How to choose an accountant in Portugal (and what they cost)

Whether you are opening activity as a freelancer, setting up a company or just facing your first Portuguese tax return, sooner or later you will look for an accountant. In Portugal the profession is regulated: the person who signs your accounts and business tax returns must be a contabilista certificado (certified accountant) registered with the professional body. This guide explains what they do, when you legally need one, how to check their registration, what to ask before hiring, and what fees roughly look like in 2026.

What a contabilista certificado is

A contabilista certificado (often shortened to CC, and formerly called TOC, técnico oficial de contas) is an accountant registered with the Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados (OCC, the Order of Certified Accountants). The title and the reserved acts are only available to registered members.

The profession is governed by the Estatuto da Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados (EOCC, the OCC Statute). Its current form comes from Lei n.º 139/2015, which turned the old Order of Official Accountants into the OCC, and it was last substantially amended by Lei n.º 68/2023, in force since 1 March 2024. A Code of Ethics (Código Deontológico) applies alongside it.

Under the Statute, a certified accountant:

• has the exclusive right to take responsibility for the technical regularity of the accounts of any entity that has, or must have, organised accounting, including signing its financial statements and the tax returns based on those accounts;
• may also give accounting and tax advice, and represent the clients whose accounts they are responsible for in tax procedures and, in tax court cases, up to the value above which a lawyer becomes mandatory;
• must have professional liability insurance, keep up with mandatory training and keep your information confidential;
• must sign a written service contract with you.

When you legally need one

For self-employed people (Category B income), the simplified regime applies if your gross business income in the previous year did not exceed €200,000. You can opt into organised accounting voluntarily. The simplified regime only ends if you exceed €200,000 in two consecutive years, or by more than 25% in a single year; organised accounting then applies from the following year. See our freelancer guide for how the two regimes compare, and the company formation guide for the Lda. side.

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What an accountant does (and doesn't do)

Typical services

• Bookkeeping (contabilidade): recording invoices, bank movements and assets, and producing the annual accounts.
• VAT (IVA): periodic VAT returns and checking that your invoices apply VAT correctly.
• Company tax: the IRC return (Modelo 22) and the annual IES (Informação Empresarial Simplificada) filing for companies.
• Personal tax: preparing and submitting your IRS return, including foreign income, rental income and annexes such as Anexo B for freelancers. See our IRS return guide.
• Payroll (processamento salarial): salaries, withholding tax and Social Security returns for employees, including directors of your own company.
• Social Security (Segurança Social): helping self-employed people with their quarterly declarations and contribution questions.
• Dealing with the tax authority (AT, Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira): answering notifications, accompanying tax inspections and filing complaints within their competence.

Where you may need someone else

• Lawyer (advogado): tax litigation above the value at which a lawyer is mandatory, contracts, company disputes, immigration and complex inheritance or property structuring.
• Solicitador: a regulated legal professional often used for property paperwork, registrations and inheritance procedures.
• Fiscal representative (representante fiscal): some non-residents must appoint a representative in Portugal for tax matters, although opting into the Portal das Finanças electronic notifications removes that obligation in most cases. Any suitable person or entity resident in Portugal can act; it does not have to be an accountant, and many accountants do not offer this.
• Getting a NIF: often handled by lawyers, solicitadores or specialised services rather than accountants.

How to check an accountant's registration

1. Ask for the accountant's full name and their OCC membership number (each CC has one).
2. Go to the OCC's public register of certified accountants and search for them. The Statute requires the OCC to keep this register online permanently.
3. If you are hiring a firm, check that the person who will actually sign your returns is a registered CC. Accounting firms and professional companies are listed separately in the same section of occ.pt.
4. The OCC also publishes, every quarter, the members whose registration has been suspended or cancelled. A suspended or cancelled member cannot use the title.

Questions to ask before hiring

• Languages: can they work with you in English (or your language), in writing as well as on calls?
• Experience with foreigners: foreign salaries and pensions, double taxation relief, the IFICI regime (the 2024 successor to NHR), partial-year residency, foreign bank and brokerage accounts.
• Scope: what exactly is included in the fee (VAT returns, payroll, IRS of the partners, Social Security, replies to AT letters), and what is billed extra?
• Who submits what: which returns they file, which ones you file, and how you approve them before submission.
• Portal das Finanças access: on the Portal, the accountant registers their appointment and you confirm it. To let them submit returns electronically without your password, you must also authorise them. Prefer this over handing over your password.
• Tools and documents: how you send invoices and receipts (app, shared folder, e-fatura), and whether they give you online access to your figures.
• Response times and deadlines: who your contact person is, how quickly they reply, and how they remind you of upcoming deadlines.
• Engagement letter: ask for the written contract the Statute requires, with scope, fees, notice period and how documents are returned when you leave.

What it costs

There is no official fee scale. The Statute only says fees must be adequate to the complexity, volume of work and responsibility involved. Prices depend mostly on how many documents you generate each month, VAT frequency (monthly or quarterly), payroll and how unusual your situation is.

As a rough indication only, based on Portuguese price surveys and published price lists from 2024 to 2026:

Ask for a written quote and compare like with like: a cheap retainer that excludes VAT returns, payroll or your personal IRS can end up costing more.

Red flags

• They cannot or will not give you their OCC number, or you cannot find them in the register.
• No written contract, or a vague scope ("we handle everything").
• They ask you to sign returns you have not seen, or never show you what was submitted.
• They insist on your Portal das Finanças password rather than a formal appointment and authorisation.
• Promises of a guaranteed refund or of "zero tax". The Code of Ethics also prevents independent accountants from charging fees that depend directly on the profits linked to their service.
• Missed deadlines, unexplained fines, or no answer to letters from the AT.
• Cash-only payments without an invoice.

Switching accountants

You can change accountant at any time, subject to the notice period in your contract. The usual steps:

1. Hire the new accountant first. Under the Code of Ethics, before accepting, the new accountant contacts the previous one about any unpaid fees; the previous accountant must answer within 15 days. The new accountant should not take over while undisputed fees that are due remain unpaid, so settle your account.
2. Appointment on the Portal das Finanças. The new accountant registers the appointment and you confirm it. If the outgoing accountant resigns, the resignation only takes effect at the AT once a new accountant is appointed.
3. Handover of documents. When the contract ends, the outgoing accountant must return your books and documents (to you, or to whoever you indicate in writing) within 60 days, against a signed receipt listing what was delivered.
4. Timing. Changing at the start of a financial year, or after the annual accounts and returns are closed, is usually simpler.

When to get an accountant

If you have a company or organised accounting, you need one. If you are a freelancer under the simplified regime, a good accountant mostly saves time and errors on VAT, Social Security and your IRS return. If you are an employee or retiree, you may manage alone, but your first year in Portugal, foreign income, IFICI, a property sale or rental income are good moments to get help.

A good fit is someone who knows your type of income, speaks your language and explains what they file in your name. You can compare certified accountants on Accountants Hub and filter by language and service, for example general accounting or IRS and personal tax.