Opened by an OCC-certified Portuguese accountant
Freelancer activity registration in Portugal, opened by a certified accountant.
Before you can legally invoice a single client in Portugal, your freelancer activity (abertura de atividade) has to be open on Portal das Finanças, with the right activity code and the right VAT regime attached to it. Fill in one form, in English, and an OCC-certified Portuguese accountant reads your situation, picks both, opens your activity, and sends you the official proof plus a plain-English calendar of what you owe and when. €249, flat, five business days. Then you invoice.
No call to schedule · Official Finanças proof of registration · Written tax calendar you keep
★★★★★Rated by expats worldwide
✓OCC-certified accountant
✓No call to schedule
✓Written summary to keep
You didn't move to Portugal to study tax law.
But someone's about to ask you for an invoice, and right now you can't legally send one. Not until your activity is open, with the right code and the right VAT regime attached to it. That gap between "sure, I'll invoice you" and actually being allowed to is exactly what this service closes. So close the tabs. This is the part you hand to someone whose job it is.
Someone qualified decides, and puts their name to it
You're not choosing from a Portuguese dropdown and hoping. An OCC-certified accountant reads your answers, picks your CIRS code and VAT regime, and writes down why, so you can check the logic instead of crossing your fingers.
It happens while you get on with your life
One form, ten minutes, and then it's off your plate. No diary tetris across time zones, no call that falls apart because Finanças is having one of its days. You go back to your actual work while it gets handled.
You'll know what's coming before it comes
Your obligations, your deadlines, your dates, in English, in writing. The quarterly social security cycle stops being a rumour from a Facebook group and becomes four dates in your calendar. It's the document you'll be opening again every quarter.
First, a quick sanity check
People land on this page with three different problems. Which one is yours?
You're here
Open your atividade
Someone's waiting on your invoice
You have a NIF, you live here, and a client or an employer-turned-client is waiting. This is the step that makes the invoice legal. €249, opened by a certified accountant, done in five business days.
Open my activity →Tax consultation
Your situation doesn't fit in a form
A company abroad, income from three countries, a spouse with questions of their own. Book 45 minutes with the accountant, get your bearings, decide afterwards.
Book a consultation →IRS tax filing
Last year already happened
Opening activity looks forward. If there's a Portuguese return sitting undone for a year that's already gone, that's a different job, and it has its own page.
See tax filing →Still not sure which one you need? A free 15-minute call will sort it out.
How you probably got here
Nobody plans this step. It just arrives.
✓
A client said yes. Then they asked for an invoice. You said "sure, give me a couple of days" and you've been googling ever since.
✓
Your company moved you onto a contract. HR was very cheerful about it. You have until the first of the month.
✓
You opened the registration page once. You saw "CIRS" next to a dropdown in Portuguese and closed the laptop. That was three weeks ago.
✓
One person in the expat group swears you don't charge VAT. Another swears you do. Both sound completely certain, and neither is an accountant.
✓
You've heard about the €15,000 threshold. Nobody mentioned it only counts your Portuguese clients. That detail changes everything for most expats, and it never makes it into the Facebook thread.
✓
You've already invoiced someone. It's fine. It's probably fine. You'd just quite like someone qualified to tell you it's fine.
None of this makes you disorganised. You moved countries. You sorted the visa, the flat, the NIF, the dog. Then Portugal handed you a form that assumes you already know Portuguese tax law, offers no way to check your answer, and no warning when it's wrong. You find out months later, from a letter, in Portuguese. We'd rather you found out never. That's the whole service.
Where it actually goes wrong
The code is a dropdown. VAT is a decision.
Here's the part the Facebook thread never gets right. Six things have to be settled before anyone touches the portal, and they depend on your clients, not on you.
1
Where your clients are
Portugal only, the EU, outside the EU, or some mix of all three. This one answer changes your VAT treatment completely.
2
Companies or individuals
B2B and B2C are taxed differently, even inside the same country. Same service, same invoice, different rules.
3
The €15,000 that isn't €15,000
The Article 53 exemption threshold only counts turnover from Portuguese clients. Foreign invoices don't count toward it. Almost everyone assumes they do.
4
Reverse charge and VIES
Invoicing a company in another EU country usually means you charge no Portuguese VAT at all, under autoliquidação, once their VAT number checks out in VIES. Whether you're set up to do that is settled when your activity is opened, not when you send the invoice.
5
Residency comes first
Since July 2025, only Portuguese tax residents can use the Article 53 exemption. If you're not resident, you register for VAT from your very first invoice, whatever you turn over.
6
There is no grace period
Cross €15,000, or €18,750 if you overshoot by 25%, and you move onto VAT the following month, with a declaration of changes due inside 15 working days.
You shouldn't have to know any of this. That's not your job. Your accountant works all six out from your form before anything is submitted. That's what the €249 buys. Not the button press. The decision behind it, made by someone who makes it every week.
