A parental grant is property given by a parent to a child to establish or maintain economic or family independence or a profession; under the Civil Code it counts as a gift only to the extent it exceeds what the circumstances justify. For tax, a parental grant or gift to a category A person, such as a child, is taxed at 10% after a one-off tax-free amount of €800,000, and is not added to a later inheritance between the same persons. For the family, it is added back when forced shares are calculated and may have to be brought into account among siblings.
The civil-law rule
The Civil Code treats property given by either parent to a child, for creating or keeping economic or family independence or for starting or continuing a profession, as a gift only for the amount that exceeds what the circumstances call for. The parent's liability to the child for defects in what was given is still judged under the rules for donors.
The tax rule
- A parental grant or gift of any asset to a category A person (spouse or partner, children, grandchildren, parents) is taxed at 10% after deduction of a one-off tax-free amount of €800,000.
- The same applies to cash given to those persons by transfer through a financial institution.
- Such grants and gifts are not added to a later inheritance between the same persons.
- For other recipients, the inheritance-tax scales apply by analogy, and cash gifts are taxed separately at 10%, 20% or 40% by category.
- Transfers of company shares or partnership interests as a gift or grant require a private or notarial document filed with the return. A separate first-residence exemption exists for homes given by parental grant.
Effects on the family's shares
A lifetime grant does not escape the forced share. Under the rules for deaths from 16 September 2026, when forced shares are calculated, anything the deceased gave during his lifetime without consideration to a forced heir, by gift, parental grant or otherwise, is added back at its value at the time it was given, and is imputed to that heir's own forced share unless the parent provided otherwise.
Among descendants inheriting on intestacy, what each received by gift or parental grant must be brought into account, unless the parent excluded this by will when making the grant or later. Planning therefore looks at the whole family, not only at tax.
Common planning patterns
Parents often give the bare ownership and keep the usufruct, so that they keep the use and income during their lives; the Property Tax Code has specific rules for valuing and taxing bare ownership. Under the rules in force from 16 September 2026, grants can be combined with inheritance contracts or with contracts in which other children waive future rights, made before a notary.
Questions clients ask
Is the €800,000 per year?
No. The law describes it as a one-off tax-free amount for parental grants and gifts to category A persons.
Can I give my son the house and still live in it?
Yes, commonly by granting bare ownership and keeping the usufruct. The tax and family-law consequences should be modelled first.
Sources
- ΑΚ 1509 (Αστικός Κώδικας, π.δ. 456/1984, όπως ισχύει μετά τον ν. 5303/2026)
- ΑΚ 1827 (Αστικός Κώδικας, π.δ. 456/1984, όπως ισχύει μετά τον ν. 5303/2026)
- ΑΚ 1829 (Αστικός Κώδικας, π.δ. 456/1984, όπως ισχύει μετά τον ν. 5303/2026)
- ΑΚ 1886 (Αστικός Κώδικας, π.δ. 456/1984, όπως ισχύει μετά τον ν. 5303/2026)
- ΑΚ 1798 (Αστικός Κώδικας, π.δ. 456/1984, όπως ισχύει μετά τον ν. 5303/2026)
- ΑΚ 1838 (Αστικός Κώδικας, π.δ. 456/1984, όπως ισχύει μετά τον ν. 5303/2026)
- Κώδικας Φορολογίας Περιουσίας, ν. 5219/2025 (ΦΕΚ Α' 130/18.07.2025), άρθρ. 66, 96, 98
This page is general information, not legal advice; the answer in any real case depends on its facts and dates.
L+A advises families, business owners and heirs living abroad on inheritance and succession in Greece.
