A new round of retroactive cross-checks and audits is being initiated by AADE, this time focusing on property owners who concealed income from Airbnb rentals, as well as those who bought or sold property without fully declaring the transaction amounts to the tax office. According to AADE’s 2025 Operational Plan, the new audits will focus on short-term leases by individuals for the tax years 2020 and 2021, as well as real estate transactions that took place in 2019.

These cases are being activated based on Article 15, paragraph 3a of Law 4174/2013, which allows the tax administration to go back to previous tax years and assess income using external data, such as electronic payments, bank transactions, electricity consumption, and platform data.

In particular, for Airbnb-type short-term rentals, individuals who received payments for property rentals without declaring them on their E1 or E2 tax forms — and without registering a business activity — are under scrutiny. The hidden amounts are substantial. For example, while just €677 million was declared as rental income for 2023, data from the AirDNA platform estimates the actual turnover at €2.4 billion.

AADE is cross-referencing this data with bank account activity, amounts reported by platforms, and the use of the Property Registration Number (AMA). In many cases, the income was declared as “hosting friends,” not reported at all, or funneled through third-party bank accounts.

At the same time, a targeted audit cycle is underway for the year 2019 to detect undeclared property transfers. Authorities are identifying discrepancies between the data reported on Taxisnet, the notarial contracts, and the property transfer tax declarations. Findings from these investigations are forwarded to the Audit Directorate (DIESEL), which then initiates procedures for additional taxation, penalties, and retroactive settlements.

AADE’s goal is to reduce the tax gap in the real estate sector and crack down on the shadow economy in a market that, despite enormous economic activity, systematically suffers from underreporting. The Authority’s 2025 Operational Plan classifies these audits as “critical high-revenue fiscal interventions,” while also providing for increased use of technological tools, artificial intelligence, and automated information flows from platforms and third parties.