Company Formation in Greece

You set up a company in Greece by registering an IKE (private company) or an AE (société anonyme) with the General Commercial Registry (GEMI), usually online through the one-stop shop. It suits real estate, shipping, Greek market entry and families relocating under the non-dom regime. It rarely suits founders looking for a low-tax holding company.

Key points

• Most founders use an IKE, which can be formed with €1 of capital online; an AE needs €25,000 fully paid and suits larger or investor-backed businesses.

• Greek corporate tax is 22% in 2026, with 5% withholding on dividends, and a participation exemption for holdings of at least 10% held for 24 months.

• The personal regimes are the bigger draw: a €100,000 flat tax on foreign income (Article 5A), 7% for foreign pensioners (5B) and a 50% income exemption for relocating workers (5C).

• The India–Greece agreement dates from 1965 and is much narrower than a modern treaty, so dividends and services fees need checking case by case.

• Banking, Greek tax numbers for every owner and director, and real local management decide how smoothly a Greek company runs.

Why do founders and groups set up a company in Greece?

Founders and groups set up in Greece to own Greek real estate, run shipping businesses, serve Greek and South-East European customers, or give a relocating family an operating base. Tax is usually the second reason, and more often personal tax than corporate tax.

Greece sits in our guide to 24 jurisdictions, Go Global with Greenwolf, as a residence-led jurisdiction. A typical client is an Indian or British family moving under the non-dom regime or Golden Visa and needing a company to hold property or run a local business.

Greece is in the EU and the eurozone, has a large shipping cluster and costs below Western Europe. Foreign owners can hold 100% of a Greek company with no local shareholder.

It is a poor fit if you want a low-tax holding company for Indian or global subsidiaries, a vehicle you can bank without local presence, or light compliance. Greek bookkeeping is digital and detailed.

Which company types can you register in Greece?

The two vehicles that matter for most founders are the IKE and the AE. Partnerships (OE and EE) exist but expose at least one partner to unlimited liability, and a branch of a foreign company is an option for groups that want to test the market.

The IKE (Law 4072/2012) is now the default choice; the AE (Law 4548/2018) is still what institutional investors and some lenders expect.

What is the Greece corporate tax rate in 2026?

The corporate income tax rate in Greece is 22% for 2026, according to PwC's Greece corporate tax summary (reviewed September 2026). Qualifying shipowners and ship managers use tonnage tax instead.

Companies also prepay 80% of the current year's tax towards the next year, halved for new companies in their first three years.

Withholding taxes. Greece withholds 5% on dividends, 15% on interest and 20% on royalties paid to non-residents, per PwC's withholding tax table. Dividends to qualifying EU parent companies can be exempt under the Parent-Subsidiary Directive.

Participation exemption. Dividends and gains on subsidiaries held at 10% or more for 24 months are exempt, with extra conditions for non-EU subsidiaries and an anti-abuse test, per PwC's income determination page. It works, but Greece is not built as a holding hub.

Other rules. There is no group consolidation, net interest is deductible up to 30% of EBITDA (€3 million safe harbour), and Greece has its own transfer pricing and CFC rules.

Treaties and the MLI. Greece has ratified the OECD Multilateral Instrument, in force for Greece from 1 July 2021 according to the OECD list of MLI signatories and parties. Where both partners list a treaty, a principal purpose test applies, as explained in our note on the principal purpose test before going global.

The UK–Greece convention dates from 1953 and is listed by the UK under the MLI. Greek dividends to the UK bear the 5% domestic rate; interest and royalties can be paid free of Greek withholding.

Minimum tax for large groups. Law 5100/2024 introduced a domestic top-up tax and income inclusion rule from fiscal years starting 31 December 2023, for groups with revenue of €750 million or more; see our explainer on the GloBE 15% minimum tax.

How do you set up a company in Greece, step by step?

An IKE can be registered in a day, but a foreign-owned company realistically needs four to eight weeks including tax numbers and banking.

1. Decide the vehicle and the plan. IKE or AE, who owns and manages it, and what it will do in Greece.

2. Obtain Greek tax numbers (AFM). Every foreign shareholder and director needs one, usually through a tax representative; allow one to three weeks.

3. Prepare the documents. Standard articles suit an IKE; an AE needs a notarial deed. Foreign corporate shareholders need apostilled, translated constitutional documents.

4. Register with GEMI. An IKE can be formed through the electronic one-stop shop on the Greek Business Portal; an AE is usually registered through a notary.

5. Pay in capital and open a bank account. For an AE, the €25,000 must be paid within the statutory period; for an IKE, the account is mainly operational.

6. Set up accounting. Appoint a Greek accountant, connect to the myDATA platform, register for VAT and, if hiring, with e-EFKA.

Most delays come from steps 2 and 5, not the registry.

How much does it cost to open a company in Greece?

Opening a Greek IKE typically costs €1,500 to €4,000 in professional fees for a foreign owner, plus registry charges; an AE costs more. Running a small active company typically costs €4,000 to €15,000 a year. All figures are indicative.

