Quick guides
From your first receipt to the year’s obligations: pick a topic and go at your own pace, with official sources. Updated up to 11 November 2026
Getting started
The first steps and the habits that help throughout the year.
How to open activity as a self-employed worker in Portugal
In Portugal, freelancers “open activity” (abrir atividade) before issuing recibos verdes. You do it online on the Portal das Finanças, it is free and it takes a few minutes. The choices you make (activity, VAT, expected turnover) affect your taxes, so it is worth reading this first.
Read guide Getting startede-Fatura: how to validate your invoices
Validate your 2026 invoices in e-Fatura by 1 March 2027: complete the pending ones, check the sectors and, if you work on recibos verdes, separate your business expenses.
Read guide IRSInvoices missing from e-Fatura: what to do
The seller has until the 5th of the following month to report the invoice. If it does not appear, register it yourself in e-Fatura (Portal or app) by the end of February and keep the paper copy for 4 years.
Read guide Deadlines2026 tax deadlines for self-employed workers in Portugal
Four quarterly declarations to Social Security, one payment a month, the IRS return between April and June and, if you charge VAT, four returns and payments.
Read guideTaxes
Understand IRS, VAT and Social Security contributions.
Withholding tax on recibos verdes: 23%, 11.5% or exemption
Withholding tax (retenção na fonte) is an advance payment of IRS that your client makes on your behalf (when the client is a company or keeps formal accounts). Since 2025, the rate for liberal professions is 23%, not 25%.
Read guide VATVAT exemption under article 53: the €15,000 limit
You can invoice without VAT (IVA) if what you invoiced in Portugal last year was not more than €15,000 and you do not export. If you go over €15,000 this year, you leave on 1 January. If you go over €18,750, you leave straight away.
Read guide IRSIRS Jovem for self-employed workers
IRS Jovem is a Portuguese income tax exemption for young workers. If you are 35 or younger and not a dependant, part of what you earn on recibos verdes is exempt from IRS in your first 10 years of income. Limit in 2026: €29,542.15.
Read guide Social SecurityHow much Social Security do I pay on recibos verdes?
You pay 21.4% on 70% of what you invoice for services (20% for sales of goods), as a monthly average. In practice, about 15% of what you invoice. Minimum: €20 a month.
Read guide IRSExpenses in the simplified regime: the 15% rule
In the simplified regime (regime simplificado), if you provide services you must justify expenses worth 15% of what you invoice. The specific deduction (dedução específica, €4,587.09 in 2026) already counts. Any shortfall is added to your taxable income.
Read guide IRS10% withholding tax on residential rents in Portugal
On residential rents up to €2,300 a month, withholding tax has gone down from 25% to 10%. Only a tenant with formal accounts withholds, for example a company.
Read guideObligations
What to file and how to meet each obligation.
Quarterly VAT: how to fill in the periodic VAT return on recibos verdes
If you are not exempt under article 53, you declare VAT every 3 months. The return for the 3rd quarter of 2026 is due by 20 November 2026 and paid by 25 November 2026.
Read guide IRSHow to file IRS on recibos verdes in 2027 (2026 income)
IRS on 2026 income is filed from 1 April to 30 June 2027. Who gets IRS automático in category B, what to check in Anexo B, refunds and payments on account, with official sources.
Read guideSpecial cases
Answers for situations outside the recibos verdes routine.
Work out your own case
The calculator tells you how much to set aside each month and the calendar reminds you of each deadline on your phone. Free, no account needed.