Overdue debts halt 72-installment payment plan amid debt explosion

The new “surge” in overdue debts is causing a “headache” for the economic team, as it torpedoes planning for the new 72-installment payment arrangement, which is expected to take effect next month. Despite the fact that the measure was designed to provide “relief” to hundreds of thousands of debtors, the continued swelling of unpaid debts to the Tax Authority intensifies concern about participation rates, while increasing uncertainty about its effectiveness.

How the debt pool to the Tax Authority is “inflating”

It is indicative that in the first two months of 2026, “fresh” overdue debts amounted to 2.136 billion euros, recording an 8.98% increase compared to the corresponding period last year. In January alone, new debts of 931 million euros were created, increased by 27.36%, while in February another 1.19 billion euros were added to the “pool,” confirming the continued pressure faced by households and businesses.

As a result, the total overdue balance reached 114.5 billion euros in February, from 113.8 billion euros at the end of 2025, with the “real” collectible debt exceeding 79.4 billion euros. At the same time, the number of debtors reached 3,681,752, showing a marginal decline compared to previous months.

Prerequisites for inclusion in the 72-installment arrangement

Within this environment, the new 72-installment arrangement is called upon to contain the wave of old debts, namely those that became overdue by December 31, 2023, but is accompanied by strict “clauses” for debtors, as inclusion in the scheme requires full settlement of all newer debts. In other words, those who have created new debts from January 1, 2024 onwards must either pay them off or include them in the standard 24 to 48-installment arrangement in order to participate.

Additionally, the arrangement does not provide for debt “haircuts,” while installments are burdened with an interest rate reaching 5.84%, an element that acts as a deterrent for some debtors. Under these circumstances, the Ministry of Finance expresses reservations about the scope of response, as a significant portion of debtors continues to create new debts, which however they do not include in the standard arrangement.

The main challenge of the 72 installments

Thus, the main challenge remains the participation rate, without undermining the sustainability of arrangements, since, according to the State Budget Office in Parliament, of the 80 billion euros that can theoretically be collected, only 6.65%, i.e., 5.26 billion euros are under arrangement.

The highest percentage of total arranged debts 18.01% is found in the range of 10,000 to 100,000 euros, while within this range the percentage of arranged debts reaches 19.23% for amounts from 20,001 to 50,000 euros. The highest percentage of arranged debts of natural persons is found between 500 and 10,000 euros (16.73%) and reaches 19.22% for amounts from 2,000 to 3,000 euros.

Conversely, legal entities arrange at a higher rate (26.03%) debts belonging to the range from 10,000 to 100,000 euros, while this percentage reaches 27.72% in the category of 20,001 to 50,000 euros. Low debt arrangement rates are observed both in low debt amounts (particularly below 500 euros) and in high debt amounts (above 50,000 euros for natural persons and above 300,000 euros for legal entities).

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