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Qualifying for the IFICI Tax Regime That Replaced NHR

Who qualifies for Portugal's 20% IFICI tax rate, how to apply on Portal das Finanças by 15 January, and what happens to existing NHR holders.

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • You are moving to Portugal for skilled work in research, a startup, or a qualifying company.
  • You have not been a Portuguese tax resident at any time in the last five years.
  • You already hold NHR status and want to know how long it lasts.

Not for you if: you will live on a pension or investments. Read "Retiring in Portugal" instead. Returning emigrants should read "Claiming the Returning Resident Tax Break (Programa Regressar)".

Updated September 2026. The 2026 income tax bands now run from 12.5% to 48%, and late IFICI applications are covered below.

IFICI is Portugal's tax break for skilled people who move here for research, innovation, or other qualifying jobs. If you qualify, income from that work is taxed at a flat 20% for up to ten years. Most foreign income is exempt, but foreign pensions are not. IFICI replaced the non-habitual resident regime (NHR), which is closed to new people. You apply free on Portal das Finanças by 15 January of the year after you become tax resident. Retirees and investors do not qualify.

What IFICI gives you

If your application is accepted, you get three things for ten consecutive years.

  • A flat 20% rate on employment and self-employed income from your qualifying activity in Portugal. Without IFICI, the top rate is 48%.
  • An exemption on most foreign income. This covers foreign salary, self-employed income, investment income, rent, and capital gains.
  • 20% withholding from your pay. Show your employer proof that you applied, and they withhold at 20% instead of the normal tables.

Some limits apply to the foreign income exemption.

  • Foreign pensions are taxed. They go into your normal return at the standard rates.
  • Income from tax havens is taxed at 35%. This applies to income paid from countries on Portugal's list of low-tax jurisdictions.
  • Exempt foreign income still counts when your rate is set. You declare it on your return even though you pay no tax on it.

Who qualifies

You must meet all of these conditions.

  1. You become tax resident in Portugal. In general, that means you spend more than 183 days here in any 12-month period, or you have a home here that you plan to keep as your main home.
  2. You were not tax resident in Portugal at any time in the previous five years.
  3. You have never had NHR status or IFICI before.
  4. You do a qualifying activity, listed below, and earn income from it.

The qualifying activities are:

  • teaching or scientific research at a university or a recognised science and technology body
  • a qualified job at a company that receives investment tax incentives
  • a highly qualified profession at a company that gets research tax support, or at an industrial or services company that exports at least 50% of its turnover
  • a qualified job at a company that IAPMEI or AICEP recognises as important to the economy
  • research and development work that the national innovation agency (ANI) certifies
  • a job directly involved in research or innovation at a startup certified by Startup Portugal
  • qualifying activities in the Azores or Madeira, under the regional rules

What qualifications you need

The level you need depends on the route.

  • Highly qualified professions: a doctorate, or a bachelor's or master's degree plus at least three years of work experience.
  • Qualified jobs at incentive or recognised companies: at least a post-secondary technical qualification (European level 5).
  • Research and development staff: at least a level 4 qualification (usually a completed secondary education with vocational training).

A bachelor's degree alone is not always enough. Check which route your job falls under before you move.

Who does not qualify

IFICI is built around active, skilled work. You cannot use it if:

  • you are retired and your income is a pension
  • your main income is dividends, rent, or capital gains
  • you already had NHR status, or IFICI in the past
  • you choose the returning resident tax break (Programa Regressar) instead, because you cannot have both

If you work remotely for a company abroad, do not assume you qualify. The routes depend on the type of entity you work for, and most foreign employers are not certified. Get the job checked against the list before you rely on the 20% rate.

A visa does not decide this. A D7, D8, or Golden Visa gives you the right to live here, not IFICI.

