Your first Portuguese tax return

If Portugal treats you as a tax resident for a year, you normally file an IRS return on the Portal das Finanças. The form and the annexes change with your situation: employment, freelancing, foreign income, or a first year that only covers part of the calendar. This page is orientation, not a filled form.

Where you file

Almost everyone files online at portaldasfinancas.gov.pt with a NIF and a password or the Chave Móvel Digital. Paper desks still exist for rare cases. Get the login working months before the deadline; recovering access in April is a bad plan.

What to collect early

• Payslips and the annual statement your employer issues.
• Invoices if you work on recibos verdes.
• Bank and investment statements that mention Portuguese or foreign interest.
• Rent receipts if you claim deductible housing costs that the law still allows that year.
• Proof of social-security contributions when they are not already on the employer file.

Foreign income often needs an annex and, sometimes, proof that tax was paid abroad. Double-tax treaties exist; guessing the article number from a forum is how people amend later.

Deadlines and help

The usual filing window sits in spring. The tax office publishes the exact dates each year. A certified accountant is worth the fee if you have foreign income, a company, or a first year that overlaps two countries. For a simple employment-only year, many residents file alone after reading the official guide on the portal.

Opening the account itself is in Opening a bank account. The NIF step is in Getting a NIF in Porto.

Checked 27 October 2026. This is not legal, tax, medical or immigration advice. If an official page disagrees, follow that page.