The scope
Clear on both sides.
What you get for €249
✓Your intake form reviewed by an OCC-certified Portuguese accountant
✓Your CIRS activity code selected and explained
✓Your VAT regime decided: Article 53 exemption, reverse charge, or standard VAT
✓Your activity opened on Portal das Finanças
✓The official proof of registration, in your hands
✓A written summary of your obligations, in English
✓A tax calendar with your dates: recibos verdes, quarterly social security, annual IRS
✓Recommendations for your situation, not a generic handout
One flat fee. No hourly billing, and no line items turning up later.
What it doesn't cover
✕Ongoing accounting or bookkeeping
✕Your annual IRS return. That's a separate service, IRS Tax Filing, €349
✕NISS registration. Opening activity does not create or link a social security number, and it never has
✕Being shown how to issue your recibos verdes and run your own quarterly filings. That's the recommended €99 call below, after your summary lands
Delivery questions get answered over chat on your order thread, that's included. What isn't included is the sit-down: seeing your first recibo verde issued and working through the summary live. That's the recommended call below. And some cases, cross-border social security mainly, don't belong on a flat fee at all: those start with a consultation, not a form.
How it works
Your part takes ten minutes. In English.
1
Fill one form
What you do, where your clients are, whether they're companies or people, what you expect to earn, and your Portal das Finanças access. Ten minutes, most of it copy and paste. One favour: get the password right and switch off two-factor, because nothing can start without it, and it's the number one reason orders sit waiting.
2
Your accountant opens it
Your answers are reviewed, your CIRS code and VAT regime are chosen, and your activity is opened on Portal das Finanças. If anything in your form needs a second look, it gets sorted over chat on your order thread, in writing, before anything is submitted. No call needed for any of this.
3
Proof and summary land
The official proof of registration, your written summary, and your tax calendar land on your order thread. Five business days from the point your form is complete and your portal access works. You can invoice from that moment. Most people then do one more thing, and it's the step below.
Recommended with this service
The step most people add: 45 minutes with your accountant, after delivery.
The registration itself needs no call. Everything up to the proof happens over your order thread, in writing. But then the summary lands, you read it properly, and a new kind of question shows up. How do I actually issue a recibo verde when my client pays me next week? What exactly happens at the end of my first quarter? Which of these dates apply to me this year, and which don't yet?
That's what the call is for. Your accountant, the same one who opened your activity and wrote your summary, walks you through issuing your first recibo verde on Portal das Finanças, on screen together, and answers whatever the summary raised. You come out having watched it done on your own account, which beats reading about it.
Tick it at checkout, €99, and book the time after your delivery lands, whenever suits you. You can also add it later. Waiting just means doing your first few weeks with more guesswork than you need.
Add the call at checkout →Before you pay us: two honest questions.
One. What does your NIF address show? Not where you live. What the NIF actually says. Opening activity as a resident freelancer, and using the Article 53 VAT exemption, both depend on your NIF carrying a Portuguese fiscal address. If it still shows your old country, don't order yet. You'd be registered on the wrong regime from your very first invoice, and we'd rather tell you that plainly today than take your money and let you find out from Finanças.
Non-EU? The Portuguese address usually goes on your NIF once you hold your AIMA residence card or an AIMA confirmation letter. If you have that and your NIF hasn't caught up, fix that first: NIF address update, €79.
Two. Are you still paying into social security somewhere else? An A1 certificate inside the EU, or contributions back in the US, Canada or Brazil under a totalisation agreement. If that's you, your case needs a proper look, not a flat-fee form. Start with a tax consultation, get the cross-border picture straight, then open your activity knowing exactly where you stand. It takes longer, and it puts things in the right order.
Not sure on either? Book the free 15-minute call and find out where you stand before you spend anything. Book the free call →
What you're signing up for
The numbers nobody shows you until it's too late.
Most people learn these after they've committed. Here they are up front.
Social security
Nothing at all for your first 12 months of activity. After that, 21.4% on a base of 70% of your previous quarter's income, declared and paid in January, April, July and October. Half of what you pay comes back off your income tax.
Income tax
Under the simplified regime, 75% of your gross service income is taxable at the normal IRS rates, roughly 13% to 48%. The other 25% stands in for your expenses, though you need documented expenses worth at least 15% of gross income to hold it.
VAT
Exempt under Article 53 while you're tax resident and your Portuguese-client turnover stays under €15,000. Foreign invoices sit outside that count and carry their own codes, which is exactly where people slip.
Those are the 2026 rates for everyone. Your written summary puts your numbers against your dates, which is the version you'll actually use. And past €200,000 a year, organised accounting becomes mandatory and a freelancer setup stops being the right answer. If that's where you're headed, talk to us about a company instead.
You're trusting a stranger with your tax setup. So here's what you'll know about them.