How to apply

  1. Get a NIF (tax number) and access to Portal das Finanças. You also need your tax address in Portugal.
  2. Become tax resident and update your tax address to Portugal at Finanças.
  3. Confirm your route with your employer or the body you work for. Ask them which entity will certify your job: FCT, ANI, AICEP, IAPMEI, Startup Portugal, or the tax office itself for highly qualified professions.
  4. Apply on Portal das Finanças by 15 January of the year after the year you became resident. Go to Cidadãos, then Serviços, then Benefícios Fiscais, then Inscrição IFICI, then Submeter Pedido.
  5. Give your employer proof of the application so they withhold at 20%.
  6. Your employer or the certifying body confirms your activity. They have until 15 February. For highly qualified professions, the tax office sends your employer a form at the end of February, and the employer answers by 15 March.
  7. Check the result in the same menu under Consultar Pedidos. The tax office publishes the status by 31 March.

If you became resident in 2026, your deadline is 15 January 2027.

Documents you may need

Upload what applies to you.

  • your employment contract, if you are employed
  • a commercial register certificate, if you sit on a company board
  • your research grant contract, if you are a researcher
  • your degree certificates, where your route requires them
  • a statement from the company confirming your job meets the requirements, for the incentive, recognised company, and research routes

For highly qualified professions, you usually upload nothing at first. The tax office asks your employer to confirm instead. The tax office can ask for more documents at any stage.

If you miss the 15 January deadline

You can still apply late. The benefit then starts in the year you apply, not the year you arrived. It still ends ten years after it would have started, so you lose the years you missed.

For example, if you became resident in 2026 but apply in 2028, you get the 20% rate from 2028 to 2035. The years 2026 and 2027 are taxed at the normal rates.

Keeping the benefit for ten years

  • Report changes by 15 January. If you change job or activity, tell the tax office through the same menu by 15 January of the next year. The ten-year count keeps running.
  • Keep records for ten years. Keep your contracts and proof of income. Your employer must keep its records too.
  • If you leave Portugal, the benefit pauses. If you come back and qualify again within the ten years, you use the years that remain.
  • File every year. File your annual income tax return between 1 April and 30 June, and declare your worldwide income, including exempt foreign income.

If you already have NHR

If you registered for NHR, you keep it for the full ten years, as long as you stay tax resident. That includes people who qualified under the transition rules.

  • The transition rules covered people who became resident in 2024. They needed a job contract, a visa, or a visa application in place by 31 December 2023, or a lease, a home purchase, or a school place by 10 October 2023. The deadline to register was 31 March 2025.
  • The last NHR years end in 2033. People who became resident in 2024 keep NHR until the end of 2033.
  • Foreign pensions under NHR are taxed at 10%. If you registered before 1 April 2020, different options may apply to you. Ask an adviser.
  • You cannot swap NHR for IFICI. The tax office does not let you give up NHR to join IFICI.
  • If you become non-resident, NHR pauses. It restarts if you return within the ten-year period.

When your ten years end, you move to the standard rates. Plan the change a year ahead.

How you are taxed without IFICI

If you are resident and do not qualify, Portugal taxes your worldwide income at the standard rates.

  • Income tax bands for 2026 run from 12.5% on the first €8,342 to 48% on income above €86,634.
  • A solidarity surcharge adds 2.5% on taxable income between €80,000 and €250,000, and 5% above that.
  • Foreign pensions are added to your other income and taxed at the standard bands.
  • Dividends, interest, and gains on shares are usually taxed at a flat 28%. You can choose to add them to your other income if that works out cheaper.
  • Crypto gains are taxed at 28% if you held the asset for less than a year. Gains on assets held for a year or more are usually exempt.
  • Gains on property you sell as a resident are half taxed, at your normal rates.
  • Double taxation treaties stop you paying tax twice on the same income. Portugal has treaties with the UK, the US, Canada, Brazil, and most other countries. You claim a credit for tax paid abroad.

Your Social Security contributions are separate from income tax, and IFICI does not reduce them.

What it costs

Applying for IFICI is free. Many people use a certified accountant (contabilista certificado) for the first return, especially if they have foreign income. Self-employed people usually need one anyway. Ask for a written quote before you start.

Sources

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

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