Family Office in Greece: Rules, Costs and Tax in 2026
Greece's family office rules are a tax regime: under article 71H of the Income Tax Code, a special purpose family wealth management company that serves Greek tax-resident individuals and their close family has its revenue for tax set at its expenses plus a 7% margin, if it employs at least five people in Greece and spends at least EUR 500,000 a year there (EUR 1 million until Law 5222/2025, Gazette A 134 of 28 July 2025, according to KPMG and the consolidated text). Neither the article nor AADE decision A.1043/2022, which sets its conditions, provides for a licence; no source was found on whether managing the family's investments needs Hellenic Capital Market Commission authorisation. New residents can also pay a flat EUR 100,000 a year on foreign income for up to 15 tax years (article 5A), and buying one property of at least 120 sq m worth EUR 400,000 or EUR 800,000, depending on the area, gives a five-year renewable residence permit. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Best for: Families that become Greek tax residents and can run an office with at least five staff and EUR 500,000 of yearly operating costs in Greece, with the office's revenue for tax set at those costs plus a 7% margin, and that may also use the EUR 100,000 a year lump-sum tax on foreign income for new residents.
At a glance
| Licence | Tax regime with no licence in article 71H; no source on Capital Market Commission rules |
|---|---|
| Minimum wealth | No wealth minimum; tax regime needs EUR 500,000 yearly costs in Greece and 5 staff |
| Who counts as family | Greek tax-resident individuals, spouse or partner, unmarried children, ascendants |
| Serving several families | No route for several families found; a 71H company serves only its members' family |
| Law and courts | Greek Civil Code, forced heirship; no trust law beyond charitable foundations (Chambers) |
| Substance | 5 employees in Greece within 12 months and EUR 500,000 yearly operating costs in Greece |
| Holding vehicles | Any company form except non-profit, Greek or foreign; charitable foundations; no trust law |
| Corporate tax | 22% standard rate; a 71H company's revenue is set at its expenses plus a 7% margin |
| Family office tax | Revenue set at expenses plus 7% margin; dealings with members outside VAT |
| Personal income tax | 9% to 44% (above EUR 60,000) in 2026; non-dom EUR 100,000 a year on foreign income |
| Inheritance tax | Spouse, children: 1% to 10% over EUR 150,000; spouse (5 yrs), minors exempt to EUR 400,000 |
| Wills and succession | Forced heirship: descendants, parents and spouse reserve half their intestate share |
| Residence | 5-year golden visa: one property, EUR 800,000 or 400,000 by area (250,000 special cases) |
| Time to set up | No official figure found |
| Official fees | No official figure found |
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Licence and who qualifies
How is a family office licensed in Greece?
Neither article 71H of the Income Tax Code (Law 4172/2013; Chambers says the incentive was introduced by Law 4778/2021) nor AADE decision A.1043/2022 of 1 April 2022, which sets its conditions, provides for a licence or approval: the regime is a tax incentive for special purpose family wealth management companies. The company may take any legal form listed in article 45 of the Code except non-profit entities and may be set up in Greece or abroad; a Greek company or branch registers in the General Commercial Registry (GEMI), declares activity code 66301102 'family wealth management services' as its only main activity, and notifies its members to the tax office. The AADE decision lists investment management among the permitted services without mentioning any licence; no source opened says whether such services need authorisation from the Hellenic Capital Market Commission. [1, 2, 7]
What is the minimum wealth for a family office in Greece?
No minimum family wealth in article 71H: neither the article nor AADE decision A.1043/2022 sets a wealth or asset threshold. Instead, the tax regime requires at least five employees in Greece within 12 months of formation and continuously after, and at least EUR 500,000 of operating expenses in Greece in each tax year (EUR 1,000,000 in the AADE decision, cut to EUR 500,000 by article 211 of Law 5222/2025, Gazette A 134 of 28 July 2025, according to KPMG and the consolidated text of the article on Taxheaven). [1, 2, 3, 4, 8]
Who counts as family?
The company's only purpose is to manage the assets, investments and living, philanthropic and cultural expenses of individuals who are Greek tax residents (including those who moved under articles 5A, 5B or 5C) and of their family members, and it may carry on no other activity. Family members are the other spouse or civil partner, the unmarried children of the spouses or partners (including unmarried children of one spouse where custody was assigned to that parent) and the direct ascendants of the spouses or partners. Members may be these individuals, their family members and Greek or foreign entities in which they hold a majority; members who are individuals cannot also be its employees. [1, 2]
Can one office serve several families?
