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At one end of Greece’s income pyramid are more than half of all taxpayers — or, more precisely, 4.769 million individuals — who report annual incomes of up to €10,000.

At the other end are just 1,233 people reporting incomes of €900,000 or more. Between these two extremes are millions of employees, pensioners, business owners, farmers and individuals earning income from assets and investments, who saw their incomes rise but also faced a larger tax bill.

For more than 1.2 million taxpayers, the tax authorities calculated incomes higher than those they had declared, triggering Greece’s system of imputed living expenses, known as tekmiria.

An analysis of tax returns filed in 2025 for the 2024 tax year shows that declared incomes jumped by almost €10 billion, reaching €116 billion, compared with €106.07 billion the previous year.

The 9.3% increase in declared income was accompanied by a rise in taxes, with the total tax bill reaching €13.87 billion, up from €12.27 billion in 2024.

The additional burden was particularly significant for 1.2 million households caught by the imputed income rules, which added a combined €3.88 billion to their taxable income.

A Breakdown of Tax Returns

An analysis by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), Greece’s tax administration, of the 6,896,253 tax returns filed in 2025 reveals the following:

  1. Total income and sources: Total income declared by individuals reached €115.93 billion, while taxable income stood at €119.89 billion. The largest share came from employment, amounting to €82.93 billion. Income from business activity totaled €10.99 billion, while income from real estate reached €9.28 billion. Income from dividends, interest, royalties and capital gains from asset transfers amounted to €10.8 billion. Agricultural activities generated declared income of €1.92 billion.
  2. The tax bill: Total tax liabilities reached €13.87 billion. Average declared income per tax return stood at €16,810, while the average assessed tax was €2,011.

The Lowest Earners and the Income Elite

  1. The income gap: More than half of taxpayers — specifically, 4,769,821 people, or 52.1% of the total 9,153,357 individuals — reported individual taxable income of no more than €10,000. Of these, 1,030,763 reported zero income, while 348,917 declared annual income of less than €1,000.

The next income bracket, between €10,000 and €20,000, included 2,958,581 taxpayers. Another 893,166 reported incomes between €20,000 and €30,000, while 372,219 declared between €30,000 and €50,000.

As income levels rise, the number of taxpayers steadily declines. A total of 159,570 people reported incomes above €50,000, while just 30,085 had taxable income exceeding €100,000.

The group of high earners is even smaller, with 2,191 taxpayers reporting annual income of €500,000 or more. At the very top of the pyramid are just 1,233 taxpayers with annual incomes of at least €900,000.

The imputed income trap

  1. Higher incomes assessed by the tax authorities: In more than one out of every six tax returns, the income calculated by the tax authorities was higher than the amount declared by the taxpayer.

A total of 1,209,091 taxpayers were affected by the imputed living expenses system, compared with 1,288,038 the previous year. As a result, approximately €3.88 billion was added to the taxable income base.

Those affected included 433,697 employees, 350,004 pensioners, 296,284 individuals earning income from assets and investments, 69,814 self-employed professionals and 59,292 farmers.

Those earning income from assets and investments faced the largest upward adjustment, amounting to €1.415 billion. Employees followed with €1.045 billion, while pensioners saw their taxable income increased by €962.08 million.

For self-employed professionals, the additional taxable income amounted to €243.38 million, while for farmers it reached €215.94 million. These amounts represent additional income assessed through the imputed expense system, not additional tax of the same amount.

  1. Households and children: Taxpayers without a spouse or dependent children make up the largest category, with approximately 4.31 million individuals reporting combined income of €45.19 billion.

Couples without children number 1,334,439, with income totaling approximately €33.87 billion. Tax returns involving one child account for 618,122 taxpayers, with combined income of €16.6 billion, while 512,261 taxpayers with two children reported a total of €16.54 billion.

A further 100,732 taxpayers with three children reported combined income of €3.21 billion.

Larger families account for a significantly smaller share of the overall tax picture. Tax returns involving four or more children totaled 20,918. Of these, 16,484 concerned families with four children, 2,997 families with five children and 1,437 families with six or more children.

The Tax Burden

  1. Employees bear the largest tax burden: Employees carry the heaviest tax burden overall. A total of 2,722,126 employees declared income of €48.12 billion and were charged €5.67 billion in taxes.

The 2,078,241 pensioners reported income of €28.36 billion and faced a tax bill of €2.49 billion.

Income exclusively from business activity declared by 746,113 taxpayers amounted to €10.99 billion. When income from other sources is also included, their total income reached €22.65 billion. Their combined tax bill, including the advance payment of tax, amounted to €4.47 billion.

Meanwhile, 267,084 farmers declared income of €4.06 billion and were charged €373.52 million in taxes.

Individuals earning income from assets and investments reported a combined €12.75 billion in income and paid €1.6 billion in taxes.