Greece is an easy place to pay a contractor and a detailed one to engage one. Money moves in euros over SEPA with no currency controls. The contractor’s side is more regulated than in most of the EU: a flat monthly social contribution whatever the income, a minimum presumed income for the self-employed, every invoice registered in AADE’s myDATA platform, and two separate tests that treat a freelancer who works mostly for one client as closer to an employee.
Freelancer or IKE
| Form | Registration | Income tax | Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer (ελεύθερος επαγγελματίας) | Start-of-business declaration with AADE, online, no fee | 9%–44% scale on net profit | Flat e-EFKA category, €250.77–€675.87 plus €10 a month |
| Private company (IKE, ιδιωτική κεφαλαιουχική εταιρεία) | General Commercial Registry (GEMI), no minimum capital | 22% corporate tax, then 5% withholding on dividends | Varies with the partners’ role |
Sources: registration from mitos.gov.gr and, for the IKE under Law 4072/2012, karpouzislianou.gr (checked 2026-09-29); rates from PwC Tax Summaries (individual, corporate, withholding, reviewed 2026-09-08); contributions from e-efka.gov.gr (checked 2026-09-29).
The freelancer form is the default for a developer, designer or consultant. An IKE makes sense for a contractor who hires others or keeps profit in the business; a foreign client then contracts B2B with a company and collects a W-8BEN-E instead of a W-8BEN.
Income tax in 2026
From 2026 the scale for employment and business income is 9% up to €10,000, 20% to €20,000, 26% to €30,000, 34% to €40,000, 39% to €60,000 and 44% above (PwC Tax Summaries, reviewed 2026-09-08). Rates fall with the number of children and for young people: up to age 25 the first €20,000 is taxed at 0%, and from 26 to 30 the €10,000–€20,000 band is taxed at 9% (minfin.gov.gr, checked 2026-09-29). In the first three years of business activity the 9% rate on the first band is halved (taxlaw.gr, checked 2026-09-29).
A freelancer paid by a foreign client has no tax withheld, so they pay advance tax of 55% of the year’s income tax (50% in the first year) and file their return between 15 March and 15 July (PwC Tax Summaries, reviewed 2026-09-08).
e-EFKA contributions
Self-employed contributions are a flat monthly amount by category, chosen by the freelancer, not a percentage of income. For 2026 (e-efka.gov.gr, checked 2026-09-29):
| Category | Pension | Health | Total a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | €185.09 | €65.68 | €250.77 |
| 2nd | €222.12 | €78.81 | €300.93 |
| 3rd | €281.82 | €78.81 | €360.63 |
| 4th | €354.66 | €78.81 | €433.47 |
| 5th | €440.64 | €78.81 | €519.45 |
| 6th | €597.06 | €78.81 | €675.87 |
Every category adds €10 for unemployment insurance. First-time insured freelancers can use a special category during their first five years of insurance (eea.gr, checked 2026-09-29), costing €150.46 plus the €10 in 2026 (taxheaven.gr, checked 2026-09-29). Supplementary and lump-sum insurance are separate optional add-ons. A foreign client pays nothing into e-EFKA.
The minimum presumed income
Law 5073/2023 set a floor under self-employed business income from tax year 2023. The freelancer is presumed to earn at least as much as an employee on the minimum wage, raised by 10% steps for longer time in business. The presumption adds 10% of the business’s annual wage costs, up to €15,000, and 5% of turnover above the average for the activity, with the total capped at €50,000 (minfin.gov.gr; ey.com, checked 2026-09-29). The monthly minimum wage has been €920 gross since 1 April 2026 (bernitsaslaw.com, checked 2026-09-29).
The presumption is rebuttable: the taxpayer can show reduced activity for listed reasons, such as illness or seasonality, or ask for an audit to prove the books are accurate. It does not apply to people taxed as employees under the three-client rule below, and it is waived or reduced in cases including agricultural activity, 80% disability, new mothers and the first years of activity (same sources).
For a client, this matters mainly through pricing. A freelancer who invoices you little still pays tax on the presumed amount unless they rebut it.
Block invoices: when a freelancer is treated as dependent
Greeks call freelance work “μπλοκάκι” (little block), after the receipt books freelancers used to issue. Three separate rules apply to it.
Tax: the three-client, 75% rule. Under Article 12(2) of the Income Tax Code, income from written service contracts with no more than three clients, or where 75% of gross business income comes from one of them, is taxed as employment income. It applies when the freelancer has no commercial status and no business premises apart from their home. AADE’s guidance says clients abroad count, and that such freelancers pay no advance tax (ecopress.gr, checked 2026-09-29). The rule changes the freelancer’s tax, not your status.
