Renting Out Your Greek Property as a Non-Resident (2026): Tax, Airbnb Rules and What to File

Short answer: If you live abroad and rent out a home in Greece, Greece taxes that rent. From 2026 the rates are 15% on the first €12,000 a year, then 25%, 35% and 45%. You need a Greek tax number (AFM), online access to TAXISnet, and an E1 return with an E2 rental form every year you earn rent. Short-term lets (Airbnb, Booking) also need an AMA registration number and a monthly guest declaration. If you bought through the Golden Visa, short-term letting is banned.

Most owners we speak to found the buying part easy. The rules start after the keys. This guide covers the year after the purchase.

Long-term or short-term? It changes everything

Greece draws one clear line:

• Short-term: a furnished let of up to 59 days, with no service beyond bed linen. This is Airbnb territory, whether you use a platform or not.
• Long-term: a lease of 60 days or more. A normal tenant with a contract.

The 59 days count per booking, not per year. A guest who extends past 59 days with you starts a new booking, it does not turn the stay into a long lease.

What you need before the first rent

• An AFM (Greek tax number). If you bought property, you already have one. See getting an AFM from abroad.
• TAXISnet access. Every declaration below is online. An AFM on its own does not give you a login.
• A bank account in your name for the rent. From 1 July 2027 rent must be paid by bank transfer to an account that belongs to you (not a manager or relative) and is declared to AADE. The start date has been pushed back several times, so set it up now.
• An AMA number, only for short-term lets. It comes from the Short-Term Rental Register on AADE and must appear on every listing.

How the rent is taxed in 2026

Rent is taxed on its own scale, separate from salary or pension. Non-residents pay the same rates as residents, and there is no tax-free amount.

Yearly rent (after deductions)	Rate from 2026	Rate up to 2025
Up to €12,000	15%	15%
€12,000 to €24,000	25%	35%
€24,000 to €36,000	35%	35%
Over €36,000	45%	45% (above €35,000)

The new 25% bracket comes from Law 5246/2025 and applies to rent earned from 1 January 2026, so you see it in the return you file in 2027.

The 5% deduction. You can deduct 5% of the rent for repairs and upkeep. From 1 July 2027 you keep it only if the rent was paid into your own bank account. Cash rent will lose the deduction.

An example. A flat let long-term for €1,500 a month brings €18,000 a year. After the 5% deduction, €17,100 is taxed. That is €1,800 on the first €12,000 plus €1,275 on the rest: €3,075 in Greek tax, against €3,585 under the old scale.

If co-owned, each owner declares their own share and gets their own €12,000 at 15%. A couple owning 50/50 can pay noticeably less than one owner with the full rent.

Empty flat? There is a 3-year break. A home of up to 120 m² (more if you have dependent children) that was declared empty for at least 3 years, or used only for short-term lets the year before, and is let on a lease of at least 3 years signed by 31 December 2026, pays no tax on that rent for 36 months. The break ends if the home goes back to short-term letting or is left without a tenant.

What to file, and when

What	When
Lease declaration (long-term), on AADE	By the end of the month after the lease starts or changes
Guest declaration (short-term), one per stay	By the 20th of the month after the guest leaves
E1 with E2 rental form	Each spring, usually mid March to mid July, for the year before
ENFIA property tax	Assessed each spring, paid in monthly instalments to the following February
E9 property statement	Only when something changes, such as a purchase, sale or inheritance

As a non-resident you only declare your Greek income in Greece. Your foreign salary or pension stays out of the Greek return.

The short-term rental rules in 2026

One or two homes: rental income. If you let up to two properties short-term and offer nothing beyond clean linen, it is still rental income. It goes on the E2 and is taxed on the scale above. No VAT.

Three or more: a business. From the third property (each AMA counts as one), you must register a business with AADE. That brings 13% VAT, business books and myDATA reporting. Offering extra services, such as breakfast, cleaning during the stay or transfers, also turns it into a business, even with one home.

The resilience fee. You charge it per night and pay it to AADE:

Property	April to October	November to March
Short-term rental (flat or house)	€8	€2
Detached house over 80 m²	€15	€4

Safety standards. Since October 2025 every short-term let needs, among other things, civil liability insurance, smoke detectors, a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit and air conditioning. The fine is €5,000, rising to €10,000 for a repeat within a year and €20,000 after that.

Frozen areas. No new AMA numbers are issued in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd districts of central Athens (Plaka, Kolonaki, Koukaki, Pagkrati, Petralona and more) until the end of 2026. Central Thessaloniki has the same freeze from 1 July to 31 December 2026. In these zones a sale or gift cancels the AMA, and the new owner cannot get a new one. Santorini, Chania, Paros and Halkidiki have been discussed but have no freeze in force as of October 2026. If you plan to buy for Airbnb, check the address first.

AADE sees the platform money. Airbnb and Booking report what they pay you to tax authorities across the EU. Undeclared short-term income is one of the easiest things for AADE to spot.

Golden Visa owners: no Airbnb

If your property was bought for a Golden Visa under the 2024 rules (Law 5100/2024), you cannot let it short-term, and you cannot sublet it. This covers Airbnb, Booking and offline stays alike. If the ban is broken, the residence permit is revoked and the owners pay a fixed €50,000 fine.

Long-term letting is allowed, and you do not have to let it at all.

Older properties. According to the Ministry of Migration, the ban does not cover properties bought under the earlier rules, or purchases completed under the 2024 transition. Renewing an older permit on the same property does not bring it under the ban. A new property bought to renew a permit should be treated as caught. This exemption comes from Ministry guidance, not from the law itself, so check your own case before letting short-term.

Your home country

Rent from Greek property is usually taxed in Greece first. Most tax treaties then let you claim that Greek tax as a credit in the country where you live, so you are not taxed twice in full. You normally still have to declare the rent at home. Keep your Greek assessment (εκκαθαριστικό) as proof.

Common mistakes

“It only got booked a few weeks, so I skipped the E2.” Every euro of Greek rent goes on the return, and platform data makes gaps easy to find.

Letting the tenant pay cash. From July 2027 it costs you the 5% deduction. Switch to bank transfer now.

Listing on Airbnb before the AMA. Platforms must show the number, and they remove listings without one. The fines are heavy.

Forgetting the lease declaration. Without it, your tenant cannot claim the rent refund, and the lease has no tax record.

Assuming a property manager files for you. Managers run bookings. The tax return is still yours, in your name.

Let us handle your Greek rental taxes

We set up what you are missing (TAXISnet, lease declarations, the AMA registration), file your E1 and E2 each year, and check your ENFIA bill, all in English, through a licensed Greek accountant. Rental income declaration from €49, ENFIA review from €59 a year, fixed price agreed before we start.

Ask us about your rental →

First consultation free. Reply within one business day.

---

This guide reflects Greek rules as of October 2026. Tax rates, fees and frozen areas can change; check your own case with a licensed Greek accountant or with us before you file.