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Registering as Self-Employed (Recibos Verdes) in Portugal

How to register as a freelancer at Finanças, how you are taxed, when VAT applies, and what you pay to social security, step by step.

Registering as Self-Employed (Recibos Verdes) in Portugal

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • You live in Portugal, EU citizen or not, and want to invoice clients as a freelancer.
  • You hold a D8 digital nomad or D7 visa and plan to take on self-employed work.
  • You already issue green receipts and want to check your VAT, tax, and social security rules.

Not for you if: you want a limited company that keeps your personal assets separate. Read "Starting a Company in Portugal" instead.

Updated September 2026. The social support index rose to €537.13, which changes the social security limits, and the VAT exemption now has an €18,750 cut-off within the year.

Registering as self-employed means telling the tax office (Finanças) that you have started an activity (início de atividade). You need it before you send your first invoice as a freelancer, consultant, or sole trader. People call this working on green receipts (recibos verdes). Registration is free and online. You get proof the same day. You pay income tax from your first euro. Social security contributions start about 12 months later if this is your first time. You pay no VAT while your turnover stays at €15,000 a year or less.

What you need before you start

Have these ready:

  • A NIF (tax number). See "Getting a NIF (Tax Number) in Portugal".
  • Access to the Portal das Finanças. You can log in with your password, the Chave Móvel Digital, or a Cartão de Cidadão with a card reader.
  • A Portuguese IBAN. You need it for tax refunds and social security direct debits.
  • Your activity code. Check it before you begin (see the next section).
  • An estimate of your turnover from now to 31 December.

You do not need to register with Segurança Social separately. Finanças sends your details across automatically. If you have no social security number (NISS) yet, Segurança Social creates one. You can also get it first; see "Getting a Social Security Number (NISS) in Portugal".

If you live outside the EU and are not tax resident in Portugal, the rule is stricter. You must have a fiscal representative in place, or electronic notifications switched on, before your activity starts. See "Appointing a Fiscal Representative in Portugal".

How to register your activity

You can do this online or at any Finanças office. The law says you must register before you start the activity, not after your first sale.

  1. Log in to the Portal das Finanças.
  2. Search for "Início de Atividade" and open the form. It sits under the services for activity (Atividade).
  3. Enter the date you will start. Choose today or a future date, because you must register before you begin.
  4. Choose your activity code. Liberal professions, such as consultants, designers, and translators, have their own code list. Everyone else uses the general economic activity codes (CAE). You can add more than one.
  5. Enter your estimated turnover for the rest of this calendar year.
  6. Choose your VAT regime (see "When you must charge VAT").
  7. Confirm the simplified tax regime, unless you want full accounts (see "How you are taxed").
  8. Add your IBAN and submit.

You can download proof of registration straight away. From that date you can issue invoices.

The activity code decides your tax rate and your withholding. If you are unsure which code fits, ask at a Finanças office before you submit.

How you are taxed

Your self-employed income is "category B" income for income tax (IRS). You pay tax on it from the first euro, at the normal IRS rates. For 2026 these run from 12.5% to 48%.

The simplified regime

If your turnover is €200,000 a year or less, you are in the simplified regime by default. Finanças does not tax all your turnover. It taxes a fixed share, called a coefficient:

  • 75% of your income if you work in a listed liberal profession.
  • 35% of income from other services.
  • 15% of sales of goods, and of restaurant and hotel income.
  • 95% of income from licensing intellectual property.

So if you are a listed professional earning €40,000, you are taxed on €30,000.

A cut in your first two years

If you are new to self-employment, the 75% and 35% shares are cut in your first two tax years. You pay tax on half the usual share in the year you start, and on three quarters of it the year after. So a listed professional is taxed on 37.5% of income in year one.

This only applies if you earn no salary or pension in those years. It also does not apply if you closed a previous activity less than five years ago.

The 15% expenses rule

If you are taxed on 75% or 35% of your income, you must show real expenses equal to 15% of your turnover. If you show less, Finanças adds the gap to your taxable income.

These count towards the 15%:

  • An automatic allowance of €4,587.09 in 2026, or your social security contributions if higher.
  • Rent for premises you use for work.
  • Staff costs.
  • Invoices for work expenses that carry your NIF and that you mark as business costs on e-Fatura. Costs used partly for work, such as home rent or electricity, count at 25%.

In practice the automatic allowance covers you up to about €30,500 of turnover. Above that, ask for an invoice with your NIF for every work expense. See "Validating Your Invoices on e-Fatura in Portugal".

Full accounts instead

You can choose organised accounting (contabilidade organizada) instead. You then pay tax on real profit. You need a certified accountant (contabilista certificado). It only pays off if your real costs are well above the simplified share. The request is due by 31 March of the year you want it to apply. Full accounts become compulsory if your turnover passes €200,000 in two years running, or €250,000 in one year.

Other tax regimes

You may pay less if you qualify for a special regime. Each needs its own claim:

When you must charge VAT

The €15,000 exemption

If you live in Portugal, you do not charge VAT (IVA) while your turnover in Portugal stays at €15,000 a year or less. In your first year, you use your estimate from now to 31 December. You do not scale it up to a full year.

While you are exempt:

  • You do not add VAT to your invoices. Each invoice must say you are exempt; choose the exemption option when you issue it.
  • You do not file VAT returns.
  • You cannot reclaim VAT on what you buy for work.

