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Greece approves a 10% crypto capital gains tax, its first dedicated framework, with a €500 annual exemption
Summary
Greece's parliament approved Thursday a bill imposing a 10% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies, the country's first comprehensive legal framework for taxing crypto assets, Bitcoin Magazine and Reuters (via Business Recorder) reported.
Annual cryptocurrency capital gains of up to €500 (about $563) will be exempt, both outlets said. A senior finance ministry official told Reuters that further implementation directives, including transparency and audit rules, will follow in the coming weeks.
Bitcoin Magazine said an earlier October draft had floated a 15% rate and that the version lawmakers passed lands five points lower while keeping the €500 exemption; the levy is set to apply from Jan. 1, 2027, per Greek coverage of the finance ministry bill cited by Bitcoin Magazine.
Taxable transfers include selling crypto for fiat, using it to buy goods or services, and contributing it to company capital, while crypto-to-crypto swaps are treated as non-taxable in explanatory material accompanying the bill, Bitcoin Magazine reported; losses above €500 may be carried forward up to five years against future crypto gains.
The official told Reuters that EU crypto tax rates typically run from about 8% to 30% and that state revenue could not be projected because most investors use platforms abroad.
Updates
- Update, : Update (Nov. 6): CoinDesk and Cointelegraph also covered the law's separate 15% tax on income from staking, crypto lending and DeFi liquidity provision, the Jan. 1, 2027 start, the 12-month window to declare past gains (tax due within 60 days), and five-year loss carryforwards above €500. CoinDesk said once annual net gains exceed €500 the full gain is taxable at 10%, and that parliament's Scientific Service warned the bill's wording could still cover crypto-to-crypto swaps even though the Finance Ministry says those swaps are not taxed; Cointelegraph reported crypto-to-crypto swaps do not generate taxable gains under the framework as described by Oikonomikos Tachydromos.
- Update, : Update (Nov. 6, 3pm): Decrypt independently covered the parliamentary passage, restating the €500 annual net-gains exemption (with the 10% rate applying to the entire gain once the threshold is crossed), the separate 15% tax on staking/lending/DeFi income, the Jan. 1, 2027 start, and parliament's Scientific Service warning that "for consideration" wording could still tax crypto-to-crypto swaps despite the Finance Ministry's stated intent to exempt them.
Key facts
- Reuters: Greece's parliament approved on Thursday a bill that imposes a 10% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies, the first comprehensive legal framework for taxing crypto assets in Greece.
- Bitcoin Magazine said that once net gains clear the €500 ceiling, the 10% rate applies to the full net gain for the year, not only the slice above €500.
- Purchases of crypto assets are being pulled into Greece's existing source-of-funds checks from 2027, Bitcoin Magazine reported, widening the audit trail without adding a separate purchase tax.