Filing your IRS tax return in Portugal as an expat (2026 guide)

Once you are tax resident in Portugal, you file a personal income tax return every year: the IRS (imposto sobre o rendimento das pessoas singulares) return, known as the Modelo 3. It covers your worldwide income for the previous calendar year and is filed online between 1 April and 30 June. In 2026 you filed for 2025 income; your 2026 income is declared between 1 April and 30 June 2027. This guide walks you through who has to file, which annexes expats typically need, how foreign income is handled and what the current rates are.

Who has to file

You must file a Modelo 3 if you are resident in Portugal and you (or your dependants) received taxable income, from Portugal or abroad. Not sure whether you are resident? Start with our guide to Portuguese tax residency.

Non-residents also file if they have Portuguese income that was not taxed at source at a final rate, typically Portuguese rental income or capital gains on Portuguese property.

If you moved to or from Portugal during the year, you may have had two statuses in the same year (non-resident for part of it, resident for the rest). In that case the tax authority (AT, Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) expects one return for each period.

You are exempt from filing only in narrow cases, for example if your only income was:

• income taxed at final withholding rates (such as Portuguese bank interest) that you do not choose to aggregate, or
• Portuguese salary or pension of €8,500 or less in total with no tax withheld.

Choosing joint taxation always removes the exemption. In practice, almost every expat with foreign income has to file.

Before you start: what you need

1. NIF and Portal das Finanças password. Your NIF (número de identificação fiscal) is your tax number. You file on the Portal das Finanças, AT's website.
2. Up-to-date household details. Changes to your household (marriage, civil partnership, a new child) must be recorded on the portal by the end of February for the pre-filled data to be right.
3. Validated e-fatura invoices. Invoices that carry your NIF are reported to AT and appear on the e-fatura system. Check them and assign any pending ones to the right category by the end of February. AT publishes your deduction totals by 15 March, and you can dispute them until 31 March.
4. Foreign income documents. These include annual statements from foreign employers, pension providers, banks and brokers, plus proof of foreign tax paid (tax returns, withholding certificates). Convert amounts into euros.
5. Your IBAN for any refund.

Modelo 3 and the main annexes

The Modelo 3 has a cover page (rosto) and annexes. You only include the annexes that apply to you.

Freelancers should read our guide to self-employment. Landlords should see the rental income guide. If you hold NHR or IFICI status, Anexo L is where you claim it. See IFICI and NHR explained.

IRS Automático: who can use it

IRS Automático is a provisional return that AT pre-fills for you. You only need to check it and confirm it. If you do nothing, it becomes final automatically after 30 June. For 2025 income, it was available only if all of these applied:

• your income was Portuguese salary, pension, or simplified-regime self-employment invoiced entirely on the portal (with some activity exclusions), plus any final-rate income you did not aggregate;
• you earned income only in Portugal;
• you were resident for the whole year;
• you did not have NHR status;
• you claimed no tax benefits except a few listed ones (including IRS Jovem) and no double taxation relief.

That rules out most expats in their first years: anyone with foreign income or accounts, a mid-year move, or NHR. If the pre-filled return is offered but does not reflect your real situation, don't confirm it. File a full Modelo 3 instead.

Married couples and partners: joint or separate

Married couples and people in a registered or de facto union (união de facto) are taxed separately by default. Each person files their own return, declaring their own income and half of any dependants' income. Both partners can opt for joint taxation (tributação conjunta) on a single return. This choice is made each year.

With joint taxation, the combined taxable income is divided by two to find the rate, and the result is multiplied by two. This tends to lower the bill when incomes are unequal. The portal shows simulations of both options, so compare before you submit.

