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Declaring Foreign Income in Portugal

The foreign income annex (Anexo J) of the annual tax return, for pensions, salary, rent, and investment earnings from abroad.

Declaring Foreign Income in Portugal

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • You are tax resident in Portugal and receive a pension, salary, rent, or investment income from abroad.
  • You hold a bank or brokerage account outside Portugal, even one that earns nothing.
  • You have IFICI or the old NHR status and wonder whether you still need to declare.

Not for you if: you live abroad and only earn income from Portugal. Start with Becoming a Tax Resident in Portugal.

Updated September 2026. A new UK and Portugal tax treaty applies in Portugal from 1 January 2026, so British pensions received in 2026 follow new rules.

If you are tax resident in Portugal, you must declare the income you receive from abroad on a separate annex of your annual tax return, called Anexo J. You list each item gross, with the tax already paid abroad, and Portugal gives you credit for that tax. You also list every foreign bank and securities account you hold.

Anexo J costs nothing to file. It goes in with your normal return between 1 April and 30 June, for the previous calendar year. Most people with one pension and one account can complete it in an hour.

Who has to file Anexo J

Portugal taxes its residents on their worldwide income. If you are tax resident here, everything you earn abroad goes on your Portuguese return, even if the other country already taxed it.

You are usually resident if you spend more than 183 days here in a year. You are also resident if you have a home here that you appear to use as your main home. In the year you move, you are normally resident only from the day you arrive.

You must file Anexo J if, in the tax year, you:

  • received any income from a foreign source, such as a pension, salary, rent, interest, dividends, or a gain from selling shares, property, or crypto;
  • held a deposit or securities account at a bank outside Portugal, in your name or as someone authorised to use it.

The account rule catches many people. It applies even if the account paid no interest at all.

If you have foreign income, you cannot use the automatic tax return (IRS Automático). You file the full return yourself, or through an accountant. Our guide to Filing Your Annual Income Tax Return (IRS) in Portugal explains the main form.

What goes where on the form

Anexo J follows the same income categories as the rest of the Portuguese return. Each section asks for the country the income came from, the gross amount, and the tax paid there.

Section (quadro)What you declareCommon examples
4Employment incomeSalary from a foreign employer
5PensionsState, workplace, and private pensions from abroad
6Self-employment incomeFees from foreign clients, if not already in your self-employed annex
7Rental incomeRent from a flat you own in another country
8Investment incomeForeign bank interest, dividends from foreign shares
9GainsSelling foreign shares, funds, property, or crypto
11Foreign accountsThe IBAN and BIC of each account held abroad

Section 3A asks for your nationalities. This matters for government service pensions, which some treaties treat differently depending on your nationality.

Before you start: what to gather

Collect these for each person on the return:

  • annual statements for every foreign pension, showing the gross amount and any tax withheld;
  • foreign payslips or an annual pay summary, if you were employed abroad;
  • rent received and tax paid on any foreign property;
  • bank and broker annual statements showing interest, dividends, sales, and tax withheld;
  • proof of foreign tax paid, such as a tax assessment or withholding certificate;
  • the IBAN and BIC of every foreign account.

Keep all of this for at least four years. Finanças can ask for proof of foreign tax at any time in that period.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Log in to the Portal das Finanças with your NIF and password, or with the digital mobile key (Chave Móvel Digital).
  2. Open the annual return (Modelo 3) for the year you are declaring.
  3. On the cover page, tick Anexo J. Couples filing jointly need one Anexo J per person with foreign income.
  4. Convert each foreign amount into euros. Use the official exchange rate on the day the income was paid to you. If you cannot prove the date, use the 31 December rate for that year. Banco de Portugal publishes daily reference rates.
  5. Enter each item in the right section: gross amount first, then the tax paid abroad.
  6. For investment income, rent, and pensions, the form asks whether you want to add the income to your other income. This choice is called aggregation (englobamento). See the next section before you tick it.
  7. List every foreign account in section 11.
  8. Use the "simulate" button to check the result, then submit.