No route for an office serving several unrelated families was found. A 71H company exists only to manage the assets and expenses of its tax-resident individuals and their family members, may carry on no other activity, and after each income tax return must give the tax office a sworn statement that it served only them. The sources opened do not say how a firm that manages assets for unrelated families is licensed. [1, 2]
Law, substance and vehicles
Which law and courts apply?
Succession and wills are governed by the Greek Civil Code, which sets the forms of will, the intestate shares and a reserved portion for close relatives, and prohibits joint wills and agreements on future successions (European e-Justice Portal). Chambers Private Wealth 2026 (Bernitsas) says Greece has no framework for trusts or foundations other than charitable foundations; since Law 5222/2025 a family wealth management company may advise trustees of trusts whose settlors or beneficiaries are family members (KPMG). [1, 3, 7, 9]
What substance is required?
At least five employees in Greece within 12 months of formation and continuously after, and at least EUR 500,000 of operating expenses in Greece in each tax year (annualised for a shorter first year under the AADE decision); staff may be employed directly or outsourced to third parties in any country, subject to the Code's rules on payments to non-cooperative or preferential tax jurisdictions. Within a month of filing its tax return the company must send the tax office payroll records, financial statements and sworn statements on its members and its activity, and if a condition is not met its income is taxed under the general rules. The consolidated article was read on Taxheaven, a private legal database. [1, 2, 3, 8]
Which holding vehicles are available?
A 71H company can take any legal form listed in article 45 of the Income Tax Code except non-profit entities, and can be a Greek company, a Greek branch (both registered in GEMI) or a foreign company. Chambers Private Wealth 2026 (Bernitsas) says Greece has no framework for trusts or foundations other than charitable foundations and that public-benefit foundations are the most popular asset protection vehicle; Chambers (Machas & Partners) notes AADE decision A.1089/2023 on when trusts holding shares in real estate companies can be exempt from the 15% special real estate tax. [2, 7, 10]
Tax
What is the corporate tax rate?
The standard corporate income tax rate is 22% on business profits, from tax year 2021 onward (Ministry of Finance tax guide, updated 2 June 2026); losses carry forward for five years, intra-group dividends are exempt where the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive applies, and a 15% minimum effective tax applies to large groups under Law 5100/2024. Dividends paid to individuals bear a final 5% withholding tax. A 71H company pays tax at the rate in article 58(1) of the Code, with its gross revenue set at its expenses plus a 7% margin. [1, 11]
Are there tax incentives for family offices?
Article 71H sets a qualifying company's gross revenue at all its expenses and depreciation (excluding income tax) plus a 7% margin, or its book revenue if higher; the expenses are deductible if supported by proper invoices, and revenue must be collected by bank transfer. Transactions between the company and its members are outside the scope of VAT (AADE decision A.1043/2022). Since Law 5222/2025, providing these services to foreign companies owned directly or indirectly by the family does not count as exercising effective management in Greece; KPMG describes this as an explicit exclusion from the place-of-effective-management rules that could otherwise make such companies Greek tax resident. [1, 2, 3, 8, 12]
Is there personal income tax?
The 2026 scale for employment, pension and business income runs from 9% up to EUR 10,000 to 44% above EUR 60,000, with lower rates for families with children and people under 30; dividends bear a final 5%, interest 15% (Greek government bonds exempt) and capital gains 15% (Ministry of Finance). Under article 5A, a person who was not Greek tax resident in 7 of the previous 8 years can pay EUR 100,000 a year on all foreign income, whatever its amount, for 15 tax years, plus EUR 20,000 a year for each relative included (spouse or civil partner, ascendants or descendants in direct line), if they, a relative or an entity in which they hold a majority invest at least EUR 500,000 in Greek real estate, businesses or securities within three years (AADE guide, November 2025); article 5B taxes new residents' foreign pensions at 7%. Article 94 of Law 5313/2026 (Gazette A 102 of 25 June 2026) amended articles 5A and 5B: the amended text on Taxheaven keeps these amounts, drops the 31 March application deadline (AADE is to set deadlines) and moves payment to the last working day of December (Taxheaven, Chambers). Relatives can be added in a later year, a change the AADE guide dates to Law 5222/2025. [5, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15]
Is there inheritance or estate tax?