How hard is it to open a Greek business bank account?

Opening a Greek corporate account is achievable but slower for non-resident owners, often two to six weeks, and banks want a credible link to Greece.

Expect requests for every owner's AFM and passport, source of funds and wealth, a group chart down to individuals, a business plan with Greek activity and a meeting with a director. Indian parents are often asked for ODI filings and accounts.

Multi-jurisdiction ownership chains, nominees and companies with no Greek staff are the usual pain points. As we explain in why banks challenge group structures before tax authorities do, the bank's view is often the first real test of a structure.

What substance does a Greek company need?

A Greek company needs management and activity in Greece that match what it claims to do: people, premises and decisions for an operating business, and a local administrator and proper leases for a property company.

The bigger risk sits at home: a Greek company run entirely from Mumbai or London can be treated as resident there. For Indian owners, read our guide to place of effective management (POEM); for the wider picture, our piece on economic substance after 2022 explains why empty entities fail.

UK companies that own a Greek subsidiary also need to consider the UK controlled foreign company rules covered in our CFC guide. At a 22% headline rate, a trading Greek company will often fall within the UK's lower-level-of-tax exemption, but passive income and artificial profit diversion still need checking.

How do the Greek non-dom regimes and Golden Visa connect to a company?

These personal regimes often drive the decision to form a company, but the company still has to stand on its own commercially.

The 5A €500,000 investment can be made through a Greek company, for example an IKE that owns and lets property long term. The Golden Visa thresholds reflect Law 5100/2024 and the procedural changes of Law 5275/2026; the official overview is on the Ministry of Migration's Golden Visa page.

A Golden Visa gives the right to live in Greece, not to work there as an employee. Holders can generally own a Greek company and sit on its board, but a founder employed by the company needs a permit that allows work.

Our article on how founder behaviour quietly shifts tax residency explains why days, family and decisions matter more than a residence card.

How should an Indian resident fund and own a Greek company?

An Indian company invests under the Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) route; a resident individual uses the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), within its USD 250,000 annual limit. Our guide to funding an overseas company through ODI or LRS compares the two, and our explainer on India's ODI rules covers the filings.

Under LRS, a resident individual can generally invest only in an operating company without step-down subsidiaries, and buying Greek property personally is a separate LRS transaction.

The India–Greece agreement. It was signed on 11 February 1965 and entered into force in 1967. It is a short, older-style agreement: PwC's table shows no reduced treaty rates, so Greek domestic withholding applies (5% on dividends), and there is no separate article on fees for technical services.

Greece lists the agreement under the MLI.

Indian tax on Greek dividends. Dividends from a Greek company are generally taxed in India at the recipient's normal rates under the Income-tax Act 2025, with credit for the 5% Greek withholding. The 1965 agreement says dividends may be taxed "only" in the source country, so review this before the first distribution. India has no CFC regime, so POEM is the main home-country risk.

For UK owners. UK companies generally receive Greek dividends exempt from corporation tax. Individuals moving to Greece must break UK residence under the statutory residence test; the UK's own non-dom regime ended on 6 April 2025.

What are the ongoing compliance requirements for a Greek company?

A Greek company keeps digital books, reports through myDATA, files an annual tax return and publishes accounts with GEMI.

• Corporate tax return: due by the end of the sixth month after the year end.

• Financial statements: filed with GEMI; a statutory audit applies to medium and large entities.

• myDATA and e-invoicing: transactions are reported to AADE, and B2B e-invoicing is being phased in.

• VAT: standard rate 24%, with periodic returns.

• Beneficial ownership: owners are recorded in the Central Register of Beneficial Owners and updated on change and annually.

• Payroll and transfer pricing: monthly e-EFKA and withholding filings; transfer pricing documentation above thresholds.

Greece vs Italy vs Cyprus: which one fits?

Greece, Italy and Cyprus solve different problems: a market, a holding company or a home. Our sister guide on company formation in Italy covers Greece's closest comparison in depth, and our guide to company formation in Cyprus covers the holding alternative.

The Greenwolf view

Greece works best when the family or the business genuinely moves there. A company that owns Greek property, runs a Greek team or serves Greek customers is easy to defend; a Greek IKE set up only to sit between an Indian business and the rest of the world is not, and banks will say so before the tax authority does.

Settle the personal plan first (regime, permit, where each family member will be resident), then design the company around it. Companies formed in a hurry for a Golden Visa purchase often turn out to be the wrong owner or the wrong employer.

Treat the India–Greece agreement as a weak shield: the commercial case and evidence of where decisions are made carry more weight. Substance over postcode, every time.

Setting up in Greece with Greenwolf

If you are weighing a Greek company alongside a relocation, a property investment or Greek market entry, speak with a Greenwolf strategist. We map the personal and corporate plan together, handle the formation and Indian ODI or LRS filings, and keep the company compliant once it is running.

This article is general information, not advice for a specific case.