Greece plans 10% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies

Greece’s Ministry of National Economy and Finance published a draft bill on Wednesday proposing a 10% tax on individuals’ crypto capital gains, with an exemption for annual gains of up to 500 euros ($559.95).

The proposal would allow voluntary declaration of previously realized crypto gains without penalties, within 12 months of the law’s publication. It would exempt crypto-to-crypto swaps from capital gains tax and introduce a flat 10% tax on returns from staking, lending or liquidity provision.

The draft bill would fill a legislative gap in Greece’s treatment of crypto taxation, according to the ministry.

Public consultation will close on Oct. 22, with the ministry aiming for a parliamentary vote in the first week of November.

Several European countries have already developed digital asset taxation rules. Austria introduced a 27.5% tax on cryptocurrency gains in March 2022. France introduced a 30% flat tax on individual crypto capital gains in December 2018.

In September, the German Federal Ministry of Finance reportedly issued a draft proposal to subject cryptocurrency trading profits to the standard 25% flat-rate tax starting in 2028. Under current law, individuals’ gains from selling crypto assets held for more than 12 months are generally tax-free.

Related: Crypto adoption blooming in Germany, while UK is falling ‘behind,’ says CoinShares researcher

EU rules expand crypto tax reporting

Greece is among the European Union countries required to implement the bloc’s eighth amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8), a tax transparency directive that extends automatic information sharing between national authorities to crypto transactions.

The directive requires crypto service providers to collect transaction data on EU users from Jan. 1, 2026. Providers will report that information to national authorities, which must complete their first cross-border exchanges covering 2026 activity by Sept. 30, 2027.

DAC8’s crypto reporting requirements are based on the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). Greece joined a multinational commitment in November 2023 to implement CARF and begin information exchanges by 2027.