Tax planned on Airbnb-style rentals

The government will impose a tax targeting peer-to-peer property rentals in unlicensed accommodation through a bill that the Tourism Ministry is preparing in association with the Finance Ministry.

The main aim of the Tourism Ministry is to combat the tax evasion in the home sharing market, which is estimated to be worth up to 300 million euros on an annual basis. The first draft of the legislative proposal that Kathimerini has seen provides for fines to be imposed on owners found to be renting out their property without a license from the Greek National Tourism Organization and without satisfying the following six conditions:

– The landlord must be a taxpayer registered with the Short-Term Lease Property Register at the Finance Ministry’s General Secretariat for Public Revenue.

– A taxpayer cannot rent out more than four properties.

– The property leased must have a minimum area of 9 square meters and have natural light, windows and heating.

– Properties must have all the necessary building permits or be maintained in accordance with legislation on old buildings.

– Each property can only be leased for up to 90 days per year.

– Properties must be rented fully furnished, without the supply of any services except for bedding.

Any short-term leases that do not fulfill all of the above requirements will only be considered legitimate if they concern tourism accommodation of any form bearing the GNTO sign.

The tax will be imposed on the short-term lease of the property per overnight stay as a percentage rate of its value. At the moment the two ministries are in consultations regarding the level of the percentage rate and any fine-tuning to the bill.

The tax will be withheld during the transaction (online or not) by taxpayers and online platforms and will be paid to the tax authorities every quarter no later than the 16th of April, July, October and January of every year, concerning the previous quarter.