Inheritance and gift tax applies. Category A (spouse or cohabitation partner, children, grandchildren and parents) pays 0% on the first EUR 150,000, 1% up to EUR 300,000, 5% up to EUR 600,000 and 10% above; Category B (for example siblings and grandparents) pays 5% to 20% above EUR 30,000 and Category C 20% to 40% above EUR 6,000. A spouse or partner of at least five years and minor children are exempt up to EUR 400,000 each, the Ministry says parental benefits and gifts to Category A persons are taxed at 10% after a one-time EUR 800,000 tax-free amount, and article 5A non-doms are exempt on movable property abroad that they inherit or give (AADE). The Ministry's page mentions no duty on registering inherited property. [5, 16]
Succession and residence
How do wills and succession work?
Descendants, parents and the surviving spouse or registered partner who would inherit on intestacy are forced heirs, and their reserved portion is half of their intestate share (Article 1825 Civil Code); lifetime gifts are taken into account, and some can be challenged within two years of death if the estate is insufficient. On intestacy with children the spouse receives one quarter and a registered partner one sixth. Joint wills and agreements on future successions are prohibited, and a will can be holographic, public (made before a notary and three witnesses) or sealed (European e-Justice Portal). [9]
Can the family get residence?
The main investor route is the golden visa: a residence permit for real estate investment (type B.5, article 100 of the Migration Code, Law 5038/2023, as replaced by Law 5100/2024), which the law calls a permanent investor permit but which lasts five years and is renewed for equal periods while the property is kept. It needs one property with at least 120 sq m of main area worth at least EUR 800,000 in Attica, the Thessaloniki regional unit, the Mykonos and Thira (Santorini) regional units and islands of more than 3,100 inhabitants, or EUR 400,000 elsewhere, or EUR 250,000 for a property converted to residential use or a listed building to be restored; short-term letting is banned and the permit gives no right to work. The government's procedures register (Mitos) gives a fee of EUR 2,000 plus EUR 16 for the permit card on its change-of-use and listed-building pages. Under article 95 of the Migration Code, family members can join: the spouse or a partner under a cohabitation agreement, unmarried children under 21 (of the couple, or of either partner with custody), the direct ascendants of both spouses or partners, and adult children who lack legal capacity and live with and depend on the investor; their permits end with the investor's, and children who turn 21 get their own three-year permit. Whether the years count towards long-term residence or citizenship was not confirmed. A portfolio route proposed in the National Housing Strategy 2026-2035 is not in force (IBA, September 2026). [6, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22]
Time and fees
How long does set-up take?
Not found in official sources.
What are the official fees?
Not found in official sources. Article 71H and AADE decision A.1043/2022 set no licence or registration fee for a family office; companies are formed through the GEMI one-stop shop, whose fees by legal form are given by an online cost calculator that could not be opened. [1, 2, 23]
Pros and cons
Pros
- Article 71H and the AADE decision set no wealth minimum and provide for no licence: a qualifying company's revenue for tax is set at its expenses plus a 7% margin, and its dealings with family members are outside the scope of VAT.
- New residents can pay EUR 100,000 a year on all foreign income for 15 tax years under article 5A, and movable property abroad that they inherit or give is exempt from Greek inheritance and gift tax.
- The golden visa gives a five-year renewable residence permit for one property of at least 120 sq m worth EUR 400,000 or EUR 800,000 depending on the area (EUR 250,000 for conversions to residential use and listed buildings).
Cons
- The office must employ at least five people in Greece and spend at least EUR 500,000 a year there, and may serve only Greek tax-resident individuals and their spouse or partner, unmarried children and direct ascendants.
- Inheritance and gift tax reaches spouses and children (1% to 10% above EUR 150,000, with an inheritance exemption up to EUR 400,000 only for a spouse of five years and minor children), and the top 2026 personal income tax rate is 44% above EUR 60,000.
- Forced heirship gives descendants, parents and the spouse a reserved portion of half their intestate share, and joint wills and agreements on future successions are prohibited.
