Overdue tax debts owed to the Greek state stood at €114.52 billion in March 2026, slightly down by 0.02 percent from the previous month, according to official data, while the number of registered debtors surged sharply.
The number of taxpayers with overdue obligations jumped 30.31 percent in a single month in March from February. On an annual basis, the figure rose 3.99 percent from 4,613,523 recorded in March 2025.
Of the total stock of arrears, €35.26 billion was classified as uncollectable, up 0.48 percent on the month, while the active overdue balance — the portion considered recoverable — fell marginally to €79.25 billion from €79.44 billion in February, a decline of 0.24 percent.
New Arrears Rise in First Quarter
Newly accumulated overdue debt reached €888 million in March, a 0.79 percent increase on the same month a year earlier, with VAT, income tax, and other direct taxes accounting for 96.21 percent of the total. New VAT arrears rose 10.14 percent to €418 million. Sharp increases were also recorded in bookkeeping violation penalties, up 98.67 percent, non-tax penalties, up 120.9 percent, and stamp duties and fees, up 92.72 percent.
Over the full first quarter, newly accumulated overdue debt rose 6.41 percent year-on-year to €3.023 billion, compared with €2.841 billion in the same period of 2025.
Collections Improve
Collections against existing arrears showed a more encouraging trend. Recoveries in March reached €335.8 million, up 7.69 percent year-on-year, while total first-quarter collections from old arrears climbed 7.43 percent to €1.062 billion from €988.3 million a year earlier.
Total collections against all overdue obligations — both old and new — amounted to €1.78 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a 9.67 percent increase from €1.62 billion in the same period of 2025. March alone saw collections of €652 million, up 8.13 percent year-on-year.
