Last updated 14 October 2026. By Demetre E. Katsouris, Managing Partner, Katsouris Law Firm.
The short answer: a parent can transfer Greek property to a child by notarial deed, during the parent’s lifetime, with no tax on the first €800,000 of objective value from each parent to each child. The parent can keep the right to live in the property, or to take its rent, for life. The property then passes outside the inheritance, with no acceptance deed, no inheritance tax on it and no co-ownership among siblings. Both parent and child can sign from abroad by power of attorney. Since September 2026 the gift is also outside the protected-share calculation for the other children once five years have passed.
Why families use it
Inheritance tax in Greece is charged above €150,000 per heir for children. The parental gift threshold is €800,000 per parent per child, so two parents can pass €1.6 million to one child, or €3.2 million to two, tax-free. More important than the tax, for most families, is that the gift settles who owns what while the parents are alive and can explain it. The alternative — leaving the house to be inherited — produces the co-ownership disputes described in our article on family property.
What the parent keeps
The deed can transfer full ownership, or bare ownership with the parent keeping the usufruct: the right to live in the property and to receive any rent, for life. The usufruct is valued by the tax authority as a percentage of the property depending on the parent’s age and reduces the taxable value of the gift. When the parent dies the usufruct lapses and the child’s ownership becomes full, without a further deed and, in the usual case, without further tax. A parent can also keep a simple right of residence rather than a full usufruct.
What it costs
Below €800,000 of objective value per parent per child, no gift tax. Above that, the excess is taxed at a flat 10%. The notary’s fee is set by scale, the registration fees are fixed, and the engineer’s and lawyer’s fees are quoted in advance. There is no transfer tax; parental gifts are outside it.
What has to be in place
The same technical file as a sale: engineer’s certificate that the building matches its permit or has been legalised, energy performance certificate, electronic building identity, and the parent’s tax clearance and ENFIA certificate. A property with unpermitted works that have not been legalised cannot be gifted, any more than it can be sold. The child needs a Greek tax number and, if abroad, a power of attorney.
Cash gifts between parents and children must go through the bank to qualify for the same treatment; a cash hand-over is taxed at the full rate.
Signing from abroad
Both the parent who gives and the child who accepts must sign the deed or be represented. A power of attorney for each, signed at a Greek consulate or before a foreign notary with an apostille, is the usual route. The power must describe the property, the type of gift and any retained right precisely; a general power is not enough for a notary to act on. The child who accepts a gift takes on the property’s obligations — ENFIA, building charges, any mortgage — from the date of the deed, so the power should also authorise the E9 declaration that follows.
Law 5303/2026 and the other children
Under the old inheritance law, gifts made within ten years before the parent’s death were counted when calculating the protected shares of the other children, who could claim against the child who received the gift. From 16 September 2026 that window is five years, and the other children’s claim is for money rather than a share of the property. A parental gift made now and followed by five more years of the parent’s life is outside the calculation altogether. A gift made within the five years is counted, but the other children’s remedy is a payment, not co-ownership. Families with one child in Greece and others abroad should plan the gifts and the will together so that each child’s position is clear.
Common situations
The parents live in Greece, the child in Australia. The child signs a power of attorney at the consulate; the parents attend the notary in Athens; the deed is registered; the child’s E9 is updated. Three to four months, most of it the engineer and the consulate appointment.
The parent lives abroad, the child in Greece. The parent’s power of attorney is signed before a local notary and apostilled, with an official translation. The parent should obtain their Greek tax clearance before the power is sent, because the notary will ask for it.
One child in Greece, two abroad, one house. The house is gifted to the child in Greece with the parents keeping the usufruct; the parents’ will, or an inheritance contract, provides for the other two from other assets or by a cash sum. Done together, the three children know the plan.
Frequently asked questions
Can I gift a property that is still in my late father’s name? Not until his inheritance has been accepted and registered in your name. The gift follows the inheritance, in that order.
Can I gift to a grandchild? Yes; grandparents to grandchildren are in the same favourable category with the same €800,000 threshold.
Can I gift half now and half later? Yes. Each deed is a separate gift and the threshold is cumulative over the parent’s lifetime.
What if the child divorces? Property received by gift from a parent is the child’s own; it is not shared with the spouse on divorce under Greek law. Whether the child’s home country takes the same view is a question for that country.
This article is general information, not legal advice; it reflects the position on the date above and may change.
To plan a parental gift of Greek property, send us the deed and the names of the children involved: info@katslaw.eu or +30 210 8982 864.