Only sales that count as made in Portugal count towards the €15,000. Services to businesses abroad do not usually count. If you export goods, you lose the exemption from that date.

If you go over €15,000

What happens depends on how far you go over:

  • Between €15,000 and €18,750 in the year. You charge VAT from 1 January of the next year. Tell Finanças with a change of details form (declaração de alterações) within the first 15 working days of January.
  • Over €18,750 in the year. You charge VAT at once, starting on the invoice that takes you over. Tell Finanças within 15 working days of that invoice.

Once you charge VAT

The mainland rates are 23%, 13%, and 6%. The standard rate is 16% in the Azores and 22% in Madeira. You file a VAT return every quarter, or monthly if your turnover is over €650,000. You can now reclaim VAT on work costs.

If you sell services to businesses in other EU countries, the client usually pays the VAT in their own country. Check with Finanças or an accountant which extra forms you must file.

Issuing green receipts

You issue invoices on the Portal das Finanças, under "Faturas e Recibos Verdes", then "Emitir". The portal records every invoice, so Finanças already knows your turnover.

Each invoice needs your client's NIF, or their foreign tax number, a description, the amount, the VAT treatment, and the withholding.

Tax withheld by Portuguese clients

If your client is a Portuguese business with full accounts, it usually keeps back part of your fee and pays it to Finanças for you. This is an advance on your income tax, not an extra tax. You get it back or offset it when you file your annual return.

  • Listed liberal professions: 23%. You can choose 25% if you would rather not owe tax later.
  • Other services: 11.5%.

You can opt out of withholding if you expect your yearly self-employed income to stay at €15,000 or less. Choose the no-withholding option on the invoice. Clients also skip withholding when the amount would be under €25.

Clients outside Portugal do not withhold Portuguese tax. You still issue the receipt on the portal.

What you pay to social security

Segurança Social enrols you automatically once you register at Finanças.

When contributions start

If this is your first time self-employed in Portugal, you pay nothing for about a year. Contributions start on the first day of the twelfth month after you start. If you start in January 2026, you pay from January 2027. You can ask to start earlier, for example to build up benefit rights.

If you were self-employed before, contributions start in the month you restart.

How much you pay

Every three months you declare your income for the past quarter. Segurança Social then works out your monthly contribution:

  1. Take your income for the quarter. Count 70% of income from services, or 20% of income from selling goods or from restaurants and hotels.
  2. Divide by three to get your monthly base.
  3. Multiply by 21.4%. Sole traders registered as business owners (empresários em nome individual) pay 25.2%.

Example: you invoice €9,000 for services in a quarter. 70% is €6,300. Divided by three, that is €2,100. At 21.4%, you pay €449.40 a month for the next three months.

The minimum contribution is €20 a month. The monthly base is capped at €6,445.56. When you declare, you can raise or lower your base by up to 25%, in steps of 5%.

The quarterly calendar

  • Declare in January, April, July, and October, online at Segurança Social Direta. Each declaration covers the three months before.
  • In January you also confirm your income for the whole previous year.
  • Pay every month between the 10th and the 20th, by Multibanco, direct debit, or homebanking.

If you declare late, you can still do it online in the two months after the deadline, but you may be fined. If you pay late, you owe interest, and after 30 days the offence counts as serious.

When you pay nothing

You are exempt if either of these applies to you:

  • You also have a job with a different employer, earning at least €537.13 a month, and your self-employed income averages under €2,148.52 a month.
  • You receive an old-age or disability pension.

A business client that pays most of your yearly income must also pay a contribution. That is a cost for the client, not for you.

Your yearly tax return and payments

You file your IRS return between 1 April and 30 June each year for the year before. Self-employed income goes on Annex B (or Annex C with full accounts). Most figures come from your receipts on the portal. See "Filing Your Annual Income Tax Return (IRS) in Portugal".

From your third year you may also have to make advance payments. They are due by 20 July, 20 September, and 20 December. Finanças works them out from your tax two years earlier and sends you the payment slips. You do not pay any instalment under €50.

A simple rule many freelancers use: set aside 30% to 35% of what you invoice for tax and social security. Adjust once you see your first tax bill.

Changing or closing your activity

  • If your details change (activity code, VAT regime, address, or IBAN): file a change of details within 15 days.
  • If you stop working: file a closing declaration (cessação de atividade) within 30 days.

Both are on the Portal das Finanças, in the same area as the registration. Closing at Finanças also ends your social security enrolment.

Coming up in late 2026 and 2027

  • Platform work. Portugal must adopt the EU platform work directive by 2 December 2026. If you work through a delivery or ride app, your status may change. Until a new law is published, the current rules apply.
  • Signed PDF invoices. From 1 January 2027, PDF invoices sent from billing software must carry a qualified electronic signature. If you issue your receipts on the Portal das Finanças, check the portal notices before then.

When to use an accountant

Many freelancers do their own paperwork in the simplified regime. Consider an accountant if:

  • You choose full accounts, where one is compulsory.
  • You sell to clients in several EU countries.
  • You hire staff.
  • You plan to turn your work into a company. See "Starting a Company in Portugal".

Prices vary with how many invoices you issue. Ask two or three accountants for a quote.

Sources

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

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