Registration tax in Greece and the cost of importing a car (2026)

The parts of the cost

Every import, from a Polo to a Passat, has the same cost items. All but one are known before you commit. The registration tax needs a calculation.

Registration tax: how the amount is worked out

The registration tax is not calculated from the price you pay. Its base is the retail price before taxes (ΛΤΠΦ) of the same version when it was new, as the official importer filed it with customs, reduced according to age and body type, and a little more if the car has covered over 15,000 km a year (law 5222/2025, article 142). The rate comes from a progressive scale on the ΛΤΠΦ (4% up to €14,000, then 26%, 53%, 62% and 71% in the following bands, and 30% above €30,000) and changes with CO₂ and Euro class (article 136(2), (3) and (5)).

The Euro class multiplies the rate: ×1 for Euro 6 whose emission standard has a last registration date from 1/9/2018 on, ×1.5 for Euro 6 standards with a last registration date up to 31/8/2018, ×2 for Euro 5b and ×3 for Euro 5a and Euro 4 (article 136(5)). Euro 5 cars also pay a €1,000 environmental fee and Euro 4 cars €3,000 (law 4710/2020, article 5).

So two cars at the same price can pay very different tax. We calculated the examples below with the engine of our calculator on 14/10/2026, using the ΛΤΠΦ from the VW Greece price list in force in the month of first registration.

Worked examples for more than 50 versions of popular models, each with the Greek price list that was in force on its first registration date, are on our Greek page registration tax by model.

The mild-hybrid Golf pays less than the plain one, even though its ΛΤΠΦ is higher, because hybrids get a 50% reduction (ΑΑΔΕ vehicle FAQ 2026). The CO₂ figure is the one in the Greek price list; in practice customs takes the CO₂ and the Euro class from the certificate of conformity (CoC) and the type approval, and the CoC prevails if they differ (Law 5222/2025, art. 136(9)). Factory options are part of the ΛΤΠΦ and raise the tax.

What raises and what lowers the tax

Yes, high mileage lowers the tax. The law assumes a car covers 15,000 km a year on average, and for every 500 km above that it reduces the value left after depreciation by 0.1%, by no more than 10% of that value. The total reduction cannot exceed 95% (article 142). On the Tiguan in the example, the 15,000 extra kilometres cut the value by 3%.

Hybrids, electric cars and exemptions

• Fully electric cars are 100% exempt from registration tax and pay €0 annual road tax. Transport, the ΚΤΕΟ test, transfer and customs broker still apply.
• Hybrids with up to 50 g/km CO₂ (usually plug-ins) cleared through customs by 31/12/2026 get a 75% reduction. The same applies to hybrids of 51 to 75 g/km imported from 1/11/2025 to 31/5/2026 (law 5222/2025, article 136(6a)). For this case the date the car entered Greece counts, and the calculator does not apply it automatically. All other hybrids, including 48V mild hybrids, get 50%.
• From 1/1/2027, law 5313/2026 abolishes the 75% reduction for hybrids up to 50 g/km: all hybrids get 50%, so for plug-ins the tax doubles. The date of the declaration at customs counts, not the date of purchase or arrival. Exception: hybrids of 51 to 75 g/km imported into Greece from 1/11/2025 to 31/5/2026 get a 75% reduction (law 5222/2025, article 136(6a), as added by law 5313/2026; ΑΑΔΕ circular Ε.2039/2026).
• Parents of 3 or more minor or dependent children are fully exempt up to 2,000 cc and pay 50% above that. Anyone returning to live in Greece after at least 24 months abroad can bring the car they used there for at least 6 months without registration tax. The calculator shows the normal tax, without these exemptions.

Light commercial vehicles (category N1: vans, pick-ups) are taxed under their own rules, and the calculator does not cover them.

Annual road tax: how much and when you pay it

It depends on the car's first registration in any EU or EEA country, not on the day it gets Greek plates (law 5177/2025, article 55). For a first registration from 1 January 2021, the annual road tax (τέλη κυκλοφορίας) is the car's WLTP CO₂ grams times the rate of its band: nothing up to 122 g/km, and €0.64 per gram from 123 to 139 g/km, so €84.48 a year at 132 g/km.

The rate applies to all the grams, not just to those above the limit, so one gram can matter: a VW Golf 1.5 TSI 130 first registered in June 2021, with 123 g/km, pays €78.72 a year, while one first registered in June 2023, with 122 g/km, pays nothing. Cars first registered from 1 November 2010 to 31 December 2020 pay by NEDC CO₂ on a stricter scale (nothing up to 90 g/km, €0.98 per gram from 101 to 120 g/km), and cars first registered up to 31 October 2010 pay by engine size. The CO₂ that counts is the one on the registration certificate, if it matches the certificate of conformity (CoC); otherwise the CoC value.

When the car is registered in Greece, the road tax for the whole calendar year is paid before the Greek registration certificate is issued, even in December: for private cars it cannot be split (articles 54 and 60). After that it is paid every year, from 1 November to 31 December, for the following year. Cars fully owned by people with disabilities, as defined by the laws listed in article 59, are exempt. Parents of three or more children are exempt from registration tax but not from road tax. All three scales and the amounts for 50 popular versions are on our Greek page τέλη κυκλοφορίας εισαγόμενου αυτοκινήτου.

Use the calculator

Our customs calculator applies the formulas of the law to the Greek price list of the specific version. Paste a mobile.de or AutoScout24 link and press "Analyse": it reads price, mileage, registration date, fuel, CO₂ and Euro class, finds the version in the Greek price list and calculates the total. Where something is uncertain, such as the registration month or factory equipment, it shows a range instead of a single figure. The first calculation is free. The calculator is in Greek by default; switch it to English with the EN button in its menu.

Before you buy, confirm the CO₂ and Euro class on the CoC, because that is what customs uses. The final amount is always confirmed by customs.

Three mistakes we see every week

• Looking only at the price on mobile.de. The purchase price is half the story. Without knowing the tax you know nothing. We have seen tax higher than the purchase price.
• Ignoring the Euro class. Cars after 2016 are generally Euro 6, but the date still matters: a Euro 6 car whose emission standard has a last registration date up to 31/8/2018 pays ×1.5 (article 136(5)). Customs decides the class from the CoC, so ask for a photo of it.
• Comparing the wrong numbers. The comparison is not "German price vs Greek price". It is "German price + transport + tax vs Greek price". Forget one and you lose.

Sources

All sources are in Greek.

• Law 5222/2025, article 136 (taxheaven consolidation): rate scale, CO₂, Euro classes, hybrids and electric cars.
• Law 5222/2025, article 142: ΛΤΠΦ, age reduction, mileage, 95% cap.
• Law 4710/2020, article 5: environmental fee of €1,000 and €3,000.
• Greek VAT Code, law 5144/2024, article 14: when a vehicle counts as new.
• ΑΑΔΕ, vehicle FAQ, version 2.0 (31/03/2026).
• ΑΑΔΕ circular Ε.2039/2026: hybrid reductions and the 1/1/2027 change.
• VW Greece price lists of 19/08/2020, 02/06/2020 and 14/05/2021, as held in our calculator's database.

Frequently asked questions