Greece's Ministry of National Economy and Finance has published a draft bill proposing a 10% tax on individuals' cryptocurrency capital gains, with an exemption for annual gains of up to 500 euros ($559.95).

The proposal would allow taxpayers to voluntarily declare previously realized crypto gains without penalties within 12 months of the law's publication. It would also exempt crypto-to-crypto swaps from capital gains tax — meaning exchanging one digital asset for another would not, on its own, trigger a taxable gain — and apply a flat 10% rate to returns from staking, lending, or liquidity provision.

According to the ministry, the draft legislation is designed to fill a gap in Greece's existing framework for crypto taxation, giving individual taxpayers a single defined rate for realized gains and for returns generated through crypto-related activity. The public consultation will close on Oct. 22, with the ministry aiming for a parliamentary vote in the first week of November.

The move aligns Greece with a wider European trend toward formalized digital asset taxation, though at a lower headline rate than several of its peers. Austria introduced a 27.5% tax on cryptocurrency gains in March 2022, while France introduced a 30% flat tax on individual crypto capital gains in December 2018.

In September, the German Federal Ministry of Finance reportedly issued a draft proposal to subject cryptocurrency trading profits to the country's standard 25% flat-rate tax starting in 2028. Under current German law, individuals' gains from selling crypto assets held for more than 12 months are generally tax-free.

EU rules expand crypto tax reporting

Greece is among the European Union countries required to implement the bloc's eighth amendment to the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC8), a tax transparency directive that extends automatic information sharing between national authorities to crypto transactions.

The directive requires crypto service providers to collect transaction data on EU users from Jan. 1, 2026. Providers will report that information to national authorities, which must complete their first cross-border exchanges covering 2026 activity by Sept. 30, 2027. If parliament approves the bill in the targeted early-November vote, Greece's domestic rate would be in place before that reporting regime takes effect.

DAC8's crypto reporting requirements are based on the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). Greece joined a multinational commitment in November 2023 to implement CARF and begin information exchanges by 2027.