Greek Airbnb Hosts Called to Submit Short-term Rental Tax Declarations by Nov 30

Greeks leasing out their properties through sharing economy platforms – such as Airbnb – have until Friday, November 30, to submit cumulative short-term rental declarations in an electronic registry of Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE).

It is reminded that according to law for the running year, operators (individuals leasing their homes for accommodation purposes) must submit the declarations per property leased following the departure of the tenant by 30 November 2018.

According to reports, AADE will not provide an extension to the deadline.

AADE electronic registry for short-term rental properties.

So far, AADE has counted over 30,000 declarations, an amount considered very low as it has been estimated that private properties rented out for the short-term exceed 126,000 across Greece.

Hosts in Greece that fail to submit the statements will face fines of up to 5,000 euros.

Moreover, hosts discovered to have not even listed their properties on the registry will face difficulty in continuing their activity in the short-term rental property market as they will be penalized and unable to receive the property registration number that will be mandatory on the online platforms of Airbnb, HomeAway, Booking.com, etc, where their property is displayed.

AADE is planning to carry out checks across short-term rental platforms in December with the use of special software.

Airbnb Country Manager for Greece, Dimitris Protopappas.

During a recent Airbnb workshop in Athens, the company’s country manager for Greece, Dimitris Protopappas, advised hosts to enroll in the registry and submit their statements in time, when he was questioned in regards to the deadline.

When the electronic registry first launched in Greece Airbnb had ran an announcement informing hosts that it considered it a positive move from the government to simplify home sharing for thousands of Greeks.

“We’re pleased to be supporting them by making it even easier for hosts to share their homes responsibly. By working together, we can help more local families to follow the rules, generate new revenue streams that make our communities stronger and help expand Greece’s tourism offering,” Sofia Gkiousou, Public Policy Manager at Airbnb, had said.

Airbnb had also said that it would work closely with the Economy Ministry to promote the online resource, this way making it easier for hosts to comply with local rules. Since then Airbnb has added a field for hosts in Greece to easily display their registration number on their listing page.

For information (in Greek) on the registry, press here.