The Ministry of Finance of Greece has prepared a new bill, which is designed to ease the tax burden for individuals and legal entities. By the end of the month, the document will be submitted to Parliament for consideration. It provides for a 30% reduction in the ENFIA * real estate tax from 2021.

Changes in the charging system will be gradual. First, the reduction will be 20%, and in a year, in 2021, the tax burden will decrease by another 10%.

Implications for the state budget

According to preliminary calculations, in 2020, due to innovations, the state budget will lose about € 565 million. In a year, losses will increase by another € 285 million. With the bill, legal entities and individuals who in recent years have paid € 800 for every 12 months of using real estate will now be able to contribute only € 640 to the treasury. And since 2021, even less – € 576.

The bill states that the owners of a large number of objects or real estate of a huge area will receive a discount of € 500 next year. Each year they paid € 2,500 at ENFIA. In 2021, the amount of tax for them will be reduced by 10%.

When the calculation is made

Property tax this year is calculated in August. After this, notifications of new payments will be received by all property owners in Greece. The amount can be paid for 5 months: the first – by the end of September, and the last - no later than the end of January 2020. 

* Individuals and companies that own any property in Greece must pay a flat ENFIA tax. The calculation is made depending on the market price of the property, its location, number of floors, the age of the building and the state of the facade. Legal entities additionally pay 0.55% of the value of all real estate objects that are in Greece and are on their balance sheets.