax rates.