Trusts and Greek Real Estate: How to Avoid the 15% Special Real Estate Tax

February 22th, 2026

If you hold Greek property through a corporate structure that includes a trust, you face a 15% annual tax on the property’s value – unless you qualify for an exemption. Since June 2023, the path to that exemption has become significantly clearer for trust structures. Here’s what you need to know.

The Special Real Estate Tax (SRET) is imposed under Article 15 of Law 3091/2002 (as amended by Law 3842/2010) on all legal persons and legal entities that hold ownership or usufruct rights over real estate in Greece. The rate is 15% of the property’s objective tax value, assessed annually as of 1 January.

This is not a property tax in the conventional sense – it’s an anti-avoidance measure. It was introduced to combat the use of opaque offshore structures to hold Greek real estate anonymously, shielding the ultimate owners from tax scrutiny. The 15% rate is deliberately punitive: it’s designed to make non-disclosure economically unviable.

The tax applies to the entity holding the property right, regardless of where that entity is established. A trust, recognised under Article 2(d) of the Income Tax Code (Law 4172/2013) as a “legal entity” for Greek tax purposes, falls squarely within the scope of SRET.

THE EXEMPTION: DISCLOSURE GETS YOU OUT

The same law that imposes the 15% tax provides a series of exemptions for entities that fully disclose their ownership chain up to the level of identifiable natural persons (ultimate beneficial owners). The logic is simple: SRET targets anonymity, so transparency earns exemption.

To qualify, the entity must satisfy three core conditions:

1. No non-cooperative jurisdiction in the chain. Every entity in the ownership structure – from the property-holding company through to the ultimate beneficial owner – must be established in an EU member state or in a third country that is not on Greece’s list of non-cooperative states (as defined in Article 65(4) of Law 4172/2013). If any link in the chain is established in a non-cooperative jurisdiction, the exemption is unavailable.
2. Ultimate beneficial owners must be identified. The natural persons who are the final beneficial owners must be named and documented. For companies, this means tracing registered shares to natural persons. For trusts, it means identifying the beneficiaries.
3. UBOs must have a Greek tax identification number (AFM). Each identified natural person must hold a Greek TIN before the annual filing deadline – specifically, by 1 January of the tax year.

An additional requirement applies where entities in the chain are established outside the EU: there must be an administrative assistance agreement in force between Greece and the country of establishment. The Council of State confirmed in Decision 1220/2024 that this requirement is an essential precondition for exemption – even where the UBOs are fully disclosed, the absence of an administrative assistance agreement is fatal to the exemption claim.

THE TRUST-SPECIFIC DEVELOMENT: DECISION A. 1089/2023

For years, there was uncertainty about whether trusts could access the SRET disclosure exemption at all. The legislation was drafted with corporate ownership structures in mind – registered shares, shareholders’ registers, company certificates – and trusts, which separate legal ownership (trustee) from beneficial ownership (beneficiaries), didn’t fit neatly into the statutory framework.

Decision A. 1089/2023 of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), effective from 20 June 2023 and applicable from tax year 2024, resolved this. It amended the earlier Decision A. 1206/2020 to specify the documentation that trusts must maintain and produce to claim the SRET exemption.

The practical effect is that a trust sitting in the ownership chain of Greek real estate can now qualify for the exemption, provided it meets the same substantive conditions as any other entity: no non-cooperative jurisdictions, identified UBOs with Greek TINs, and – for non-EU trust jurisdictions – an applicable administrative assistance agreement.

2026 UPDATE: AADE DECISION A.1014/2026

In early 2026, the AADE issued Decision A.1014/2026, further clarifying SRET exemption eligibility. The key updates relevant to trust and corporate structures holding Greek real estate:

UBO register disclosure is now essential. Non-listed entities must disclose their natural-person beneficial owners in the national Beneficial Ownership Register maintained by AADE – a requirement that satisfies both SRET exemption and Greece’s AML framework under Law 4601/2019 (transposing the EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive). Failure to register or update UBO data invalidates exemption claims, regardless of whether the underlying information is otherwise available.
Income calculation rules are tightened. For the economic activity exemption (where business income must exceed real estate income), the decision clarifies that dividends, interest, and royalty income are excluded from the “gross business income” calculation. Mixed contracts – such as combined lease and facility management arrangements – must be unbundled to separate passive real estate income from active business income, using arm’s-length pricing principles.
Construction exemption timing is specified. For the exemption available to companies constructing premises for their own commercial, industrial, or tourism use, the seven-year deadline for commencing operations runs from the date of submission of the building permit application to the municipal authority — not the date of permit approval.

These clarifications reinforce the direction of travel: the AADE is increasingly strict about documentation and increasingly detailed in specifying what qualifies.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DOCUMENT

The documentation requirements under Decision A. 1206/2020 (as amended by A. 1089/2023 and supplemented by A.1014/2026) must be maintained as of 1 January of each tax year and produced to the tax authorities on request. For trust structures, the key documents include:

– The trust deed or settlement agreement

– A certificate from a public authority in the jurisdiction of the trust showing the identity of the beneficial owners as of 1 January of the tax year
Where no such authority exists or no certificate is issued, a solemn declaration by the trustee identifying the beneficiaries, together with the trust’s constitutional documents and any instruments defining the beneficiaries

– Registration of UBO information in the Greek Beneficial Ownership Register maintained by AADE

– Evidence that each identified UBO holds a Greek TIN
For any corporate entities within the chain between the trust and the property-holding company: the standard corporate documentation (articles of association, share register, certificate of shareholders from the relevant public authority)

The Greek tax authorities apply these documentation requirements strictly. Incomplete or late documentation has been the basis for refused exemptions in multiple reported cases – including where the underlying UBO information was itself uncontested.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION

The constitutionality of SRET has been challenged on the grounds that a 15% annual tax on property value amounts to an irrebuttable presumption of tax evasion and effectively confiscates the asset over time. In Decision 795/2022, the Council of State referred this question to its seven-member composition, noting that the tax “affects the core of the assets” of liable entities and may conflict with constitutional protections of property and the principle of proportionality.

However, in Decision 1312/2023, the Council of State upheld SRET’s constitutionality, ruling that the tax does not exceed the legislature’s power to design the tax system and that its purpose – combating tax evasion through opaque offshore structures – serves a legitimate public interest. The administrative assistance agreement requirement was separately upheld in Decision 1220/2024. For practical purposes, the constitutional challenge is resolved: SRET stands.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR TRUST STRUCTURES

A trust in the ownership chain of Greek real estate does not, by itself, trigger the 15% SRET – provided the exemption conditions are met. Since 2023, the documentation pathway for trusts has been formally established. But the conditions are strict and the documentation requirements are applied literally.

If you hold or are planning to acquire Greek real estate through a trust structure, the critical steps are ensuring no entity in the chain is established in a non-cooperative jurisdiction, identifying and documenting all beneficiaries to the level of natural persons, registering UBO information in the Greek Beneficial Ownership Register maintained by AADE, obtaining Greek TINs for all UBOs before 1 January of the relevant tax year, confirming that an administrative assistance agreement exists between Greece and any non-EU trust jurisdiction, and maintaining the required documentation annually and being prepared to produce it on request.

Contact us if you need advice on structuring or documenting trust-held Greek real estate to avoid the 15% SRET. The exemption is available – but only if the compliance is rigorous.

Disclaimer
The content on this website is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It should not be applied to any particular legal matter or factual situation without consulting a qualified attorney. Kanellos & Associates makes no commitment to keep this information current and assumes no liability for any losses or damages arising from your reliance on the content provided herein.