Portugal news in English.

Subscribe

The Portugal Brief
Subscribe
Guides

Becoming a Tax Resident in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

When you become tax resident in Portugal, the 183-day and home tests, how to change your tax address, and how to prove residence abroad.

The Portugal Brief 9 min read

Becoming a Tax Resident in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You have moved to Portugal, or plan to, and want to know when Portugal starts taxing your income.
  • You split your time between Portugal and another country.
  • You are leaving Portugal and want to stop being taxed here as a resident.

Not for you if: you already know you are resident and need help with the yearly return. Read Filing Your Annual Income Tax Return (IRS) in Portugal instead.

You become tax resident in Portugal when you spend more than 183 days here in any 12-month period. You also become resident if you have a home here that you seem to intend to keep as your usual home. From then on, Portugal taxes your income from every country. In the year you arrive, you are usually resident from your first day here.

Your tax residence is separate from your visa or residence card. Once you are resident, you have 60 days to tell the tax office (Finanças) and change your tax address. It is free and done online or at a tax office.

The two main tests

The law gives two main tests. You need to meet only one.

  1. More than 183 days. You spend more than 183 days in Portugal, in a row or in separate stays, in any 12-month period that starts or ends in the tax year.
  2. A usual home. You spend less time here, but on any day of that period you have a home in Portugal in conditions that suggest you intend to keep it and live in it as your usual home.

How days are counted. A day counts if you spend the night in Portugal. A full or part day with an overnight stay counts. A day trip with no overnight stay does not.

Two smaller groups are also resident: crew of ships or aircraft working for Portuguese companies on 31 December, and people working abroad for the Portuguese State.

The home test catches many people who travel a lot. If you rent or buy a home here and treat it as your base, you may be resident long before day 184.

When residence starts and ends

Starting. If you meet a test, you are resident from the first day of your stay in Portugal. There is one exception: if you were resident on any day of the year before, you are resident from 1 January.

Part-year residence. In the year you arrive or leave, you can be resident for part of the year and not resident for the rest. Portugal taxes your worldwide income only for the resident part. You report each part separately. The tax office asks for one return for each status in the same year.

Ending. You stop being resident from your last day in Portugal. There are exceptions:

  • If you spent more than 183 days here in the year you leave, and you earn income later that year that Portugal would tax, you can stay resident for the whole year. This does not apply if that income is taxed in another EU or EEA country where you now live, or taxed elsewhere at a rate of at least 60% of the Portuguese rate.
  • If you become resident again in the year after you leave, you are treated as resident for the whole of that later year.
  • If you are a Portuguese citizen and move to a country on Portugal's list of low-tax jurisdictions, you stay resident for that year and the next four. This does not apply if you show a good reason for the move.

Residence is checked for each person. In a couple, one partner can be resident and the other not.

What changes when you become resident

ResidentNot resident
Income taxed in PortugalIncome from every countryOnly Portuguese income
Tax ratesSliding scale, with flat rates for some incomeMostly flat rates
Annual returnUsually yesOnly if you had Portuguese income not fully taxed at source
IFICI and the returning resident breakMay applyDo not apply

As a resident, you declare foreign salary, pensions, rent, interest, dividends, and gains on your return. Tax treaties stop you paying full tax twice on the same income. See How Taxes Work in Portugal and Declaring Foreign Income in Portugal.

If you are moving for skilled work, check Qualifying for the IFICI Tax Regime That Replaced NHR before you arrive. The registration deadline is 15 January of the year after you become resident. If you are 35 or under, see Claiming the Young Worker Tax Relief (IRS Jovem) in Portugal.

Your tax address is not the same as tax residence

Your tax address (domicílio fiscal) is the address Finanças holds for your tax number (NIF). It decides which tax office handles your affairs and where letters go. The law says it is the place where you usually live.

Changing your address to Portugal does not make you resident on its own. The tests above decide that. But if you are resident, your tax address must be here, and the tax office uses it as a sign of your status. Keep the two in line.

You need a NIF first. See Getting a NIF (Tax Number) in Portugal.