Their name, for a start. One OCC-certified Portuguese accountant from our partner network handles your registration from start to finish, and they show up on your order thread under their own name from the first message. OCC certification means they're registered with the Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados, Portugal's professional body for accountants, with a registration number and professional standards enforced by that body.
You'll also know their reasoning. It goes into your written summary, so you can read why your code and regime were chosen instead of taking it on faith. And if something about the registration isn't right, you say so on the thread and it gets put right there.
What clients say
In their words.
★★★★★
"Incredibly helpful consultation. I got insights on personal taxes as well as taxation for freelancers and businesses. My accountant even followed up with extra materials for me to dive deeper. 100% recommend!"Elisabeth S.
★★★★★
"So easy to deal with and great at responding to all emails and questions. I would recommend Novomove to everyone looking to get all the documents they need to really enjoy life here in lovely Portugal."Denise Clarke
★★★★★
"The platform is great for document submission and the whole service was excellent. I highly recommend working with Novomove."Ismael D.
Before, and after
Where people usually come from, and where they go next.
Portuguese NIF
€79Don't have one yet? Start here. There is no activity to open without a NIF, and it comes with 12 months of tax representation.
Get your NIF →NIF address update
€79Your NIF still shows a foreign address. This is the step that makes you eligible to open activity as a resident.
Update my address →Tax consultation
€99The recommended addition to this order. After your summary lands: your first recibo verde issued live, your quarterly cycle explained with your numbers. Add it at checkout.
Book a call →IRS Tax Filing
€349Your annual Portuguese return, prepared and filed by an OCC-certified accountant. The thing your new calendar will point you at every spring.
See filing →Tax Planning Report
From €269A written, calculated estimate of your Portuguese tax, with the regimes side by side, before you commit to any of them.
See the report →Portuguese company
From 70Above a certain income, a Unipessoal LDA beats freelancing on tax and on liability. If that's your situation, we set one up.
Company formation →FAQ
Questions people ask.
You can, and it is, and some people should. If you already know your CIRS code and the correct VAT treatment for every country you invoice, genuinely, save the €249 and go press the button. What everyone else is paying for is the decision, not the click. Getting it wrong isn’t a red error message you fix on the spot. It’s months of quiet non-compliance and then a letter. The people who’ve had the letter don’t ask this question.
Not for the registration, no. Your accountant works from your form, anything that needs clearing up happens over chat on your order thread, and the proof arrives without either of you touching a calendar. Where most people do want a call is after delivery: 45 minutes with the same accountant to watch your first recibo verde being issued and go through the summary with your own numbers. That’s the recommended €99 add-on at checkout, and you book it once your delivery lands.
No, and be careful with anyone who says otherwise. Opening activity does not create a NISS or link you to one. It never has. That’s a separate application, in person, at a Segurança Social office, and it’s on you for now. Your written summary flags it clearly, because it’s the step that quietly falls off everyone’s list.
No. New freelancers are exempt from contributions for the first 12 months of activity. Your first quarterly declaration and payment come after that, and your calendar will have the dates on it.
No. You need to be Portuguese tax resident, or about to be, with a Portuguese address on your NIF. Where you’re physically sitting that morning could be a beach in the Algarve or your mum’s kitchen in Leeds. The portal doesn’t know and doesn’t care.
Some cases don’t fit a flat fee. The usual one is cross-border social security: you hold an A1 certificate, or you’re still contributing in the US, Canada or Brazil under a totalisation agreement. Those need analysing, not processing. If that’s you, start with a tax consultation and open your activity once you know where you stand. It’s the reason we ask the question before you order rather than after.
No, and we won’t sell it as one. The freelancer path to IFICI technically exists but rarely survives contact with reality, and most workable cases run through a Portuguese company instead. If IFICI is what you’re chasing, book a consultation before you open anything at all.
First: you’re in good company, and it’s fixable. But this page isn’t the fix, because registration is a one-time step and yours already happened. Book a tax consultation and have someone qualified look at what’s actually registered against your NIF. If something needs changing, they’ll tell you what that involves before you touch anything. Don’t try to correct it solo. That’s how one problem becomes two.
Five business days, counted from the point your form is complete and your portal access actually works. If the password is wrong or two-factor is still switched on, the clock starts when that’s fixed. That is far and away the most common reason an order sits waiting, so it’s worth getting right the first time.
No. We coordinate. The registration is carried out by an OCC-certified Portuguese accountant from our partner network, and the professional engagement sits between you and that accountant. We handle the platform, the form, the order thread, and the chasing.
Go do the work you moved here to do. We'll handle the dropdowns.
One form, ten minutes, in English. A certified accountant picks your code and your VAT regime, opens your activity, and the proof plus a plain-English calendar land on your order thread in five business days. Then you send the invoice, and you know exactly what you signed up for.
Not sure you’re eligible yet? Take the free 15-minute call first and find out.