{"id":1372,"date":"2026-10-28T00:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T00:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/?p=1372"},"modified":"2026-10-28T00:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T00:39:09","slug":"imposto-freelancer-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/freelancer-tax-portugal\/","title":{"rendered":"Freelancer Tax in Portugal (2026): What You Actually Pay on Recibos Verdes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Updated 28 October 2026 for the 2026 tax year. Rates are from the 2026 State Budget and the C\u00f3digo do IRS. This is general information, not tax advice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Working for yourself in Portugal means three bills: income tax (IRS), social security and, above \u20ac15,000 a year, VAT. None of them is hard once you know how each one is worked out. This guide covers the rules that apply to most freelancers on recibos verdes, with real numbers for 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A vers\u00e3o curta<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Most freelancers use the <strong>simplified regime<\/strong>. Portugal taxes only part of your income: <strong>75%<\/strong> for professions on the official list, <strong>35%<\/strong> for other services (including the catch-all code 1519) and <strong>15%<\/strong> for sales, restaurants and hotels.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>In your <strong>first year<\/strong> that share is halved, and in your second year it&#8217;s cut by a quarter.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Income tax runs from <strong>12.5% to 48%<\/strong> on the taxable part, slice by slice.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Social security is <strong>21.4% on 70%<\/strong> of your income, and you pay nothing for your <strong>first 12 months<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>You can stay out of VAT while your turnover is under <strong>\u20ac15,000<\/strong> a year.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Portuguese clients with organised accounts withhold <strong>23%<\/strong> (listed professions) or <strong>11.5%<\/strong> (other services) from your invoices, unless you expect to earn less than \u20ac15,000 and say so on the receipt.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>NHR is closed. IFICI rarely works for standalone freelancers. IRS Jovem does, if you&#8217;re 35 or under.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How freelance income is taxed: the simplified regime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your freelance income was under <strong>\u20ac200,000<\/strong> last year, you&#8217;re on the simplified regime unless you choose organised accounting. You don&#8217;t deduct expenses line by line. Instead, the law decides what share of your income counts as profit, and that share is taxed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Atividade<\/th><th>Share taxed<\/th><th>Examples<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Professions on the article 151 list<\/td><td>75%<\/td><td>Programmers, designers, consultants, translators, teachers and trainers, engineers, architects, accountants, lawyers, doctors and therapists, journalists, artists<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Other services, including code 1519<\/td><td>35%<\/td><td>Services with no specific professional code<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sales of goods, restaurants and hotels<\/td><td>15%<\/td><td>Online shops, caf\u00e9s, guesthouses<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">New freelancers get a break. In the first year of activity the share is halved, so a listed profession is taxed on 37.5% of income. In the second year it&#8217;s cut by a quarter, to 56.25%. From year three the full share applies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can switch to <strong>organised accounting<\/strong> by the end of March of any year. Then you pay tax on real profit, after real expenses, and you need a certified accountant. It usually pays off only if your genuine costs are well above the share the simplified regime assumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Your activity code decides which share applies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you register, you pick an activity code. That code decides whether 75% or 35% of your income is taxed, so it&#8217;s worth getting right. The catch-all code <strong>1519, &#8220;other service providers&#8221;, is taxed at 35%<\/strong>, not 75%. The tax authority confirmed this in Circular 2\/2016. It&#8217;s only for services with no specific professional code, and the tax office can reclassify you if your real work is on the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;re on the 75% list, there&#8217;s one more rule. You need to show expenses worth at least 15% of your income on e-fatura, such as rent for an office, equipment or professional fees. If you show less, the gap is added to your taxable income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Income tax rates in 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The taxable part of your income goes through the same scale as everyone else&#8217;s. Each slice has its own rate, from 12.5% on the first \u20ac8,342 to 48% above \u20ac86,634. A solidarity surcharge of 2.5% applies between \u20ac80,000 and \u20ac250,000 of taxable income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On 9 October 2026 Parliament approved lower rates for the first six slices, for all 2026 income. The Government still has to publish the decree that sets them, so the numbers below use the rates in force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Example: \u20ac40,000 of freelance income<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th><\/th><th>Listed profession (75%)<\/th><th>Code 1519 (35%)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Taxed part of income<\/td><td>\u20ac30,000<\/td><td>\u20ac14,000<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Social security (from year 2)<\/td><td>\u20ac5,992<\/td><td>\u20ac5,992<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>IRS<\/td><td>\u20ac6,260<\/td><td>\u20ac2,009<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>What you keep<\/td><td><strong>\u20ac27,748<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>\u20ac31,999<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In your first year as a listed profession, the same \u20ac40,000 leaves about \u20ac37,779: tax on only \u20ac15,000 and no social security. In year two it&#8217;s about \u20ac30,062.