How to register as resident

If you do not have a Portuguese Citizen Card (Cartão de Cidadão), you tell Finanças yourself. You have 60 days if the change makes you resident or not resident, and 15 days for any other move.

  1. Gather your documents (see the list below).
  2. Log in to the Portal das Finanças.
  3. If your registered address is abroad, open the e-balcão message service. Choose Registo Contribuinte, then Identific, then Alteração Morada/Singulares. Attach scans of your documents.
  4. If your registered address is already in Portugal and you are moving within Portugal, use Dados Cadastrais, then Morada, then Entregar Pedido de Alteração.
  5. Enter the confirmation code. For changes made on the portal, Finanças posts a code to your new address. The change takes effect only when you enter it.

You can also book an appointment at a tax office instead. A representative can do it for you with a power of attorney.

If you have a Citizen Card, you change your address through the card service on gov.pt. Finanças updates your tax address from it. See Changing Your Registered Address in Portugal.

Documents you need

If you are from outside the EU, EEA, Switzerland, or Andorra:

  • your passport or identity document;
  • your residence permit, valid on the date you ask; or proof of an AIMA appointment or a pending AIMA application; or AIMA's proof of international or temporary protection;
  • if your address differs from the one on your AIMA document, proof that you asked AIMA to change it, plus a lease, a purchase deed, an employment contract, or a document from a public body showing the new address.

If you are from the EU, EEA, Switzerland, or Andorra:

  • your passport or identity card;
  • your EU citizen registration certificate from the town hall;
  • a lease, a purchase deed, an employment contract, or a document from a public body may also be accepted as proof of address.

Documents in a foreign language need a certified translation. Send originals or certified copies, unless the document can be checked online.

When two countries both treat you as resident

You can meet Portugal's tests and another country's rules at the same time. A tax treaty between the two countries then decides where you are resident for treaty purposes. Portugal has treaties with most countries its residents come from.

Most treaties follow the same order of tests:

  1. Permanent home. You are resident where you have a permanent home available to you.
  2. Centre of vital interests. If you have a home in both, you are resident where your personal and economic ties are closer.
  3. Habitual abode. If that is unclear, or you have no permanent home in either, you are resident where you usually stay.
  4. Nationality. If you usually stay in both or neither, you are resident in the country of your nationality.
  5. Agreement. If none of these settles it, the two tax authorities decide together.

Check the treaty with your country. The wording can differ from this standard order. See Avoiding Double Taxation in Portugal.

Proving residence: the tax residence certificate

Foreign tax offices, pension funds, and banks often ask for proof that you are resident in Portugal before they apply a treaty. The proof is a tax residence certificate (certificado de residência fiscal).

  1. Log in to the Portal das Finanças.
  2. Go to Cidadãos, then Serviços, then Documentos, then Pedir Certidão. You can also type "certidão" in the search box.
  3. Choose Residência Fiscal and fill in the fields.
  4. Leave the box about a foreign form blank.
  5. Confirm. The certificate is usually issued at once as a PDF, or in exceptional cases within 48 hours.

The certificate is one page, in Portuguese and English. It needs no stamp. A validation code proves it is genuine. Since 1 January 2022, Finanças no longer stamps foreign forms. You attach the certificate to the foreign form yourself.

Leaving Portugal

When you leave for good, tell Finanças within 60 days and change your tax address to your new country. You do this through the e-balcão. You need your identity document and proof of your new address.

If you keep Portuguese income or property and move outside the EU or EEA, you must appoint a fiscal representative or sign up for electronic notifications. See Appointing a Fiscal Representative in Portugal.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Counting calendar years only. The 183-day test uses any 12-month period that starts or ends in the year.
  • Ignoring the home test. A home here can make you resident with far fewer than 183 days.
  • Mixing up your residence card and your tax status. A residence permit does not make you tax resident, and you can be tax resident without one.
  • Forgetting the other country. Your old country may still treat you as resident. Check its rules and the treaty.
  • Leaving your address abroad. If you are resident, register it within 60 days. Some regimes, such as IFICI, have deadlines that start from the year you become resident.

This guide is general information, not tax advice. Rules change; check the official source, or ask a certified accountant (contabilista certificado), before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

Read next