Income taxes

Tax authorities are keeping a close eye on tax payments of large companies, the Treasury and Finance Ministry has said in a statement.

A retiree was informed that his tax return (as he had chosen) had automatically been filed and that he would have to pay income tax of €9,809, an amount apparently not attributable to his income. What had happened? Because of purchases he made last year he got caught in the tax pinch, he left the pre-filled return to be filed and when he saw the statement he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Freelancers will be asked to pay two or three times the income tax they paid in previous years, according to the first settlement notes received.

Millions of taxpayers are up against potential pitfalls in their tax returns, that could lead to additional taxes. Thorough scrutiny, especially by taxpayers whose returns are pre-filled by the tax administration, is imperative, as they may be taxed not on their actual incomes but on the basis of their assets used for assessing their presumed income ("tekmiria").

As the clock ticks down to midnight tonight, Bulgarians are reminded that April 30th marks the final day for filing their 2023 personal income tax returns. For those utilizing electronic services, the deadline is midnight, while those opting for paper submissions at revenue agency offices must do so by 5:30 pm.

Taxpayers who choose to pay the total amount of their income tax dues this year in one lump sum by July 31 will secure a 3% discount, according to the amendment the National Economy and Finance Ministry submitted in Parliament.

Eleven codes of the basic tax declaration form E1 will be pre-filled this year for 1 million salary workers and pensioners without income from other sources of real estate or securities, so that the declaration is ready for submission. In essence, the above will not need to fill in anything themselves unless there is a change that the tax office is not aware of.

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue is proceeding with the automatic issuance of Tax Registration Numbers (AFM) to dependent children over the age of 12, while in a second phase AFMs will be granted to all minors from the age of 12 months (as they will have to be declared by the parents in the tax return).

Once all income tax declarations are in, by August 31 at the latest, authorities will focus on those taxpayers who have not filed returns over the past five years.

Greece has extremely few rich people - if the official declarations of income and property are anything to go by.

The numbers from the tax declarations highlight several Greek "peculiarities": On paper, Greece has hardly got any rich individuals. Only 27,000 taxpayers declare an individual income of more than 100,000 euros, while four out of 10 appear to live on €5,000 a year.