Which activity codes (CAE) qualify for IFICI? What’s on the list, what isn’t, and how to check a company

One five-digit number can rule you out of IFICI’s 20% rate, however good your CV is. It’s a company’s main activity code, called a CAE. On the route most employees and founders use, that code has to be on an official list.^[1]

If you’re an employee, it’s your employer’s code, and you can’t change it. If you’re a founder, you choose it once, when the company is registered, and it’s hard to change afterwards.

Two of the recent files we analysed came down to exactly this. An employee in Portugal had the right profile, but the employer’s main code wasn’t on the list. And a US founder’s company was registered as management consultancy and training, and neither is on the list.

Below, we go through what the list is, what’s on it and what isn’t, how the main-activity rule works, and what to ask before you sign a contract or register a company.

This post covers the activity list only. For what IFICI is, who qualifies and how to apply, start with our guide to IFICI.

Neste guia8 sections

1. What is the IFICI activity list (Annex B)?
2. Which activities and CAE codes are on the IFICI list, and which aren't?
3. Does the listed code have to be the company's main activity?
4. How do you find a company's main activity code?
5. What do you need for IFICI as an employee, besides your employer's code?
6. Which code does your own company need for IFICI?
7. When do you need to check the code for IFICI?
8. How do you get a company's code checked for IFICI?

What is the IFICI activity list (Annex B)?

It’s the official list of eligible activities for the IFICI route most employees and founders use. We call that the recognised-activity route (it’s route d in the law).^[1][3]

IAPMEI, the state’s small-business agency, and AICEP, its trade and investment agency, each publish the list in a notice. IAPMEI’s notice is dated 20 February 2025.

You’ll also see it called Annex B, because that’s where it sits in the notice.

Three terms you’ll meet:

• CAE code: the activity code on a Portuguese company’s registration. A company has one main code and can have secondary ones.
• Annex B and Annex A: Annex B is the activity list. Annex A, in the same notice, is the list of qualified jobs.^[1]
• IAPMEI or AICEP: IAPMEI checks your employer, or your own company, if its turnover is under €75 million or it’s new and has no accounts yet. AICEP checks the larger ones.^[5]

“Is this list the only way into IFICI?”

Não. IFICI has seven routes. This list is for the recognised-activity route, and the exporter route has a narrower one of its own.^[3]

If you work at a certified startup, teach at a university or do scientific research, you have routes of your own, and those don’t use this list.^[3]

Which activities and CAE codes are on the IFICI list, and which aren’t?

IT and software, engineering, research and development, manufacturing and health are on it. Management consultancy and training aren’t.^[1]

Here’s every entry on the main list, Annex B, next to the narrower list for the exporter route.^[1][4]

Atividade	Codes	Main list (Annex B)	Exporter list
Mining	05 to 09	Sim	Sim
Manufacturing	10 to 33	Sim	Sim
Information and communication, including software and IT services (62)	58 to 63	Sim	Sim
Head-office activities	7010	Sim	Não
Architecture and engineering	71	Sim	Não
Research and development	72	Sim	Only 721, research in the physical and natural sciences
Higher education	8542	Sim	Sim
Human health	86	Yes, except 86905 and 86906	Yes, 86100 to 86904
Energy supply	35	Sim	Não
Civil engineering	42	Sim	Não
Hotels	5511, 5512	Sim	Não
Holding companies and fund management	6420, 6630	Sim	Não
Combined office administration	8211	Sim	Não
Management consultancy	7022, 70200	Não	Não
Training	Starting 855	Não	Não
Other professional activities, such as design, photography and translation	74	Não	Não

How to read it:

• The “Yes” rows are every code on the list. The three “No” rows are examples of what’s missing.
• Two-digit entries are whole divisions. A division is the first two digits of a company’s five-digit code.
• Longer entries are narrower. In division 70, head-office activities (7010) are on the list and management consultancy (7022) isn’t.
• One more entry isn’t a code. Any activity inside what the state calls a PIN or PII project is on the main list too.^[1]

“I’m a consultant. Am I on the list or not?”

It depends on your company’s code. Software and IT services are in division 62, which is on the list. Management consultancy has its own code, 7022 or 70200, and it isn’t.^[1]

So two businesses that both call themselves consultancies can get different answers.

Does the listed code have to be the company’s main activity?

