The diffusion of the benefits of the new budget measures throughout society, with an emphasis on the middle class but also on the reduction of poverty, is revealed by the Draft Budgetary Plan (DBP 2026) submitted by the Ministry of National Economy and Finance to Brussels, within the framework of the country’s contractual obligations.

They are reflected in the text all interventions which are incorporated into Budget 2026. With them, those living with incomes between 20,000 and 60,000 euros a year are particularly favored, especially after the implementation of the changes in the tax scale from 1.1.2026.

At the same time, however, the projections of the General Accounting Office of the State show that from all the new measures, the poverty rate in the country is significantly reduced: the number of households with disposable income below 60% of the national average drops by up to 5.5 percentage points for the most vulnerable households, while in the general population it also decreases from 16.9% in 2025 to 15.1% after the application of the new measures.

This means that a household that has a disposable income of 6,707.33 euros per person (“equivalent” income) and is currently just above the poverty line (poverty line) after the implementation of the measures will reach 6,980.69 euros and rises in the income ranking.

Based on these projections, it is estimated that up to 250,000 citizens will escape the poverty line, solely due to the 2025-2026 support measures, with the largest reduction being recorded in single elderly people over 65 (5.5%) and in families with three and many children (3.3%).

The measures of everyday life

In the Budget Plan submitted by Athens, the General Accounting Office of the State describes in detail “measure by measure” all the new – permanent – interventions that will be incorporated in the 2026 State Budget.

In a separate chapter, however, it also includes special calculations, which respond to the remarks and recommendations of the representatives of the European Commission (recommendations) about the expected effect of the measures that start to be implemented from November this year, on the “slice” of incomes and the strengthening of social cohesion.

These measures stand out:

  • the return of one month’s rent – starting from November this year – is the most immediate relief for thousands of households who see 35%-40% of their income being spent on housing needs.
  • the gradual abolition of the personal difference in old pensions and the allowance of 250 euros that will be given in November to low-income pensioners with income and property criteria, i.e. one of the most vulnerable groups of the population.
  • the reduction of VAT by 30% on remote islands with a population of up to 20,000, a measure that balances the chronic problem of increased transport costs and protects insularity. For a family in Karpathos or Leros, the savings can reach 100-150 euros per month in the supermarket basket.
  • the 30% reduction in deemed cost of living and its suspension for new mothers frees thousands of households from burdens on incomes they do not have. A 1,600cc car owner who makes 10,000 euros a year will no longer have to justify to the tax office that he does not live on 15,000.

When the profit from each measure separately is “translated” into everyday life, the picture becomes clearer for households.

For example:

  • a family with three children and a total income of 35,000 euros will see: 800-1,000 euros less income tax, 400-500 euros from the rent refund, and an additional benefit from tax credits for children. In total, 1,500 to 2,000 euros extra a year, almost as much as three months’ worth of food or school fees for next fall.
  • a 77-year-old pensioner with a pension of 850 euros who pays (and declares) a rent of 320 euros gains: 320 euros from the rent refund, 100-120 euros from the abolition of the personal difference, and 30-50 euros from the tax relief. In total, 450-500 euros, as much as two or three months’ worth of purchases from the supermarket.

The poverty “map” is changing

This fiscal intervention exceeds a total of 2.7 billion euros: 590 million pertain to permanent measures announced in 2025 (rent refund and 250 euro allowance) and another 2.1 billion pertain to the new measures of 2026, which include tax reform, the new rent tax scale and increases in pensions, the minimum wage and the salaries of civil servants.

Based on the draft data on the social footprint of the measures, at the top of the list of winners from the interventions is the age group of 80 and over, for which a poverty reduction of 4 percentage points is predicted: 19% live on the poverty line in 2025, but after the measures the percentage is projected to decrease to 15%. That is, almost one in 5 will see relief.

For these people, the relief comes mainly from the abolition of the ‘personal difference’, the mechanism that ‘freezes’ old pensions to converge with newer, lower ones.

The second age group to benefit most from the full implementation of the measures in 2026 are young people aged 15-24, who are the age group most affected by economic deprivation: today 22% live below the poverty line but in 2026 one in 10 will escape it, as the figure is expected to fall below 20%, to 19.8% according to with the views of the measures.

Depending on the type and composition of the household, the reduction in poverty is even more impressive:

  • for people under the age of 65 who live alone without other members of their family. 24.8% of them currently live below the poverty line. After the 2026 measures, the percentage will decrease by 5.5 points, as 19.3% will now remain in economic poverty. This is mainly about the group of the population living in the shadows: ex-workers who around 45 to 55 lost their jobs they had, but could not find another job with decent wages and are struggling to reach the 67 mark to get a pension. For them, the rent-back allowance and tax relief are a condition of survival.
  • families with three or more children experienced a similar problem until today: 24.8% live below the poverty line. By measures alone, the rate is down 3.3 percentage points. It recedes to 21.5%, i.e. one in seven “exits” directly from poverty.
  • more successful are couples with one or two children, with a reduction in poverty: they are considered to be the groups that have historically had the largest tax burden in Greece – and one of the largest among the OECD member states. The poverty rate “drops” from 13.9% to 12.3% for families with 1 child and from 15% to 13.4%. That is, one in ten gets out of the quagmire, from the implementation of the new measures alone – that is, beyond the reduction of unemployment or the growth that the Greek economy is predicted to have.

Who benefits from the tax breaks?

With the change in the tax scale, the “lion’s share” of the TIF measures will be reaped by those who declare income from 20,000 euros and above where exceed the tax-free limiti.e. mainly the middle class but also millions of workers, pensioners, farmers and the self-employed. The reduction in the average tax burden is estimated at 0.7% for the entire population, but in practice it will be much greater for middle incomes above 30,000 euros.

For a household with an income of 30,000 euros, the benefit translates into approx 400 to 600 or even 800 euros less tax per yeardepending on the source of income, age and composition of the household. But most importantly, with the new tax scale, any future pay rise will leave more money in the worker’s pocket, as rates are now lower.

Average annual disposable income thus increases for everyone, but with seniors the top beneficiaries 65-79 year olds who see a rise of up to 4.6%.

The reduction in rental tax – from the old scale of 15-45% to the new 10.5-31.5% – serves a dual purpose: relieve property ownerswho are often retired people who live off the rent, and at the same time creates room for rent stabilization where paid by tenants. In Greece, approximately 30% of households live in rental housing, with an overrepresentation of the lower income classes.