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"nm-rel-tools\" style=\"max-width:100%;margin:32px 0;font-family:inherit\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 12px;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.05em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#44546A\">Ferramentas gratuitas<\/p><div style=\"display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:16px\"><a href=\"\/pt\/portugal-income-tax-calculator\/\" style=\"flex:1 1 260px;display:block;padding:20px 22px;border:1px solid #C9D2DE;border-radius:14px;background:#fff;text-decoration:none;color:#012147\"><span style=\"display:block;font-size:19px;font-weight:700;line-height:1.3;margin-bottom:6px;color:#012147\">Calculadora de IRS em Portugal 2026<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-size:16px;line-height:1.5;color:#2E3D52;margin-bottom:12px\">Enter your own turnover and activity, and see income tax, social security and net pay for 2026.<\/span><span style=\"display:inline-block;font-size:16px;font-weight:700;color:#012147;border-bottom:2px solid #FFC504\">Calcular o meu rendimento l\u00edquido \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Seguran\u00e7a Social<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freelancers pay <strong>21.4% on 70%<\/strong> of their relevant income, which works out at about 15% of what you invoice. The contribution base is capped at 12 times the IAS a month (\u20ac6,445.56 in 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You declare your income to Seguran\u00e7a Social Direta every three months, in January, April, July and October. That sets your contribution for the next three months, which you pay monthly by the 20th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O seu <strong>first 12 months are exempt<\/strong>. If you register in March 2026, contributions start in March 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IVA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the special exemption (article 53 of the VAT Code) you don&#8217;t charge VAT while your turnover stays under <strong>\u20ac15,000<\/strong> a year. If you go over by more than 25% in the current year, so above \u20ac18,750, you leave the exemption straight away. If you end the year above \u20ac15,000, you move to the normal regime from 1 January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 1 July 2025 the exemption is for businesses established in Portugal or, under the EU small-business scheme, in another EU country. That&#8217;s one reason not to open activity before you actually move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the normal regime you charge 23% VAT to Portuguese clients and file VAT returns every quarter. Services to businesses in other countries are usually invoiced without Portuguese VAT, under the reverse-charge rule, but you still report them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Withholding on your invoices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Portuguese client that keeps organised accounts withholds part of your fee and pays it to the tax office for you (article 101 of the C\u00f3digo do IRS):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>23%<\/strong> for professions on the article 151 list<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>11.5%<\/strong> for other services<\/li>\n\n\n<li><strong>20%<\/strong> if you&#8217;re under IFICI<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Foreign clients and Portuguese private individuals don&#8217;t withhold. If you expect to earn less than \u20ac15,000 in the year, you can ask not to have tax withheld by adding this line to your receipt: <em>&#8220;Sem reten\u00e7\u00e3o, nos termos do n.\u00ba 1 do artigo 101.\u00ba-B do C\u00f3digo do IRS.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Withheld tax isn&#8217;t extra tax. It&#8217;s credited against your bill when you file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Deadlines to put in your calendar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>When<\/th><th>What<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Before your first invoice<\/td><td>Register your activity at Finan\u00e7as (in\u00edcio de atividade)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>January, April, July, October<\/td><td>Quarterly declaration to Seguran\u00e7a Social<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Every quarter, if you charge VAT<\/td><td>VAT return and payment<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>1 de abril a 30 de junho<\/td><td>Annual IRS return for the previous year<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>20 July, 20 September, 20 December<\/td><td>Advance tax payments, if the tax office has calculated them for you<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advance payments (pagamentos por conta) are based on your tax from two years earlier. The tax office sends you the amounts. If each one would be under \u20ac50, nothing is due.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Freelancer, sole trader or company?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A sole trader (empres\u00e1rio em nome individual) is taxed exactly like a freelancer, on the same IRS scale. The difference is mainly legal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <strong>Unipessoal Lda.<\/strong> is a different animal. The company pays corporate tax (IRC) of 15% on its first \u20ac50,000 of profit and 19% above that in 2026, plus up to 1.5% municipal surcharge. You then pay yourself a salary, dividends or both. Above a certain income this can leave you more, but it also means accounting costs and a minimum social security charge as a manager. Our guide to <a href=\"\/pt\/trabalhador-independente-vs-unipessoal-lda-portugal\/\">choosing between freelancing and a Unipessoal Lda<\/a> runs the numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"nm-rel-tools\" style=\"max-width:100%;margin:32px 0;font-family:inherit\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 12px;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.05em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#44546A\">Ferramentas gratuitas<\/p><div style=\"display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:16px\"><a href=\"\/pt\/portugal-salary-vs-dividends-calculator\/\" style=\"flex:1 1 260px;display:block;padding:20px 22px;border:1px solid #C9D2DE;border-radius:14px;background:#fff;text-decoration:none;color:#012147\"><span style=\"display:block;font-size:19px;font-weight:700;line-height:1.3;margin-bottom:6px;color:#012147\">Salary vs dividends calculator<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-size:16px;line-height:1.5;color:#2E3D52;margin-bottom:12px\">Already have a company, or thinking of one? See the cheapest mix of salary and dividends for 2026.