Keep a note of the exchange rates you used. If Finanças questions a figure, you will need to show how you got it.

How Portugal stops you paying tax twice

Portugal has double taxation treaties with about 80 countries. Each treaty decides which country may tax each type of income. There are two ways Portugal gives relief.

The credit method. This is the usual case. Portugal taxes the foreign income at Portuguese rates, then deducts the tax you paid abroad. The credit is capped at the lower of the foreign tax paid, or the Portuguese tax due on that income. If the foreign tax was higher, you do not get the difference back.

If the treaty limits the tax the other country may charge, the credit is limited to that treaty rate. If you have too little Portuguese tax in a year to use the full credit, you can carry the unused part forward for five years.

Exemption with progression. For some income, the treaty says only the other country may tax it. Portugal then exempts it, but still counts it to set the rate on your other income. A typical example is a pension paid by a foreign government for public service.

If the other country took too much tax under the treaty, claim the excess back from that country. Portugal will not refund it. Our guide to Avoiding Double Taxation in Portugal covers the forms that reduce foreign tax at source.

How each type of income is taxed

Pensions and salary. These are added to your other income and taxed at the normal progressive rates. For 2026 income, the rates run from 12.5% to 48%.

Interest and dividends. Foreign investment income is taxed at a flat 28% unless you choose aggregation. The rate rises to 35% if the payer is in a country on Portugal's tax haven list. Aggregation only helps if your total income is low enough for your normal rate to be under 28%.

Gains on shares and funds. Your net gain for the year is taxed at 28%, or at your normal rates if you choose aggregation. If you sold assets held for under 365 days and your total income reaches the top bracket, those short-term gains must be aggregated.

Crypto. Gains on crypto held for 365 days or more are generally exempt. Gains on crypto held for less than that are taxed at 28%. You still declare both.

Foreign rent. Rent from property abroad is taxed at a flat rate unless you choose aggregation. The new reduced rates for moderate rents are designed for Portuguese leases; check with Finanças before applying them to a foreign property. See Declaring Rental Income as a Landlord in Portugal for the rules on rent.

If you receive a UK pension

The new UK and Portugal tax treaty came into force on 29 December 2025. In Portugal it applies from 1 January 2026.

If you are resident in Portugal and receive a UK state pension, a workplace pension, or a private pension, the treaty says only Portugal may tax it. Ask your UK pension provider to stop deducting UK tax, using HMRC's form for residents of treaty countries.

If you receive a UK government service pension, such as a civil service or armed forces pension, it is normally taxable only in the UK. The exception: if you are a Portuguese national and not a British national, both countries may tax it. You then claim credit in Portugal for the UK tax.

For 2025 income, declared in 2026, the old treaty still applied.

If you have IFICI or NHR status

You still file Anexo J. The special regime changes how the income is taxed, not whether you declare it.

IFICI. Most foreign salary, self-employment income, investment income, rent, and gains are exempt. They are still counted to set the rate on your other income. Foreign pensions are not covered by the IFICI exemption. Income from a country on Portugal's tax haven list is taxed at a higher rate. See Qualifying for the IFICI Tax Regime That Replaced NHR.

NHR. If you registered before the regime closed, your status lasts for ten years from the start. The rules for pensions depend on when you registered. Tick the NHR fields on the return, and check your treatment with Finanças or an accountant.

If you get it wrong or forget

Finanças receives data on foreign accounts automatically from many countries. If your return does not match, you may get a discrepancy notice (divergência) on the portal.

  • You notice a mistake yourself. Submit a replacement return (declaração de substituição) for the year. A correction made before Finanças contacts you carries a much lower fine than one it finds.
  • You get a discrepancy notice. Reply through the portal by the date on the notice, with your documents.
  • You disagree with the tax bill. See Contesting a Tax Assessment in Portugal.

If your affairs span several countries, a certified accountant (contabilista certificado) can check which treaty article applies to each item.

Sources

This guide is written from official Portuguese and EU sources and, for prices and contact details, the providers' own websites.

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

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