How Greece is changing taxes and inheritance for foreigners in 2026

Greece entered 2026 with a set of legal and tax changes affecting property ownership that are, taken together, the most substantive regulatory update the country's real estate sector has seen in several years. For foreign buyers who own apartments on Halkidiki, in Corfu, or in Attica, the changes carry practical consequences across three separate areas: rental income collection, annual property taxes, and inheritance planning.

Since January 1, all residential rental payments in Greece must be processed through the banking system. Cash rent payments are no longer legally valid for tax purposes. Landlords who previously collected cash from tenants — a common practice in parts of the country — must now route income through verified bank transfers. For foreign owners renting through management agencies, the change imposes administrative requirements on the collection chain. For owners who rent directly, it creates an audit trail that Greece's tax authority, the AADE, can cross-reference against declared rental income. The change is partly driven by tax compliance concerns and partly by the EU's ongoing push to reduce informal cash transactions across Southern Europe.

On property taxation, the Greek government confirmed that ENFIA — the annual property ownership tax — will be reduced by 50 percent for primary residences in villages with fewer than 1,500 inhabitants in 2026, with full abolition scheduled for 2027. This is unlikely to affect most foreign buyers, whose purchases tend to be in tourist areas and coastal communities rather than rural villages with small populations. However, the government also confirmed that objective property values — the administrative valuations used to calculate ENFIA and transfer taxes — will remain unchanged until at least 2027. In a market where actual transaction prices have risen considerably faster than these administrative benchmarks, the freeze provides buyers and owners with a degree of predictability in holding costs.

The most structurally significant change is coming in September 2026. Greece will introduce its most comprehensive reform of inheritance law since 1946, removing personal liability for heirs with respect to debts of the deceased. Under the current system, accepting an inheritance — including property — can expose an heir to the debts of the estate. The reform limits creditor claims to the estate itself, not the heir's own assets. For foreign property owners, particularly those from countries where inheritance rules differ significantly from Greece's current Sharia-influenced framework for Muslim heirs or civil law defaults for others, the reform also streamlines the formal publication of wills — reducing processing time from months to three to seven days through the new digital platform diathikes.gr.

For buyers considering Greek property as a long-term asset to pass to family members, the September reform removes one of the most frequently cited legal risks associated with property ownership in the country.

Current listings in Greece — Halkidiki, Corfu, mainland coast: discount-house.com/greece