Greece’s parliament has approved a tax framework that sets a 10% rate on individuals’ cryptocurrency capital gains and expressly excludes exchanges of one crypto asset for another from the gains provision’s definition of a transfer.

The parliamentary record lists the bill as passed on November 5. Its scope reaches beyond sales for cash, covering payments for goods and services, investment-income classification and a route for declaring earlier crypto income.

Related reporting: FCA Draws Licensing Line for Crypto Apps That Choose Trade Routes

A €500 threshold, with a separate rule for swaps

Under the passed text, annual net gains of up to €500 are exempt. The provision is framed as a threshold for the total net gain, rather than a deduction of the first €500 from every investor’s taxable profits. Qualifying annual losses above €500 can be carried forward for five years against future crypto gains.

The annotated text adopted by parliament also adds an explicit exclusion for crypto-to-crypto exchanges. That change is relevant because the legislature’s Scientific Service report had identified a possible conflict between the earlier wording and the stated intention to leave those swaps outside capital-gains taxation.

Selling crypto for money or using it to obtain goods or services remains within the transfer definition. The distinction concerns this particular gains provision; it should not be read as a blanket exemption from every reporting or tax obligation involving digital assets.

Income and past declarations receive separate treatment

The bill brings returns from crypto lending, decentralized liquidity or yield mechanisms and transaction-validation staking into the definition of interest income. CoinDesk’s November 6 reporting identifies the applicable interest-income rate as 15%, distinct from the 10% capital-gains rate.

Article 49 provides a 12-month window, measured from commencement, to declare qualifying earlier crypto income without the specified late-declaration fines and interest. The text calls for payment within 60 days of filing. Investors will need to distinguish capital gains from income-producing activity when assessing which provisions apply.

The start date requires care

The commencement clause generally ties the law’s effect to publication in the Government Gazette, subject to listed exceptions. It specifically assigns January 1, 2027 to articles 51–53 concerning inheritance and gift taxation. That date should not be applied automatically to every crypto provision.

This report confirms parliamentary passage, not a verified Gazette publication date. The final published law and implementation decisions will be important for filing details. For holders, the immediate preparation is accurate transaction records, including acquisition costs, euro values and the distinction between trades and earned income. Individual tax treatment should be checked against the published rules and professional advice.

Prepared with AI assistance. The lead image is an AI-generated conceptual illustration, not a photograph of an actual event.