Portugal tax return (IRS): the questions expats ask

Portugal's personal income tax is called IRS (imposto sobre o rendimento das pessoas singulares). Your Portugal tax return covers the previous calendar year and is filed once a year on the Portal das Finanças; the Tax and Customs Authority (AT) then works out whether you get a refund or owe tax.

General information on the rules, not tax advice for your situation.

Am I a tax resident in Portugal?

The IRS Code (article 16) treats you as resident for a year if you:

• stayed in Portugal more than 183 days, consecutive or not, in any 12-month period starting or ending in that year; or
• stayed less, but on any day of that period had a home here in conditions suggesting you intend to keep and occupy it as your habitual residence.

Any day, full or partial, that includes a night spent in Portugal counts as a day of presence. Residence is assessed for each member of a couple separately.

Residents are taxed on all their income, wherever it arises; non-residents only on income obtained in Portugal (article 15). A double taxation treaty between Portugal and your other country can change how a particular income is taxed.

Do I file if I moved mid-year?

Usually yes, and it can mean two returns. If you meet the residence test, you become resident from the first day of your stay in Portugal, unless you were already resident on any day of the previous year (article 16). If you had two residence statuses in the same year, the Code asks for one return for each, unless the usual exemptions apply to one of them (article 57).

In the year you arrive you are not resident for the whole year, so IRS Automático does not cover you: the AT requires residence throughout the year. You file the standard return, called Modelo 3.

Also tell the AT that you now live here: you have 60 days to update your address and switch from non-resident to resident.

Resident or non-resident: what changes on the return?

• Income to declare: worldwide as a resident, Portuguese income only as a non-resident.
• Deductions: the personal deductions in article 78 (dependants, health, education, general family expenses and others) apply only to residents.
• Who must file: everyone with taxable income, unless exempt. For 2025 income, the AT exempts, for example, people whose only income was taxed at final flat rates (such as bank interest), or employment or pension income of up to 8,500 euros in total with no tax withheld.

Should we file jointly or separately?

Separate filing is the default for married couples and partners in a de facto union (união de facto). Joint filing is an option: both partners must choose it on the return, it applies only to that year, and the return then covers the whole household's income (article 59). Choosing joint filing means neither partner can use the exemptions from filing.

Your household is the one on 31 December of the tax year. With IRS Automático, if a couple does nothing by the deadline, the provisional return becomes final under separate taxation.

When is the Portugal tax return deadline?

From 1 April to 30 June of the year after the income, even if 30 June is not a working day (article 60, as in force on {verified}). Returns on 2026 income are therefore due between 1 April and 30 June 2027, unless the law changes.

If you have foreign income with a double taxation credit whose amount is not yet fixed in the source country, the deadline extends to 31 December, provided you tell the AT within the normal period.

What happens if I miss the deadline?

A missing or late return can be fined 150 to 3,750 euros under article 116 of the tax offences law (RGIT). The law allows the fine to be waived in some conditions and reduced if you file the missing return before the AT opens proceedings (articles 29 and 30). No fine applies if you were exempt from filing.

If no return arrives, the AT sends a registered letter giving you 30 days, then assesses the tax from the information it holds (IRS Code, article 76).

Where does my IRS refund go?

By bank transfer to the IBAN registered in your Portal das Finanças account (Dados Cadastrais > IBAN). The AT treats a new or changed IBAN as valid only once its status shows «Confirmado», and its page on paying from abroad says a non-Portuguese account needs a document from your bank proving ownership before the AT confirms it.

By law, the refund is due by 31 August if you filed on time. You can follow it on the portal under Movimentos Financeiros, or on the AT's automated phone line, available around the clock once you register a phone access code.

What about NHR and IFICI?

The 2024 State Budget law (Lei 82/2023) repealed the non-habitual resident (NHR) rules in the IRS Code, keeping them for people already registered and for some transitional cases. The same law created IFICI, a regime in article 58-A of the Tax Benefits Statute for people who become tax resident and work in eligible research and innovation activities. We give no view on either; the AT's IFICI leaflet and NHR page set out the conditions.

For your own case, the AT answers on +351 217 206 707 (working days, 9:00 to 19:00) and through the e-balcão on the Portal das Finanças; a certified accountant (contabilista certificado) can also help.