Greece

The general rule considered for the determination of an individual’s tax residence status is one’s physical presence in Greece in any 12-month period.

Apart from the actual number of days the taxpayer and/or family spends in Greece, the other crucial factor that can be used for the determination of an individual's tax residence is the centre of one’s ‘vital interests’.

Although the term ‘vital interests’ has not been officially interpreted within the meaning of the Greek ITC, prior provisions (in force until 31 December 2013) as well as the related jurisprudence indicate several different elements that might be taken into account by the Greek Authorities in order to establish the grounds for the determination of the above term:

• Ownership of assets in Greece.
• Citizenship.
• Social security registration, either mandatory or voluntary.
• Children’s schools.
• Country where family resides.
• Country where family usually spends holidays.

Notwithstanding the above, an individual’s tax residence status is also determined on the basis of the provisions of a bilateral Double Tax Treaty (DTT) concluded between the contracting states (i.e. country of origin/home and Greece) where applicable.