Greece has proposed a 10% capital gains tax on cryptocurrency profits, with an annual exemption of €500, under draft legislation scheduled to reach parliament in November.
Summary
- Greece has proposed a 10% capital gains tax on cryptocurrency profits, with annual gains of up to €500 exempt from the proposed levy.
- The draft legislation has been released for public consultation and is expected to reach the Greek parliament in November.
- An earlier proposal considered a 15% tax rate, but the latest draft has lowered the proposed rate while retaining the annual exemption.
- Greek officials have not estimated potential tax revenue because most domestic cryptocurrency investors use trading platforms based outside the country.
- The proposal comes as EU cryptocurrency reporting rules under DAC8 take effect, although member states continue to set their own tax rates.
According to the draft bill released for public consultation late Thursday, the proposed tax would apply to gains from cryptocurrency investments exceeding the annual exemption. Greece currently has no comprehensive legal framework specifically governing the taxation of cryptocurrency profits.
The government has not published an estimate of how much revenue the proposed measure could generate, partly because many Greek cryptocurrency investors trade through platforms based outside the country.
Greece crypto tax proposal sets 10% rate on investment gains
Under the proposed legislation, investors earning up to €500 in annual cryptocurrency capital gains would be exempt from the new tax. Profits exceeding the exemption would fall within the proposed 10% tax regime, although the available details do not establish precisely how the threshold would be applied.
The measure remains a draft and has not become law. Public consultation will precede its planned submission to the Greek parliament in November, where lawmakers will consider the proposed provisions.
Greece has previously operated without a dedicated, comprehensive system for taxing cryptocurrency gains, leaving the treatment of digital asset investments without the same specific rules applied to many conventional financial assets.
The proposed legislation would establish a stated tax rate and an annual exemption for cryptocurrency capital gains. However, the supplied draft summary does not specify how losses would be deducted, whether transfers between wallets would be taxable, or how cryptocurrency transactions would be valued for tax purposes.
The latest draft follows an earlier proposal from Greece’s Finance Ministry that would have taxed cryptocurrency profits at a higher rate.
In June 2026, crypto.news previously reported that Greek authorities were preparing a 15% capital gains tax on cryptocurrency investments, with the first €500 in annual profits exempt.
The earlier plan was intended to bring digital assets into the country’s tax code through dedicated legislation. At the time, officials expected to introduce a bill in the following months, although the framework had not been finalized.
The newly described draft retains the €500 exemption but specifies a lower 10% rate. The available information does not explain why the proposed rate changed or whether other provisions from the earlier plan have been revised.
Greek officials have acknowledged difficulties in measuring domestic cryptocurrency activity because most investors use exchanges and trading platforms operating outside Greece.
As a result, authorities have not established a reliable estimate of the country’s cryptocurrency market or calculated expected government revenue from the proposed tax.
EU crypto tax reporting rules are already in effect
Greece’s proposal comes during the first reporting year of the European Union’s Directive on Administrative Cooperation, known as DAC8, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
Under the EU crypto tax reporting rules, covered cryptocurrency service providers must collect information about customers and reportable transactions, including customer identities, tax identification numbers and certain transfers involving external wallets.
The framework covers cryptocurrency exchanges and other qualifying service providers serving EU residents. Reporting requirements extend to cryptocurrency transactions even when investors use platforms operating across national borders.
The first reporting period covers transactions conducted during 2026, with information scheduled to be exchanged among participating tax authorities in 2027.
DAC8 does not establish a common cryptocurrency capital gains tax rate across the European Union. Member states retain responsibility for deciding which cryptocurrency transactions are taxable and how much tax investors must pay.
European countries currently apply different approaches to cryptocurrency taxation, with rates cited in the Greek proposal ranging from 8% to 30%, generally on capital gains.
The reporting requirements have already faced legal challenges elsewhere in Europe.
In September, France’s Council of State rejected an emergency request from cryptocurrency companies Bull Bitcoin and Paymium to suspend the country’s DAC8 implementing decree.
The companies raised concerns about the security implications of collecting and centralizing cryptocurrency customer information. The court found insufficient urgency to suspend the measure, while a separate challenge seeking to annul the decree remained pending.
France’s reporting obligations continued despite the emergency ruling, with service providers required to collect information for the 2026 calendar year.
European countries maintain different crypto reporting requirements
Although DAC8 establishes common information exchange requirements, national governments continue to determine the tax treatment and declaration obligations for cryptocurrency holdings.
In September, Spain’s tax authorities clarified the treatment of self custody wallets, confirming that cryptocurrencies held directly by investors do not fall under Form 721 when the investors retain control of their private keys.
The clarification concerned Spain’s reporting requirements for qualifying cryptocurrency holdings abroad.
Assets held through foreign custodians can still be subject to Form 721 reporting when the relevant legal conditions are met.
Spanish authorities distinguished between cryptocurrency controlled directly by its owner and assets held through third parties responsible for safeguarding private keys.
However, transfers involving self custody wallets can still generate records under DAC8 when investors use regulated cryptocurrency service providers.
The United Kingdom has separately recorded substantial declared cryptocurrency gains as it prepares to receive more information under international reporting arrangements.
According to HM Revenue and Customs figures, 17,600 taxpayers reported £1.38 billion in taxable cryptocurrency gains during the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
Among them, 240 investors declared cryptocurrency capital gains exceeding £1 million each, accounting for £717 million of the reported total.
British authorities are expected to begin receiving cryptocurrency customer information under international reporting rules in 2027.
Greece has not provided comparable estimates of domestic cryptocurrency investment gains or expected collections under its proposed tax.
The Greek draft remains subject to public consultation before its planned submission to parliament in November.