Labour law: the nine-month presumption. A services agreement, “particularly” for piecework, telework or home working, is presumed to hide an employment contract when the work is provided personally, “exclusively or mainly” to the same employer for nine consecutive months (Law 2639/1998 as amended by Law 3846/2010, Article 1; hli.gov.gr, checked 2026-09-29). The Labour Inspectorate’s test for independence is initiative and freedom over the place, time and manner of work. A remote developer working only for you for a year fits the presumption’s description, and it is for the client to rebut it.
Social security: the two-client option. Under Article 39(9) of Law 4387/2016, a freelancer with at most two contracting parties may choose to be insured like an employee, with the client paying the employer’s share (e-efka.gov.gr, checked 2026-09-29). e-EFKA’s guidance does not address clients abroad; if a contractor raises it, get Greek advice before agreeing.
Multi-client, project-scoped work on the contractor’s own schedule and equipment is low-risk. Full-time, open-ended telework for you alone is where the three rules converge. See contractor misclassification and, for a foreign company, permanent establishment.
VAT and myDATA
The standard VAT rate is 24% (PwC Tax Summaries, reviewed 2026-09-08), with a small-business exemption up to €10,000 of annual turnover (European Commission, checked 2026-09-29). Services to a business are taxed where the customer is established (VAT Code, Article 14(2)(a)), so a foreign client receives an invoice without Greek VAT; for an EU business it says “Αντίστροφη επιβάρυνση” and the contractor files a recapitulative statement (taxheaven.gr, checked 2026-09-29).
Every invoice is transmitted to AADE’s myDATA electronic books and receives a 15-digit MARK (koumparas.gr, checked 2026-09-29). B2B e-invoicing became mandatory for larger businesses on 2 March 2026 (vatupdate.com, checked 2026-09-29) and for all remaining businesses on 1 October 2026, covering transactions within Greece and with non-EU countries, with a transition until 31 December 2026 (Joint Decision A.1128/2025; ertnews.gr, checked 2026-09-29). A US or UK client is therefore in scope; an EU client is not. The obligation sits with the Greek issuer.
Contract and IP
- A written services contract with the contractor’s tax number (ΑΦΜ), scope, deliverables, a rate in euros and payment terms, naming the business IBAN the contractor has declared to AADE.
- VAT details for EU clients: the EL VAT number and reverse-charge invoicing.
- Independence markers: the contractor’s own schedule, place of work and tools, and the right to work for others. These are the facts the nine-month presumption tests.
- IP transfer in writing. Under Law 2121/1993, a transfer of economic rights is void unless in writing (Article 14), moral rights cannot be transferred during the author’s life (Article 12), and a transfer with no stated duration is deemed limited to five years (Article 15(2)). Article 40’s automatic transfer of software rights applies to employees, not contractors (checked 2026-09-29). State that the transfer is for the full term of protection, worldwide, for all forms of exploitation, and cover pre-existing code.
Taxes and paperwork on the client’s side
A foreign client without a Greek establishment pays gross and withholds nothing. EU clients self-account for VAT under reverse charge and keep a VIES check of the contractor’s number. US payers collect a W-8BEN (W-8BEN-E from an IKE) and file no 1099: personal service income is sourced where the work is done (irs.gov, checked 2026-09-29). The US–Greece treaty was signed on 20 February 1950 and has applied since 1 January 1953. Its Article X covers a Greek resident working in the US only for stays of up to 183 days in the tax year, and only if they work under contract with a Greek resident or entity or earn no more than $10,000 (irs.gov, checked 2026-09-29). Keep the contract, each invoice with its MARK and proof of payment.
How to pay contractors in Greece
Most payments are euro transfers over SEPA, including SEPA Instant, to the business IBAN the contractor has declared to AADE. You can send them from your own bank, through a transfer service such as Wise, or through a payout platform. USD by SWIFT works, but the Greek bank converts it if it lands in a euro account. Rails, fees, what breaks and a ranked list of platforms are on our page how to pay contractors in Greece.
Contractor of Record in Greece
For freelancers with several clients and scoped projects, a direct services contract is usually enough. A Contractor of Record earns its fee when a freelancer works only for you, month after month, or when a team’s contracts, invoices and IP transfers have to stay consistent. 4dev acts as Contractor of Record — the contracting party for each contractor — which reduces reclassification risk. Other providers also sign with the contractor as the counterparty; read the liability clause in the COR contract, not the product name. Where the role is a job in substance, hire through an EOR instead. Compare providers in our COR rating.