Taxation in Portugal · Lablypedia

Income tax

Employment income earned is subject to a progressive income tax, which applies to all who are in the workforce. Furthermore, a long list of tax allowances can be deducted, including a general deduction, health expenses, life and health insurance, and education expenses. The personal income taxation system is as follows:

Tax administration and NIF acquisition

The foundational requirement for engaging in the Portuguese economy is the acquisition of a Número de Identificação Fiscal (NIF), a nine-digit taxpayer identification number issued by the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT). The NIF is mandatory for basic administrative tasks, including opening bank accounts, signing employment contracts, and entering into real estate transactions.

For residents of countries outside the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA), Portuguese tax law generally mandates the appointment of a fiscal representative. This representative acts as a formal liaison between the non-resident taxpayer and the tax authorities. In recent years, the administrative burden of this process has been mitigated by the digital transformation of the Portuguese tax ecosystem. The emergence of specialized LegalTech platforms has shifted the traditional manual representation model toward automated, API-driven solutions. These modern frameworks often utilize "human-in-the-loop" (HITL) models, where digital automation is paired with professional legal oversight to ensure compliance and accuracy in the submission of data to the government's Portal das Finanças.

Benefits available to former and first time tax residents

Under the Investment Tax Code, approved on September 23 2009, a new type of residency, for tax purposes was created under the Personal Income Tax Code, called non-habitual residency (NHR). This new tax residency type was created in order to attract to Portugal high-skilled professionals and pensioners obtaining foreign income.

Qualifying for NHR status

A person, regardless of their nationality, may apply for registration as a non-habitual resident if the following conditions are fulfilled:

The person is considered, for tax purposes, to be resident in Portuguese territory, in accordance with any of the criteria set out in Personal Income Tax Code in the year for which that person wishes to be taxed as NHR;
That person as not been considered to be resident in Portuguese territory in any of the five calendar years preceding the year for which that person wishes to be taxed as a non-habitual resident.

Personal Income Taxation

High Added Value Jobs

Under Ministerial Order issued by the Ministry of Finance, the follow jobs are subject to flat personal income tax of 20%:

End of the NHR

The Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) program in Portugal officially ended for new applicants on December 31, 2023. Those with NHR status before this date retain benefits for their full 10-year period.

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Corporate tax rate

The corporate tax rate applicable to companies in Portugal may vary, depending on which part of the Portuguese territory said companies are incorporated and domiciled.

Madeira International Business Centre

Companies incorporated and headquartered in Madeira can apply for an International Business Centre (MIBC) license and, granted that they comply with economic substance requirements, benefit from a corporate tax rate of 5% on the taxable profit derived from economic activities engaged with non-resident entities or entities duly licensed within the MIBC.

Value added tax

Mainland Portugal

Three different VAT rates apply: normal, intermediate and reduced. There is a general rate of 23% (normal rate) for luxury goods, decorative plants, cut flowers, utensils and other equipment for firefighting and fire prevention, followed by a reduced rate of 13% for ordinary wine, spring, mineral, medicinal and carbonated water, and tickets for cultural events. This is followed by a further reduced rate of 6% on cereals, meat, shellfish, fruit, vegetables, and other essential foods, books, newspapers, medicines, passenger transport and hotel accommodation. In 2014, the government introduced the fatura da sorte ("Lucky bill"), a lottery of tax-free cash and luxury cars awarded among consumers with VAT bills. The goal is to bring into the formal economy the many unregistered and untaxed purchases.

Madeira

The VAT rates in Madeira are 22% (normal rate), 12% (intermediate rate) and 5% (reduced rate).

Azores

The Azores has lower applicable VAT rates of 16%, 9% and 4%. Businesses with revenue of less than 10,000 Euros per year are exempt from VAT.

Automobile taxation

Since a July 2007 tax reform, automobiles in Portugal pay two main taxes. The initial tax is the ISV (Imposto Sobre Veículos, tax on vehicles), and is paid when the car is first registered in Portugal. The second tax is an annual registration tax called IUC (Imposto Único de Circulação, single tax on circulation). Earlier, the taxes consisted of Imposto Automóvel ("Automobile tax") and Imposto Municipal sobre Veículos ("Municipal tax on vehicles") and were almost exclusively applied at the time of acquisition. The current system divides the tax load between acquisition and continuous registration, while discontinuing the regional taxes.

The annual road taxes (IUC) for automobiles have been based on displacement since 1981 at least. Later on, an additional factor reflecting CO₂ emissions were added. Hybrids receive a discounted rate, while electric cars do not pay ISV (tax at the time of initial registration). Between 1981 and July 2007, the tax thresholds were at 1,000, 1,300, 1,750, 2,600, and 3,500 cc. As the emissions levels were given more relevance in 2007, the displacement thresholds were simplified and changed to 1,250, 1,750, and 2,500 cc.

All employment income is subject to social security contributions.