Salary vs dividends calculator for Portugal 2026
Own a Portuguese company? Enter its profit and see the cheapest way to pay yourself: salary, dividends or a mix. It includes corporate tax, the manager’s social security and both ways of taxing dividends.
Rules checked 27 October 2026 · IRC 19% for 2026 · sources
Your company
Profit before paying yourself, per year
Revenue minus business costs, before any salary for you.
Small or medium business?
Most one-person and small companies are. They pay 15% on the first €50,000 of profit instead of 19%.
Municipal surcharge (derrama)
Set by your town hall, and often lower for small companies. Lisbon charges 1.5%, or nothing if last year’s turnover was €150,000 or less. Porto charges 1.5%, or 1% up to €150,000.
Are you already covered by social security?
Company managers pay social security on at least the IAS (€537.13 a month), even with no salary, unless they’re covered by another job or are a pensioner.
Your salary from the company
Your numbers stay in this browser. Nothing is sent to us.
How paying yourself from a company works
1
Your salary is a company cost
The company pays your salary plus 23.75% social security on it. Both come off its profit before tax. You pay 11% social security and income tax, like any employee.
2
The company pays tax on what's left
Corporate tax (IRC) is 15% on the first €50,000 for small and medium companies, 19% above that, plus a municipal surcharge of up to 1.5%, often less for small companies.
3
Dividends come out of after-tax profit
You pay a flat 28%, or add them to your income on your tax return, where only half of the dividend counts. The calculator picks the cheaper one.
Take €100,000 of profit and a €4,600 salary. The company pays €1,531 of social security on it and €17,243 of corporate tax, and pays out €76,626 as dividends. Your dividend tax is €9,166 if you add them to your income, against €21,455 at the flat 28%. You keep €71,351.
What you keep at different profit levels
One owner, small company, 1.5% municipal surcharge (the worst case: Lisbon charges nothing below €150,000 turnover), not covered by social security elsewhere, all profit paid out.
| Profit | No salary | Best mix | Minimum wage | All salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €30,000 | €21,464 | €22,654€6,400 salary | €21,161 | €18,315 |
| €60,000 | €43,328 | €44,867€6,400 salary | €43,047 | €32,296 |
| €100,000 | €69,774 | €71,351€4,600 salary | €69,597 | €48,285 |
| €150,000 | €100,998 | €102,738€4,800 salary | €100,572 | €66,787 |
| €250,000 | €161,829 | €163,655€4,500 salary | €161,251 | €102,387 |
The pattern holds at every level. Taking it all as salary costs the most, because salary pays 34.75% social security on top of income tax. A small salary, around the €6,446 social security minimum, with the rest as dividends, comes out ahead.
The manager's minimum social security
As a company manager, you and the company pay 34.75% social security on your salary: 23.75% from the company and 11% from you.
There’s a floor. Social security is charged on at least the IAS, €537.13 a month or €6,446 a year, even if you take a smaller salary or none at all. So a salary up to about that amount costs you almost nothing extra.
The floor doesn’t apply if you’re already covered by social security through another job, or you’re a pensioner. If you stay unpaid, the company has to tell Social Security, with a copy of the partners’ minutes.
Dividends: 28% or added to your income?
Dividends from a Portuguese company to a Portuguese resident are taxed at a flat 28%, withheld when they’re paid.
On your tax return you can choose to add them to your other income instead. Then only 50% of the dividend counts, because the company has already paid corporate tax on that profit. For most small owners this is cheaper, and the 28% already withheld comes back as a refund.
If you choose it, it covers all your capital income for that year, including bank interest and other dividends. The calculator works out both and shows you the cheaper one.
Reasons to take a bigger salary anyway
Social protection. Your future pension, sick pay and parental pay are based on the salary you declare.
Proving your income. Banks, landlords and some visa applications look at salary on a payslip, not dividends.
Paying out during the year. Dividends come out of approved accounts. A salary is paid every month.
IFICI or IRS Jovem. If you qualify, the salary side costs less tax than the calculator shows.
2026 rates for company owners
| What | Rate |
|---|---|
| Corporate tax (IRC), general rate | 19% in 2026 · 18% in 2027 · 17% from 2028 |
| Small and medium companies, first €50,000 | 15% |
| Municipal surcharge (derrama) | Up to 1.5% of taxable profit, set by each town hall. Lisbon: 1.5%, exempt up to €150,000 turnover. Porto: 1.5%, or 1% up to €150,000 |
| State surcharge | 3% above €1.5M, 5% above €7.5M, 9% above €35M |
| Social security on a manager's salary | 23.75% company + 11% you, on at least the IAS |
| Dividends | 28% flat, or 50% added to your income |
Starting a company in Portugal?
We form your company, register you as manager, and set up payroll and accounting with a certified accountant.
Already have one? Our Relatório de planeamento fiscal works out the right mix of salary and dividends for your real numbers.
What this calculator doesn’t cover
Keeping profit in the company. It assumes all profit is paid out. Profit you keep only pays corporate tax until you take it out.
The legal reserve. Companies set aside 5% of profit until the reserve reaches 20% of their share capital.
Autonomous taxation. Extra tax on company cars, entertainment and some expenses.
More than one owner, other income, IFICI or NHR on salary. All of these change the best mix.
Non-resident owners, the Azores and Madeira, and startups. Each has its own rates.
Sources · rules checked 27 October 2026
- Código do IRC, article 87, corporate tax rates, and article 3 of Lei 64/2025 for 2026–2028
- Código do IRC, article 87-A, state surcharge
- Código do IRS, article 71, 28% on dividends
- Código do IRS, article 40-A, 50% of dividends when added to income
- Código do IRS, article 68, income tax rates on salary
- AT Ofício Circulado 20288/2026, municipal surcharge rates by town
- Código Contributivo, articles 64 and 69: social security for company managers
Questions people ask
For most small companies, mostly dividends with a small salary. On €100,000 of profit, a salary of about €4,600 with the rest as dividends leaves you €71,351, against €48,285 if you took it all as salary.
Dividends from a Portuguese company are taxed at a flat 28%, withheld when they’re paid. Instead, you can add them to your other income on your tax return, and then only 50% of the dividend counts. For most small owners that works out cheaper.
No, a manager can be unpaid. But unless you’re covered by social security through another job or a pension, social security is still charged on at least the IAS, €6,446 a year. The company also has to tell Social Security that you’re unpaid, with a copy of the partners’ minutes.
IRC is 19% in 2026, falling to 18% in 2027 and 17% from 2028. Small and medium companies pay 15% on their first €50,000 of taxable profit. Most towns add a municipal surcharge (derrama) of up to 1.5%, and many charge small companies less or nothing: in Lisbon it’s zero if last year’s turnover was €150,000 or less, in Porto 1%.
Yes. Your salary and the company’s 23.75% social security on it are business costs, so they come off the profit before corporate tax.
You can, and you get more social security protection for it. It just costs a little more: on €100,000 of profit, a minimum-wage salary leaves you €69,597, against €71,351 with the best mix.
Possibly, if your role qualifies. This calculator uses the standard rates for your salary, so with IFICI or NHR the salary side would cost you less. Dividends from your own Portuguese company are taxed the same either way.
No. It’s an estimate from the 2026 rules for one owner who pays out all the profit. Our Tax Planning Report works out the right mix for your real numbers, including other income and family.