Inheritance and Gifting Property in Greece

Values below are read from the current Greece Country Passport. Under-review fields remain visibly pending and are never presented as confirmed.

Yes. Greek inheritance tax applies to Greek-located property whether the deceased or heir is resident in Greece or abroad. AADE uses Category A (spouse/civil partner, children, grandchildren and parents), Category B (wider specified family) and Category C (other relatives or unrelated beneficiaries), with different bands and exemptions.

Returns are normally due within 9 months where the deceased died in Greece and within 1 year where the deceased died abroad or the heir/legatee lived abroad, subject to current AADE procedure.

AADE provides €400,000 per beneficiary for qualifying surviving spouses, registered civil partners and minor children. A spouse or civil partner generally must satisfy the five-year relationship-duration condition for this particular exemption.

This is not a universal “family inheritance is tax-free up to €400,000” rule; adult children do not automatically receive it merely because they are Category A.

The reform replaced the Fifth Book of the Greek Civil Code and changed intestate succession, spouse rights, reserved shares, estate obligations, inheritance agreements and co-heir relations. The current domestic explanation is conditional on Greek law applying and on the date-of-death transition.

Pre-reform versions end on 15 September 2026; current versions begin on 16 September 2026. History is not overwritten.

Where Greek law applies under the post-16-September-2026 domestic intestacy rules: with one child the spouse receives one-third; with two or more children one-quarter; alongside second-class relatives one-half; and without first- or second-class relatives the spouse can inherit the whole estate.

These are intestate shares, not tax percentages or universal cross-border rules. A will or another applicable national law can change the analysis.

Qualifying descendants, parents and surviving spouses who would otherwise be intestate heirs can have a reserved-share claim. The core post-2026 structure is generally a monetary claim equal to 50% of the value of the intestate share; a court can order satisfaction in kind where justified.

Lifetime transfers can affect the calculation, including gifts to a reserved-share beneficiary and certain gifts during the five years before death, subject to statutory exceptions and valuation rules.

Greek property does not automatically mean Greek succession law. Under EU Succession Regulation 650/2012, the general rule is the deceased's habitual residence at death; a person can generally choose the law of a state whose nationality they possess, subject to the Regulation. Greek inheritance tax on Greek property is a separate tax-jurisdiction question.

Potentially, subject to applicable law, formal validity, terms, later dispositions, public policy and Greek estate procedure. Greece's digital Will Registry supports searches for wills deposited with notaries after 1 November 2025, but not every foreign will appears there.

OwnASea does not say that any foreign will automatically controls Greek property.

Law 5303/2026 introduced succession-agreement mechanisms, including agreements connected with succession and advance renunciation of future inheritance rights. Relevant agreements can be concluded from 16 September 2026, subject to statutory form and circumstances.

The ordinary renunciation deadline is generally 4 months; it becomes 1 year where the deceased's last residence was abroad or the heir was residing abroad when the period began. For testamentary succession, the period does not start before publication of the disposition.

Acceptance subject to inventory and estate-liability mechanisms matter because an estate can include mortgages, tax debts, loans and claims as well as valuable property.

Do not say “probate always required”. The safe Passport wording is: succession and registration procedure required; court/notarial involvement depends on the estate and procedure. Relevant mechanisms include will publication, acceptance, renunciation, certificates, notarial inheritance acceptance, tax return and Cadastre registration.

AADE's myPROPERTY supports inheritance-tax returns linked to a notarial acceptance of inheritance of real property. Becoming an heir is not the same as the Hellenic Cadastre automatically displaying the new ownership structure; tax, notarial and registration steps remain separate.

Generally, yes. Greek real property can pass to non-resident heirs and remains within Greek inheritance-tax scope; residence in Greece is not a universal condition.

Frontier-area land remains conditional until current primary law resolves the interaction between succession and Article 25/26 acquisition restrictions. Do not extrapolate purchase approval rules to inheritance.

Yes. Gifts and parental provisions have separate relationship, asset, value, payment-method and exemption rules.

For qualifying Category A gifts and parental provisions, current AADE rules provide an €800,000 tax-free amount, followed by 10% above the threshold under the applicable regime. Category A includes spouse/civil partner, children, grandchildren and parents; monetary transfers must satisfy the applicable financial-institution condition.

€800,000 is not the €400,000 inheritance exemption. A gift is inter vivos; inheritance occurs because of death. Gift tax is not universally 0%.

Adult child inherits: Category A status does not automatically apply the €400,000 spouse/civil-partner/minor-child exemption. Parent gifts €600,000: a qualifying Category A parental provision can fall below the €800,000 threshold, subject to statutory conditions. Spouse and two children: if Greek domestic intestacy applies after 16 September 2026, the spouse's share is one-quarter; a valid choice of another national law can change the result.

• Inheritance tax depends on relationship, net value and exemptions.
• Law 5303/2026 generally applies to deaths from 16 September 2026; old versions remain historical.
• €400,000 inheritance relief is conditional and different from the €800,000 Category A gift regime.
• Spouse shares and reserved-share claims are domestic-law rules, not universal cross-border percentages.
• Regulation 650/2012 can make habitual residence or nationality-law choice decisive.
• Renunciation is generally four months, extended to one year in specified cross-border circumstances.
• Succession procedure and Cadastre registration are separate from the fact of becoming an heir.
• Foreign heirs can inherit; frontier-land interaction remains under review.

Use the Greece Country Passport, Buying Property, Property Taxes, Residency and Selling Property guides for adjacent rules.

General information: Cross-border succession can depend on date of death, habitual residence, nationality, choice of law, family structure, will, relationship, liabilities and property status. Verify significant decisions with the appropriate official authority or professional adviser.