Starting a business in Greece
The atomiki epicheirisi through myAADE, EFKA from month one, and the IKE - the €1 company that modernised Greek founding.
Checked against the sources on 2026-08-30
Before anything else
Greek founding digitised hard in the last few years: the sole trader (ατομική επιχείρηση) starts at the tax office through myAADE, and the IKE - the private company introduced to replace the heavyweight EPE - forms online through the e-YMS one-stop in a day with €1 of capital.
The recurring reality to plan for is EFKA, the unified social insurance fund: self-employed contributions are chosen from fixed monthly classes (from roughly €250) and are due from the first month, profit or not. New freelancers get a reduced class for the first years - take it.
The legal shell
Atomiki or IKE?
Ατομική επιχείρηση (sole trader)
Solo services and freelancing.
Effectively free to open at the tax office.
Personal liability, EFKA from month one, and the presumptive minimum-income rules (τεκμήρια) that tax the self-employed as if they earned at least a computed floor - controversial, litigated, and real.
IKE
Partners, liability, or clients who want a company.
€1 capital; e-YMS formation ~€60-70 in fees, a day online.
Corporate accounting, 22% corporate tax plus 5% dividend withholding, and the managing partner still pays EFKA.
The sequence
Have the AFM and TAXISnet access
The AFM (tax number) and TAXISnet credentials are the keys to everything; foreigners get the AFM at a tax office first.
Open the activity
Where: myAADE (έναρξη εργασιών), or e-YMS for an IKETakes: Same day to a few days
You declare the activity codes (ΚΑΔ), the seat, and the VAT position. Books are electronic by default: myDATA, the national e-books platform, receives every invoice - issued through compliant software or the free timologio app.
Choose the EFKA class and check the VAT small-business option
EFKA classes are picked annually; the new-freelancer class is the cheap start. VAT exemption exists for turnover under €10,000 - narrow, and worthless for B2B - so most register normally (24% standard rate, quarterly returns for simple books).
What it costs to start
| What | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sole trader opening | €0 |
| IKE via e-YMS | ~€60-70 |
| EFKA, new-freelancer classRising with the chosen class. | ~€130-250/month |
| AccountantmyDATA made this near-universal. | €40-100/month |
The words on the forms
- ΑΦΜ (AFM)
- The tax number.
- myAADE / TAXISnet
- The tax administration portals.
- ΚΑΔ
- The activity codes.
- ΕΦΚΑ (EFKA)
- The unified social insurance fund and its monthly classes.
- IKE (ΙΚΕ)
- The €1 private company formed through e-YMS.
- myDATA
- The national electronic books every invoice reports into.
- Τεκμήρια
- The presumptive minimum income rules on the self-employed.
The traps
- Ignoring the presumptive income rules when modelling a lean first year.
- Invoicing outside myDATA-compliant software.
- Missing the reduced EFKA class election.
- Assuming the €10,000 VAT exemption behaves like Germany’s - it is far narrower.
Where to check this yourself
- AADE / myAADEActivity opening and myDATA.
- e-YMS (ΓΕΜΗ)The one-stop IKE formation.
- EFKAThe contribution classes.
This is a map, not legal or tax advice - and an honest one about how it was drawn: the Germany guide was written by a person who walked the route; most other countries were drafted with AI against the official sources and have not yet been walked by someone who did it. Laws change. Every guide carries the date it was last checked and the sources to check it yourself - and if you have been through one of these routes, your corrections are exactly what this handbook wants.