The Finance Ministry’s General Secretariat of Information Systems is about to launch a new service from its website that will allow for the electronic submission of rental contracts.

Using this system, landlords will be able to avoid waiting in line at their local tax office to submit the contracts they have signed with tenants. They will now be able to submit them electronically, thereby automatically informing both the tax authorities and the tenants about the content of the contract.

To date, property owners had to take signed contracts to the tax office within a month of signing for ratification, otherwise facing a fine of at least 60 euros. This process concerned rent contracts whose rate exceeded 100 euros per month.

The process will save time for both landlords and tax officers and help to reduce queues at tax offices, while tax authorities will immediately have a picture of revenues from rentals, although the decline in rates is certain to entail a drop in tax revenues too.

As of this year, rental revenues in Greece are taxed at a 10 percent rate for annual takings up to 12,000 euros and a 33 percent rate for those above 12,000 euros.