Business structures · Greece
Sole trader
Find out how much revenue you need, what changes if you also have a salary, and what to do from registration to closure.
What would you like to do?
Open a question to see the inputs, practical steps, and sources.
Setting up as a sole trader
Can I use my home as my registered business address?
Practical steps
- You can register your home as your business address if the intended use is permitted and you can prove your right to use it.
- Keep the address details for your registration. If the online service does not cover your situation, check AADE’s tax register procedure.
I do two different kinds of work. Which business activity codes do I register?
Practical steps
- You can register one main activity and additional activities. Describe what you sell in each and find the matching activity code (KAD) in the current classification.
- Check each activity code separately for permits, different VAT treatment, or other obligations.
I’m starting in September. How much cash do I need until I first get paid?
Practical steps
- Separate one-off setup costs from monthly business and household expenses.
- Use the date you expect the money to reach your account. Set aside separate estimates for tax, advance tax, and any VAT.
Can I use the VAT exemption for small businesses?
Practical steps
- Check how turnover is defined under the domestic exemption and how to apply through AADE.
- Compare the benefit with the input VAT you will be unable to deduct. Cross-border exemption has a separate application process.
Salary, pricing, and take-home income
I already have a salary. If I invoice another €10,000, how much will I keep?
Practical steps
- Compare your total annual taxable income with and without the business. Salary affects both the shared tax scale and the presumed minimum business income.
- If you are both employed and self-employed, check the additional amount assessed by e-EFKA and use that figure in the scenario.
Employment or invoicing? Which offer leaves me with more?
Practical steps
- Ask for the annual employment package and account for leave, benefits, equipment, and any unpaid periods.
- Check whether the invoicing arrangement qualifies for special tax treatment under Article 12. Income tax treatment and social insurance are assessed separately.
How much income tax does the 2026 scale give?
Practical steps
- Ask for the final taxable base, including expenses, the presumed minimum income check, and any tax adjustments.
- For the assessment, check new advance tax, any credit for prior advance tax, and any withholding separately.
I want to take home €1,500 a month. How much turnover do I need?
Practical steps
- Include your accountant, subscriptions, rent, and other recurring costs in fixed expenses. Use variable expenses only for costs that rise with sales.
- Ask for a tax and contributions estimate at the resulting turnover. If it changes, update your estimates and check the target again.
What hourly rate do I need to cover my costs?
Practical steps
- Find your annual turnover target using your expenses and your own tax and contributions estimates.
- Count only time you can bill. Leave out sales, administration, leave, and time between projects.
Running the business and managing cash
If turnover falls by 30% or I make a loss, what do I still have to pay?
Practical steps
- Separate expenses that fall with sales from ongoing costs such as rent, accounting, and social insurance.
- Check tax, the presumed minimum, and advance tax separately. Cash and taxable income may differ even in a loss-making year.
What changes on the invoice for customers in Greece, the EU, or outside the EU?
Practical steps
- Check the place of taxation and the type of document first. Treatment depends on the country, the customer’s status, and the kind of transaction.
- Before issuing your first invoice, confirm what VAT to show and how to submit it to myDATA.
I’m buying €2,000 of equipment. What leaves the bank and what can I expense?
Practical steps
- Keep the invoice and proof of payment. Check whether this is a current expense or a fixed asset to depreciate.
- Check input VAT separately. The recognised expense reduces taxable profit, and the tax effect depends on your taxable base.
The customer pays in 60 days. How much cash will I need in the meantime?
Practical steps
- Separate the invoice date from the payment date. Note which obligations fall due in the meantime.
- Use the VAT deadlines for your scheme and consider whether to agree an advance or milestone payments.
If I hire my first employee, how much more turnover do I need?
Practical steps
- Ask for a payroll budget that includes all employer charges. List equipment, training, and support separately.
- Arrange employer registration if needed, report the hire in ERGANI II before work starts, and set up regular payroll.
Changing structure, closing, or restarting
How long will it take to recover the cost of switching from sole trader to IKE?
Practical steps
- Compare take-home amounts at the same revenue and with the same payment plan. For the IKE, enter what you would personally receive. Track money kept in the company separately.
- Before choosing a route, list contracts, fixed assets, customers, licences, debts, and guarantees. Check whether to contribute the sole trade to the company or set it up and transfer it another way.
If I close my sole trade, what charges stop and what stays open?
Practical steps
- Record the actual date you stopped trading and follow the cessation procedure in myAADE.
- Confirm the end of social insurance and the final filings. Closing the business does not cancel tax, contributions, or other debts already incurred.
If I restart, do I count as newly self-employed?
Practical steps
- Download the history of your first registration, closures, and any inactivity. For the presumed minimum, the first registration and periods of closure are considered.
- Check your first business income return and your social insurance history separately. Restarting affects each check differently.
Day-to-day obligations
What should I do before issuing my first invoice or receipt?
Practical steps
- Confirm that the business is registered and that its activities, premises and VAT status are recorded correctly.
- Set up the correct way to issue and submit documents to myDATA. Check the rules for the transaction before issuing the first document.
Do I need a card terminal or a registered business account?
Practical steps
- Find your active main and secondary business activity codes in myAADE. Check which payment methods you are required to accept.
- If you must declare a business account or card terminal, use the relevant AADE services and check that the details are recorded correctly.
What do I do when I hire my first employee?
Practical steps
- Check employer registration with e-EFKA and confirm the employee's details, workplace, contract, pay and hours.
- Arrange the ERGANI II declaration before work starts. Set up payroll, APD payroll declarations and contribution payments.
What do I report if I change my address, activity code or premises?
Practical steps
- Gather the effective date and supporting documents. Check the business record in myAADE.
- After the change, check your details on invoices, your card terminal, bank records and contracts.
What do I file even with no turnover?
Practical steps
- Confirm the status in the tax register. List outstanding filings, payments and invoices by period.
- Check E1 and E3 filing and contribution obligations against the business status and activity history.
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