Yes. If the listed code is only one of the company’s secondary codes, it doesn’t count. A second IAPMEI notice, dated 10 April 2025, says so.^[2]

So if a company’s main code is management consultancy and software is only a secondary code, it doesn’t pass.

Two more rules go with it:

• The main code should be the activity that brings in the company’s revenue.
• The codes have to describe the business the company really runs. If a company registers a listed code but does something else, it won’t stand up when IAPMEI checks.

“Can’t the company just add a listed code?”

Adding one as a secondary code changes nothing, because only the main code counts.^[2]

The main code itself can be changed, but it’s hard once the company is registered. It takes another registry filing, and the new code still has to describe what the company really does.

How do you find a company’s main activity code?

Ask for it in writing. If it’s your employer, ask HR for the company’s main CAE code. If it’s your own company, the codes are on its registration, and you choose them when you form it.

Get the main code in full, all five digits, and the secondary codes too. That way you can see whether the listed activity is the main one or a side one.

“HR says the company qualifies. Is that enough?”

Have it checked by someone outside HR too. The company’s code is only one of the two checks: your job has to fit as well.

You also file the IFICI request yourself, in your own name. Your employer’s part is a signed declaration.^[4]

What do you need for IFICI as an employee, besides your employer’s code?

An employment contract with an employer in Portugal, a job on the qualified-jobs list, and a qualification at level 5 or above.^[1][5]

On the recognised-activity route, you qualify if three things are true:

• Your employer’s main activity is on the list.
• Your job is on the list of qualified jobs: managers and directors, engineers and scientists, IT specialists, doctors, university teachers, finance specialists and technicians among them.
• You hold at least a level 5 qualification on the European framework, which is a post-school qualification a step below a degree.^[1]

It has to be an employment contract. A services contract doesn’t count.^[5]

In one of the recent files we analysed, an employee in Portugal had the right profile. Their employer’s main activity code wasn’t on the list, so there was no IFICI through that job.

You can’t change your employer’s code. So ask before you sign.

“Is there a different list for exporting companies?”

Yes. The exporter route (route c) has its own, narrower activity list, and its conditions for you are stricter too.^[4] You qualify on it if three things are true:

• Your profession is on the highly qualified list: company directors and managers, engineers and scientists, IT specialists, doctors and university teachers.
• You hold a doctorate, or a degree plus three years’ documented experience.
• Your employer’s main activity is on the narrower list, and it exports at least 50% of its turnover in the year you start or in one of the two years before. Sales to other EU countries count as exports.^[5]

Your employer confirms all this on Portal das Finanças, the tax authority’s portal, by 15 March.^[4]

The narrower list leaves out head-office activities, architecture and engineering, energy, civil engineering, hotels, the two finance codes and office administration. It keeps research and development only in the physical and natural sciences.

“My employer is abroad, with no company in Portugal”

Then there’s no company in Portugal to check, and that job on its own won’t get you in.^[3] That situation has a post of its own: IFICI when you work remotely for a foreign employer.

Which code does your own company need for IFICI?

Its main activity code has to be on the list, and you have to be the company’s paid manager (gerente).^[1][5] It’s the same route most employees use.

• A one-person company counts. The tax authority’s own guidance confirms the route works when you’re the only owner and the only manager. Owning shares on its own isn’t enough.^[5]
• There’s no export test. That belongs to the exporter route.^[3]
• Your company can be brand new. IAPMEI checks new companies that have no accounts yet.^[5]
• Only your pay as gerente gets the 20%, so the role has to be a paid one.^[3]

You choose the code when you register the company, and it’s hard to change afterwards.

In one of the recent files we analysed, a US founder on a D2 visa had registered a company in 2026 as management consultancy and training. Neither is on the list, so IFICI was out of reach as planned.

“My company’s code isn’t on the list. What now?”

Two things can change that:

• The main code can be changed, with another registry filing, if the company really does a listed activity.
• A certified startup uses a different route, which doesn’t depend on the activity list. It has conditions of its own.^[3]

For the set-up itself, step by step, see our guide to IFICI com a sua própria empresa.

When do you need to check the code for IFICI?

Before you sign the contract or register the company. After that, you can’t change the code as an employee, and it’s hard to change as a founder.

