Switching Accountants in Greece: How to Do It Without Losing Your Records

Short answer: You can change accountant in Greece at any time, even mid-year. You do it yourself in myAADE: revoke the old accountant’s authorisations and authorise the new one. By law, the old accountant must hand over all your records with a signed handover protocol. Pick a clean cut-off date, ideally just after a VAT return is filed, and agree in writing who files what.

Most expats don’t switch because they are happy. They switch because emails go unanswered, deadlines get missed, or they never really understood what their accountant was doing. The good news: the process is simpler than it looks, and it is fully in your control.

Before you start: do you actually need to switch?

Switching is worth it if any of these sound familiar:

• You find out about deadlines or penalties from AADE, not from your accountant
• You cannot get a clear answer in English about what was filed and when
• Your EFKA category or VAT setup was never explained to you
• You are paying monthly but cannot see what you get for it

If it is just one slow reply, a direct conversation may fix it. If it is a pattern, switch before the next deadline, not after it.

Step 1: Find the new accountant first

Do not revoke anything until the new accountant has agreed to take you on. You want no gap where nobody is responsible for your filings. Ask the new accountant for their AFM, because you will need it to authorise them.

Step 2: Agree a cut-off date

The cleanest switch happens right after a filing, not in the middle of one.

• VAT: returns are due on the last working day of the month after the period. Avoid switching in the final week of a filing month.
• myDATA: if you keep simplified books, your accountant has up to two months after the VAT deadline to send the expense entries. Agree who sends the ones still open.
• E-invoicing: B2B e-invoicing becomes mandatory on 2 November 2026. If you switch in October or November 2026, agree who files the start declaration (due within 10 days, so by 12 November) and who sets up your invoicing.

Put the cut-off date in writing: “Old accountant files everything up to and including period X. New accountant takes everything after.”

Step 3: Ask for your records

The accountants’ code of conduct (Ministerial Decision 57088/2013) is clear. When the engagement ends for any reason, the outgoing accountant must hand over all your documents and records to the new accountant, with a signed handover protocol. This is triggered by your written instruction or the new accountant’s written request.

Ask for at least:

• Your books (income and expense records, E3 data)
• Invoices issued and received, and their myDATA entries
• VAT returns and payment proofs
• E1, E3 and E9 returns and assessment notices
• EFKA statements
• Payroll and ERGANI files, if you have staff
• Fixed asset register
• Any letters from AADE, open audits and payment arrangements (ρυθμίσεις)

Keep your own copy too. By law the duty to keep records sits with you, the taxpayer, not with the accountant. Keep them for at least 5 years from the end of the tax year. We recommend 10, because AADE can go back further in some cases.

Step 4: Change access in myAADE

You do this yourself. It takes about ten minutes.

1. Log in to myAADE with your TAXISnet username and password.
2. Go to Εξουσιοδοτήσεις (Authorisations), then the section for Λογιστές – Λογιστικά Γραφεία (Accountants).
3. On each item the old accountant can access, press Ανάκληση (Revoke). They are notified electronically.
4. For each item, press Νέα (New), enter the new accountant’s AFM and press Καταχώρηση Εξουσιοδότησης (Register authorisation).
5. The status shows Αναμονή Αποδοχής (Waiting for acceptance) until the new accountant accepts.
6. Check Ιστορικό (History) to confirm the old authorisations are revoked.

If you use an e-invoicing provider, or your accountant handles EFKA or payroll for you, change access there as well.

Step 5: Change your password

If your old accountant ever had your TAXISnet password, change it now. Revoking authorisations does not stop someone who logs in as you.

What if the old accountant will not cooperate?

Unpaid fees. The code of conduct gives the old accountant no right to keep your records. But it does tell the new accountant not to take over unless the handover protocol confirms past fees are settled. In practice, settle or document what you owe, then ask again in writing.

They hold your passwords. Your TAXISnet credentials belong to you. Reset your password, or get a new key number through myAADElive, then revoke every authorisation.

They ignore you. Send a written request, and keep it. If that fails, you can complain to the Ethics Committee of the Economic Chamber of Greece (OEE). Accountants who break the code face fines of up to €3,000, suspension, or loss of their licence.

They resign on you. An accountant who wants to stop working with you must give written notice and a reasonable time, no more than two months, for you to find someone new.

Common mistakes

Revoking before the new accountant is ready. You end up with nobody filing. Line up the new accountant first.

No written cut-off. Two accountants both assume the other filed the September VAT return. Neither did. Write it down.

Not keeping your own records. If the relationship ended badly, getting files back is slow. Download what you can from myAADE yourself.

Switching the week of a deadline. Leave a margin of at least one week before any VAT or e-invoicing date.

Switching to MyGreekTax

We handle the handover for you: we request your records from your old accountant in Greek, check what was filed, and flag anything missing before it becomes a penalty. Freelancers then move onto our monthly retainer, with all filings done by a licensed Greek accountant and every question answered in English.

Ask us about switching →

First consultation free. Reply within one business day.

This guide reflects Greek rules as of October 2026. Menu names in myAADE can change; if you cannot find a step, ask your new accountant or us.