Living in Greece is an incredible experience for a number of reasons, including the friendly locals, the culture, history, architecture, climate, beaches and islands, not to mention easy access to the rest of Europe. As an American expatriate living in Greece though, what exactly do you need to know regarding filing U.S. expat (and Greek) taxes?

All U.S. citizens and green card holders who earn a minimum of around $10,000 (or just $400 for self-employed individuals) anywhere in the world are required to file a U.S. federal tax return and pay taxes to the IRS, regardless of where in the world they live or their income is generated. 

The good news is if you are paying income tax in Greece, there are various exclusions and exemptions available to prevent you paying tax on the same income to the IRS too.

U.S. taxes – what you need to know 

If you earn over U.S. $10,000 (or just $400 of self-employment income), wherever the income originates in the world you have to file IRS form 1040. While any U.S. taxes due are still due by April 15th, expats get an automatic filing extension until June 15th, which can be extended further on request until October 15th.

If you have overseas assets worth over U.S. $200,000 per person, excluding your home if it is owned in your own name, you also have to file form 8938 to declare them. 

If you had a total of at least U.S. $10,000 in one or more foreign bank and/or investment accounts at any time during the tax year, you also have to file FinCEN form 114, otherwise known as a Foreign Bank Account Report or FBAR.

If you pay income tax in Greece, there are several exemptions that allow you to pay less or no U.S. income tax on the same income to the IRS. The main one is the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, which lets you exclude the first around U.S. $100,000 of foreign earned income from U.S. tax if you can prove that you are a Greek resident, and the Foreign Tax Credit, which gives you a $1 tax credit for every dollar of tax you’ve paid in Greece. These exemptions can be combined if necessary. Remember though that even if you don’t owe any tax to the IRS, if your income is over U.S. $10,000 (or $400 if you’re self-employed) you still have to file a federal return. 

The U.S. and Greek governments share taxpayer info, and Greek banks pass on U.S. account holders’ account info to the IRS, so it’s not worth not filing or omitting anything on your return. The penalties for incorrect or incomplete filing for expats are steep to say the least.

If you’re a U.S. citizen, green card holder, or U.S./Greek dual citizen, and you have been living in Greece but you didn’t know you had to file a U.S. tax return, don’t worry: there’s a program called the IRS Streamlined Procedure that allows you to catch up on your filing without paying any penalties. Don’t delay though, in case the IRS comes to you first.

Greek taxes – what you need to know

Greek residents are taxed on their worldwide income on a progressive scale at rates from 22% to 45%. There is also a further ‘solidarity contribution’ tax on income of between 2.2% and 10%. Non-residents are only taxed on their Greek-sourced income. 

Foreigners living in Greece are considered a resident for tax purposes if they spend 183 days in a year in Greece. It doesn’t matter if they take holidays during this period. 

The Greek tax year is the same as the U.S., which is to say the calendar year. Tax returns are due by June 30th. The Greek tax authority is called the Ministry of Finance. 

We strongly recommend that if you have any doubts or questions about your tax situation as a U.S. expat living in Greece that you contact a U.S. expat tax specialist.