The portal doesn’t warn you if the code is wrong. You file your request on Portal das Finanças by 15 January of the year after you become resident, and you only see the result by 31 March.^[4]

If you became resident in 2026, your request is due by 15 January 2027.^[4] The dates, and what happens if you miss them, are in our IFICI deadline guide.

How do you get a company’s code checked for IFICI?

With an eligibility assessment, before you sign or register anything. The report can come back no, and we’d rather you heard that while you can still change your plans. It’s an opinion on whether you qualify, and the tax authority still decides.

Perguntas frequentes

What is a CAE code?

It’s the activity code on a Portuguese company’s registration. A company has one main code and can have secondary ones. For IFICI’s recognised-activity route, the main one has to be on the official list.

What is Annex B in IFICI?

Annex B is the list of activities that count on IFICI’s recognised-activity route. IAPMEI and AICEP publish it in a notice, and Annex A of the same notice lists the qualified jobs.

Which companies qualify for IFICI?

On the route most people use, the company’s main activity has to be on the list IAPMEI and AICEP publish. That route has no export test. The exporter route has a narrower list and needs at least 50% of turnover from exports, and a certified startup has a route of its own that doesn’t use the list.

Is software development on the IFICI list?

Yes. Software and IT services are division 62, which is on the list, and on the exporter route’s narrower list too. The code still has to be the company’s main activity.

Is management consultancy on the IFICI activity list?

Não. Management consultancy isn’t on the list, and neither is training. A company with one of those as its main code doesn’t qualify on the recognised-activity route.

Is a secondary CAE code enough for IFICI?

Não. The listed activity has to be the company’s main one. A listed code that’s only secondary doesn’t count.

Can a company change its main CAE code to qualify for IFICI?

Yes, but it’s hard once the company is registered. It takes another registry filing, and the new code has to describe the business the company really runs.

My employer’s code isn’t on the list. Can I still get IFICI?

Not through that job on the recognised-activity route. You can’t change your employer’s code. Some other routes, such as a job at a certified startup, don’t use this list, and each has its own conditions.

Does my employer apply for IFICI for me?

Não. You file the request yourself on Portal das Finanças, in your own name. Your employer gives you a signed declaration, and on the exporter route it also confirms your role by 15 March.

As an employee, do I need a degree for IFICI?

On the recognised-activity route, no. A qualified job there needs at least a level 5 qualification, a step below a degree. The exporter route needs a doctorate, or a degree plus three years’ documented experience.

Does my own one-person company count for IFICI?

Yes. You can qualify as the paid gerente of your own company if its main activity code is on the list, even if you’re the only owner. Owning shares on its own isn’t enough.

Who checks the company’s activity, IAPMEI or AICEP?

IAPMEI checks companies with turnover under €75 million, and new companies with no accounts yet. AICEP checks companies at €75 million or more. On the exporter route, the tax authority does the checking itself.

Sources and how we checked

The list and the main-activity rule come from IAPMEI’s and AICEP’s notices, and the rest from the IFICI law, its procedure order and the tax authority’s guidance, all read in Portuguese. “Recent files we analysed” are real cases from our work with our partner certified accountant, with names and employers left out. This post isn’t tax advice: only the tax authority approves IFICI, and whether it works for you depends on your facts and on the checks made after you file.

1. The activity list (Annex B), the qualified jobs and the level 5 qualification (Annex A): IAPMEI, Aviso 4812/2025/2, 20 February 2025, e AICEP’s notice for the same route, Aviso 5309/2025/2. The notice writes its list in codes of the CAE Rev.3 classification, and we give the listed codes as it prints them. 7022 is management consultancy in that classification, and 70200 is the same activity in the newer CAE Rev.4.
2. The listed activity has to be the company’s main one: IAPMEI, Aviso 9709/2025/2, 10 April 2025.
3. The IFICI law and its routes: recognised activities, exporting companies, certified startups, teaching and research: Tax Benefits Statute, article 58-A, Portal das Finanças consolidated text.
4. The exporter route’s professions, qualifications and activity list (Annex II, also in CAE Rev.3 codes), the employer’s declaration, and the 15 January, 15 February, 15 March and 31 March dates: Portaria 352/2024/1, the IFICI procedure order, as amended by Portaria 52-A/2025/1.
5. The tax authority’s IFICI guide and questions: employment contracts, single-member companies, new companies, which agency checks which company, and EU sales as exports: Ofício Circulado 20276/2025, 26 February 2025.