EFKA contributions in 2026: what Greek social security takes from your pay
Private-sector employees in Greece pay 13.37 % of gross salary to e-EFKA, the national social insurance fund, and their employer adds 21.79 %.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy
Social security for employees in Greece is collected by e-EFKA, the unified national insurance fund. Under the standard insurance package code 101, which covers most private-sector jobs, the 2026 rates are 13.37 % of gross pay for the employee and 21.79 % for the employer, 35.16 % in total. Health care accounts for 2.05 % of the employee share and 4.05 % of the employer share; both were cut by 0.5 % on 1 January 2025 and have not changed since. Contributions are charged on monthly pay up to a ceiling of €7,761.94. On a €2,500 monthly gross, you pay €334.25 per payment and your employer €544.75, so the job costs €3,045 per payment. Your contribution is deducted before income tax is worked out, which lowers the tax bill. The calculator shows your own amounts.
Your e-EFKA contributions
Employee contributions per month
€201
| Employer contributions | €327 |
| Total paid to e-EFKA | €527 |
| Employee per year (14) | €2,808 |
Contributions at eight salary levels
| Monthly gross | Employee | Employer | Employee/year | Employer/year | Share of total cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €920 | €123.00 | €200.47 | €1,722 | €2,807 | 28.9 % |
| €1,400 | €187.18 | €305.06 | €2,621 | €4,271 | 28.9 % |
| €1,800 | €240.66 | €392.22 | €3,369 | €5,491 | 28.9 % |
| €2,500 | €334.25 | €544.75 | €4,680 | €7,627 | 28.9 % |
| €3,500 | €467.95 | €762.65 | €6,551 | €10,677 | 28.9 % |
| €6,000 | €802.20 | €1,307.40 | €11,231 | €18,304 | 28.9 % |
| €7,762 | €1,037.77 | €1,691.33 | €14,529 | €23,679 | 28.9 % |
| €12,000 | €1,037.77 | €1,691.33 | €14,529 | €23,679 | 19.9 % |
Monthly amounts are per payment and annual amounts assume the usual fourteen payments, since the Christmas and Easter bonuses and the leave allowance carry contributions like any salary. The last column shows what share of the employer’s total outlay goes to e-EFKA. It stays constant until the ceiling of €7,761.94, then falls, because pay above that level carries no contributions at all.
Reading the deduction on a Greek payslip
On a Greek payslip, the employee contribution is the deduction for eisfores (contributions) to e-EFKA. On €2,500 gross it should be €334.25, which is 13.37 % of the gross. If the figure is noticeably different, the most likely reason is a different insurance package code (KPK). Heavy and unhealthy occupations, for instance, are insured under code 105 at 16.82 % for the employee and 23.94 % for the employer, while code 103, without IKA-TEAM auxiliary cover, charges 10.37 % and 18.79 %.
The code is set by the type of work and declared by the employer, so it is worth asking which one applies when you start. Our calculators use code 101, the general case.
Where the money goes
e-EFKA circular 38/2024 publishes the health-care split alongside the rates. The total health contribution is 6.1 % of pay: 5.45 % for benefits in kind, of which you pay 1.65 % and your employer 3.8 %, and 0.65 % for cash benefits such as sick pay, split 0.4 % and 0.25 %. On €2,500 gross, your health share is €51.25 a month.
The rest of the employee contribution funds the other branches of the package, including the main pension and the IKA-TEAM auxiliary pension. The branch-by-branch rates for every code are published by e-EFKA in a spreadsheet attached to the circular.
Where your contribution goes
Health share (employee) per month
€31
| Benefits in kind | €25 |
| Cash benefits | €6 |
| Other branches (pension etc.) | €170 |
Part-time work and the minimum wage
Contributions follow pay in proportion. A full-time employee on the minimum wage of €920 pays €123.00 a month; someone on half the hours, earning €460, pays €61.50. The employer’s share scales the same way, so a part-time contract costs the business exactly the same percentage on top of gross pay as a full-time one.
Over a whole year the sums are larger than most people expect. On €2,500 gross with fourteen payments, employee and employer together send €12,306 to e-EFKA, the equivalent of 4.9 months of gross salary. For anyone comparing a Greek offer with one from another country, that employer share is the main reason the cost of a job is well above its headline gross.
The 2025 cut in euros
Since January 2025 the health contribution for benefits in kind has been 0.5 % lower for both sides. It applies to everyone employed under a private-law contract, in private companies and in the public sector alike. On €2,500 gross over fourteen payments, the employee keeps €175 more a year before tax and the employer saves the same. In 2026 the rates were left unchanged; only the ceiling was raised, in line with the 2025 consumer price index.
Contributions reduce your income tax
Greek income tax is calculated on gross pay minus the employee contribution. Every euro paid to e-EFKA therefore comes off your taxable income, and its real cost is lower than it looks. On €2,500 gross your contributions total €4,680 a year; because they are deducted first, your tax is about €1,591 lower than if the whole gross were taxed at your 34 % marginal rate. The order is always the same on a payslip: contributions, then tax on what remains.
For employers, the 21.79 % is the main extra cost of a hire. The employer cost calculator gives the total for any salary, the guide to the contribution ceiling covers the highest earners, and the main Greek salary calculator combines contributions and income tax into your net pay.