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Registering as Self-Employed (Recibos Verdes) in Portugal

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

How to register as a freelancer in Portugal: the free online steps, how income tax and VAT work, and what you pay to social security.

The Portugal Brief 10 min read

Registering as Self-Employed (Recibos Verdes) in Portugal

Last verified: October 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 or D7 visa and plan to take on self-employed work.
  • You already issue green receipts and want to check your tax, VAT, 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.

Registering as self-employed means telling the tax office (Finanças) that you are starting an activity (início de atividade). You must do it before you send your first invoice. People call this working on green receipts (recibos verdes). Registration is free, online, and you get proof the same day. You pay income tax from your first euro. If this is your first time self-employed, social security contributions start about 12 months later. You charge no VAT while your yearly turnover in Portugal stays at €15,000 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, with your password or the Chave Móvel Digital (digital mobile key).
  • A bank account (IBAN) for refunds and social security payments.
  • Your activity code (see the next section).
  • An estimate of what you will invoice between now and 31 December.

You do not register with social security (Segurança Social) separately. Finanças passes your details across. If you have no social security number (NISS) yet, you can request one first. See Getting a Social Security Number (NISS) in Portugal.

If you live outside the EU and the EEA and are not tax resident in Portugal, the law says you must appoint a tax representative who lives in Portugal. See Appointing a Fiscal Representative in Portugal.

How to register your activity

You can register online or at any Finanças office. The law says you must file before you start the activity.

  1. Log in to the Portal das Finanças.
  2. Search for "Início de Atividade" and open the form.
  3. Enter your start date. Use today or a future date.
  4. Choose your activity code. Listed professions, such as consultants, designers, and translators, have their own code table. Other activities use the general economic activity codes (CAE). You can add more than one.
  5. Enter your estimated income for the rest of this calendar year.
  6. Choose your VAT position (see "When you must charge VAT").
  7. Keep the simplified regime, unless you want full accounts (see "How you are taxed").
  8. Submit and download your proof of registration.

From your start date you can issue invoices. Your activity code decides your tax share and the tax your clients withhold. 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 at the normal IRS rates, which run from 12.5% to 48% for 2026.

The simplified regime

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

  • 75% of income from a listed 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 work in a listed profession and earn €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. You are taxed 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.

The cut only applies if you have no salary or pension income in those years. It 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 costs equal to 15% of that income. If you show less, Finanças adds the gap to your taxable income.

These count towards the 15%:

  • An automatic allowance of €4,587.09 for 2026, or your social security contributions if higher.
  • Staff costs.
  • Rent for premises you use for work.
  • Other work costs on invoices with your NIF, which you mark as business costs on the Portal das Finanças by the end of February of the next year.

Costs used only partly for work, such as home rent or electricity, count at 25%. The automatic allowance alone covers you up to about €30,580 of income. 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, and you need a certified accountant (contabilista certificado). It only pays off if your real costs are well above the simplified share. You choose it when you register, or by 31 March of the year you want it to apply.

Full accounts become compulsory if your income passes €200,000 in two years running, or passes €250,000 in a single year.

Special 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 are based 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 for the rest of that year. You do not scale it up to a full year.

While you are exempt:

  • You do not add VAT to your invoices. Choose the exemption reason when you issue each one.
  • You do not file VAT returns.
  • You cannot reclaim VAT on what you buy for work.

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

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. File a change of details (declaração de alterações) within 15 working days after 31 December.
  • Over €18,750 in the year. You charge VAT from the moment you pass that figure. File a change of details within 15 working days.

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 every month if your turnover in the previous year was €650,000 or more. You can now reclaim VAT on your work costs.

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

Issuing green receipts

You issue invoices on the Portal das Finanças. Choose "Todos os serviços", then "Faturas e recibos", then "Emitir". Pick an invoice (fatura) if you have not been paid yet, or an invoice receipt (fatura-recibo) if you have. The portal records every document, so Finanças already knows your turnover.

Each document needs your client's tax number, a description, the price, the VAT rate or exemption reason, and the income tax withheld.

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. It is credited when you file your yearly return.

  • Listed professions: 23%.
  • Other services: 11.5%.

You can opt out of withholding if you expect your yearly self-employed income to stay under €15,000. Choose the no-withholding option on the receipt. You cannot opt out if you earned €15,000 or more the year before. 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

When contributions start

If this is your first time self-employed, contributions start on the first day of the twelfth month after you start. For example, if you start in January 2026, you are enrolled from 1 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 sets 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.
  • Pay each month's contribution between the 10th and the 20th of the following month.
  • If you miss a declaration, you can still file it online in the two months after the deadline. A late declaration is an offence and you may be fined.
  • If you pay late, the first 30 days count as a minor offence. After that, it becomes a serious one.

When you pay nothing

You are exempt if either of these applies to you:

  • You also have a job with a different employer, paying at least €537.13 a month, and your relevant self-employed income (70% of service income) averages under €2,148.52 a month.
  • You receive an old-age or disability pension, from Portugal or abroad.

The guide Understanding Portugal's Social Security System explains what your contributions give 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 if you have full accounts. Most figures come from the receipts you issued on the portal. See Filing Your Annual Income Tax Return (IRS) in Portugal.

You may also have to make advance payments (pagamentos por conta). 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.

Set money aside from every invoice for tax and social security. Your first tax bill shows you how much is enough.

Changing or closing your activity

  • If your details change (activity code, VAT position, or address): 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.

When to use an accountant

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

  • You choose full accounts, or they become 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.

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change often; check the official source 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.

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