<\/span><span style=\"display:inline-block;font-size:16px;font-weight:700;color:#012147;border-bottom:2px solid #FFC504\">Find my best mix &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">IFICI, NHR and IRS Jovem for freelancers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>NHR is closed<\/strong> to new applicants. If you registered before it closed, you keep it until your 10 years end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>IFICI<\/strong>, its replacement, gives 20% on income from qualifying activities. On paper it covers self-employment. In practice, standalone freelancers working for foreign clients rarely qualify, because the activity and the entity have to meet strict criteria. Our <a href=\"\/pt\/ifici-portugal-substituto-rnh\/\">guia do IFICI<\/a> explains who does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>IRS Jovem<\/strong> is the one most young freelancers can use. If you&#8217;re 35 or under, part of your freelance income is tax-free for up to 10 years: all of it in year 1, 75% in years 2 to 4, 50% in years 5 to 7 and 25% in years 8 to 10, up to \u20ac29,542 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Getting set up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <a href=\"\/pt\/portugal-nif-online\/\">NIF<\/a>, your Portuguese tax number<\/li>\n\n\n<li>A NISS, your social security number<\/li>\n\n\n<li>A <a href=\"\/pt\/conta-bancaria-em-portugal\/\">Conta banc\u00e1ria portuguesa<\/a> for your IBAN<\/li>\n\n\n<li>O seu <a href=\"\/pt\/abertura-de-atividade-portugal\/\">activity registration<\/a> at Finan\u00e7as, with the right activity code<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Register only once you&#8217;re actually living here and ready to invoice. Opening activity early can start your social security and VAT obligations before you need them. If you want a second opinion on your setup, our <a href=\"\/pt\/consulta-fiscal-em-portugal\/\">consulta fiscal<\/a> is a 45-minute call with a certified Portuguese accountant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Perguntas frequentes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Quanto imposto paga um trabalhador independente em Portugal?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It depends on your activity code and year. On \u20ac40,000 from year 3, a listed profession keeps about \u20ac27,748 after income tax and social security, and code 1519 about \u20ac31,999. In year 1 a listed profession keeps about \u20ac37,779.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is code 1519 taxed at 75% or 35%?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At 35%. The tax authority confirmed this in Circular 2\/2016. It&#8217;s only for services with no specific professional code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do I pay social security in my first year?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. Your first 12 months of activity are exempt. After that it&#8217;s 21.4% on 70% of your income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When do I have to charge VAT?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once your turnover goes above \u20ac15,000 a year, or above \u20ac18,750 in the current year. Below that you can use the article 53 exemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can a freelancer get NHR or IFICI?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NHR is closed to new applicants. IFICI rarely works for standalone freelancers. IRS Jovem is available if you&#8217;re 35 or under.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fontes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt\/pt\/informacao_fiscal\/codigos_tributarios\/cirs_rep\/Pages\/irs28.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">C\u00f3digo do IRS, article 28<\/a>: the simplified regime and its \u20ac200,000 limit<\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt\/pt\/informacao_fiscal\/codigos_tributarios\/cirs_rep\/Pages\/irs31.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article 31<\/a>: the shares taxed and the first-year reductions<\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt\/pt\/informacao_fiscal\/codigos_tributarios\/cirs_rep\/Pages\/irs68.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article 68<\/a>: income tax rates for 2026<\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt\/pt\/informacao_fiscal\/codigos_tributarios\/cirs_rep\/Pages\/irs101.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article 101<\/a> e <a href=\"https:\/\/info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt\/pt\/informacao_fiscal\/codigos_tributarios\/cirs_rep\/Pages\/irs101b.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">article 101-B<\/a>: withholding and when you can skip it<\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt\/pt\/informacao_fiscal\/codigos_tributarios\/cirs_rep\/Pages\/irs102.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article 102<\/a>: advance payments<\/li>\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt\/pt\/informacao_fiscal\/codigos_tributarios\/cirs_rep\/Pages\/irs12b.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Article 12-B<\/a>: IRS Jovem<\/li>\n\n\n<li>AT Circular 2\/2016: code 1519 and the 35% share<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Seguran\u00e7a Social: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seg-social.pt\/trabalhadores-independentes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">self-employed workers<\/a><\/li>\n\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated 28 October 2026 for the 2026 tax year. Rates are from the 2026 State Budget and the C\u00f3digo do&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,29],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-1372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-popular","category-taxes","tag-popular"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1372"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14725,"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1372\/revisions\/14725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novomove.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}