General Daily Briefing — Friday, 10 July 2026
Declaring Rental Income as a Landlord in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to IRS Category F and the New 10% Flat Rate
Renting out a home in Portugal? The 2026 rules cut the tax sharply. A practical guide for landlords to IRS Category F, the new 10% flat rate on moderate rents, the electronic rent receipt, Modelo 44 and the expenses you can deduct.
Living in a Condomínio in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to Horizontal Property, the Owners' Assembly and Your Rights
Own an apartment in Portugal and you own into a condomínio. A practical 2026 guide to propriedade horizontal: the owners' assembly, the administrador, your permilagem and quotas, the reserve fund and your rights as an owner.
Here is your Portugal briefing for Friday, 10 July 2026 — the day's six stories at a glance:
- The government's 100-plus-change labour-code overhaul is before Parliament ahead of a 15 July Social Concertation meeting, with the minimum wage set to reach €970 in 2027 and possibly more.
- SNS hospitals that close their emergency rooms for more than 72 hours a month will lose a 25% slice of funding, as the health minister trials merged 'centralised' units in Setúbal.
- Portuguese goods exports slipped 1.5% in May and imports fell 3.4%, narrowing the trade deficit to €2.234 billion, INE data show.
- Renewables supplied 71% of Portugal's electricity in the first half of 2026 even as consumption hit a record 27,200 GWh, with solar setting a new 3,800 MW peak.
- Portugal's Volta deposit-return scheme has collected more than 55 million bottles and cans in three months, up from 10 million at the two-month mark.
- Jorge Jesus, 71, has been named Portugal's national football coach on a deal to 2030, succeeding Roberto Martínez, with Pepe set to be his assistant.
The Government's 100-Point Labour Overhaul Heads to Parliament as the Minimum Wage Path Points to €970 in 2027
The government's overhaul of the labour code — more than 100 changes — is now before Parliament after nine months of talks that produced no deal with the social partners, and the Concertação Social (Social Concertation) is due to meet again on 15 July. Contested measures include letting workers buy or sell holiday days, loosening the ban on outsourcing after collective dismissals, longer fixed-term contracts and simpler individual dismissals. A separate agreement already lifts the minimum wage to €920 this year, €970 in 2027 and €1,020 in 2028 — though the Labour Minister has pointedly not ruled out going higher for 2027.
Hospitals That Close Their Emergency Rooms Will Forfeit Funding Under New SNS Rules
Under the 2026 rules governing how the state pays hospitals, any emergency room in the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (National Health Service, or SNS) that closes for more than 72 hours in a month will lose the entire variable slice — 25% — of the funding it gets for staying available. Health Minister Ana Paula Martins is also trialling merged 'centralised' emergency units, starting on the Setúbal peninsula, and has admitted it is 'very difficult' to safely maintain the current network of 168 hospital emergency rooms with the doctors available.
Portuguese Exports Slipped 1.5% in May as Imports Fell Faster and the Trade Gap Narrowed
Goods exports fell 1.5% year on year in May and imports dropped a steeper 3.4%, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (National Statistics Institute, or INE), narrowing the monthly trade deficit to €2.234 billion — a €216 million improvement on a year earlier. Sales to Spain fell 5.8% and to France 7.3%, and INE noted that part of the decline reflected falling prices rather than lower volumes. A deficit that narrows because imports shrink faster than exports is the less flattering version of good news.
Renewables Supplied 71% of Portugal's Electricity in a Record-Consumption First Half
Portugal drew 71% of its electricity from renewable sources in the first half of 2026 — hydropower 29%, wind 26%, solar 11% and biomass 5% — even as consumption hit an all-time high of 27,200 gigawatt-hours, the grid operator REN (Redes Energéticas Nacionais) reported. Solar is the fastest-growing piece, peaking at a record 3,800 megawatts on 29 June. The caveat: in June the country still leaned on imports for a third of its power on hot, still evenings when demand spikes.
Portugal's Volta Deposit-Return Scheme Collects 55 Million Bottles and Cans in Its First Three Months
Three months after Portugal switched on Volta, its national deposit-return scheme, the system has taken in more than 55 million bottles and cans — up sharply from about 10 million at the two-month mark in early June. Every eligible single-use plastic bottle or metal can now carries a 10-cent deposit, refundable when returned to one of more than 2,500 collection points. An early capture rate of just 7% is climbing fast as Volta-labelled stock fills the shelves, though the consumer group DECO says shoppers still get too little guidance on the rules.
Jorge Jesus Takes Over Portugal's National Team on a Four-Year Deal, With Pepe as His Deputy
The Federação Portuguesa de Futebol (Portuguese Football Federation, or FPF) has presented Jorge Jesus, 71, as national coach on a contract to 2030, succeeding Roberto Martínez, who resigned straight after the World Cup last-16 exit to Spain. In a coaching career of nearly four decades it is the first time Jesus will lead a national team, and he is expected to bring former international Pepe as his assistant. His biggest early call is what role, if any, the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo plays in a squad that needs rebuilding.