Tax rates: which table applies

General income (salary, pensions, self-employment, and foreign equivalents) is taxed at progressive rates on your taxable income (rendimento coletável), meaning income after specific deductions such as social security contributions. The table changes almost every year, so make sure you use the right one:

The 2025 table comes from Lei 55-A/2025. The 2026 table comes from the 2026 State Budget (Lei 73-A/2025), which raised the thresholds by about 3.5% and cut the 2nd to 5th rates by 0.3 points. On top of these rates, a solidarity surcharge (taxa adicional de solidariedade) applies to taxable income above €80,000: 2.5% up to €250,000 and 5% above that.

These are marginal rates. Only the part of your income inside each band is taxed at that band's rate.

Illustration only: a single person with €30,000 of taxable 2025 income pays roughly €6,460 before deductions. That is the tax on the first €28,400, plus 34.9% on the remaining €1,600.

Income taxed at flat (autonomous) rates

Some income is taxed separately at a flat 28%. This covers most capital income (interest, dividends) not already taxed at source, and net capital gains on shares and other securities. For Portuguese and some foreign income you can usually opt to aggregate it (englobamento) with your other income, so it is taxed at your progressive rate instead. That pays off mainly if your marginal rate is below 28%. If you aggregate, the option generally covers all income of that type, so run both scenarios first. Rental income has its own flat rate and reductions for long leases (see the rental guide).

Deductions from your tax bill (e-fatura)

Portugal grants deductions directly from the tax bill (deduções à coleta), largely calculated from invoices that carry your NIF. The main ones:

There are also fixed deductions per taxpayer and per dependant. Tips for expats:

• Always give your NIF when you pay, or the expense doesn't count.
• Check the categories on e-fatura before the end of February. Invoices marked "pending" don't count as health or education.
• Health, education and rent spent in another EU/EEA state can be entered on the portal manually.
• Rent counts only if your landlord issues electronic receipts or invoices and the lease is registered with AT.

Foreign income and double taxation (Anexo J)

As a resident, you report all foreign income in Anexo J: foreign salary, pensions, dividends, interest, rent and capital gains. You also list foreign bank and securities accounts there.

To avoid paying tax twice, Portugal gives a foreign tax credit. You deduct tax paid abroad, limited to the lower of:

• the foreign tax actually paid (and no more than the tax treaty allows the other country to charge), or
• the Portuguese tax attributable to that income.

Points to watch:

• Use the treaty rate. If another country withheld more than the treaty allows, the excess isn't credited in Portugal. You reclaim it from that country.
• Some treaties use the exemption method. The income is exempt in Portugal but still counts when setting the rate on your other income.
• Waiting for a foreign tax figure? If you can't know the final foreign tax by 30 June, you can file by 31 December instead. You must tell AT by 30 June.
• Keep proof of foreign tax paid. AT can ask for it.

Paying, refunds and penalties

• Assessment: AT must assess returns filed on time by 31 July.
• Paying: if you owe tax, pay by 31 August. AT issues a payment note with a reference you can pay through your Portuguese bank.
• Refunds: refunds are due by 31 August as well. Simple returns filed early in April are often refunded within weeks. Returns with foreign income tend to take longer.
• Mistakes: you can file a corrected (substitute) return. If something later changes the income you declared, the law gives you 30 days to file a corrected return.
• Late filing: filing late or not at all is punishable by a fine of €150 to €3,750. If you file late but before AT notifies you, you can usually pay a much reduced fine. File and regularise as soon as you notice. Late payment also adds interest.

IRS Jovem: a big saving for under-35s

Many young expats qualify for IRS Jovem, which partly exempts employment and self-employment income (Categories A and B). Since 2025 it works like this:

• Who: taxpayers up to age 35 who are not someone else's dependant, regardless of education level.
• How long: for up to 10 years of earning income, taking the exemption only in years you have Category A or B income.
• How much: 100% exempt in year 1, 75% in years 2–4, 50% in years 5–7 and 25% in years 8–10.
• Cap: the exempt amount is limited to 55 times the IAS (the social support index). That is about €28,700 for 2025 income and about €29,500 for 2026.
• Exclusions: you cannot use IRS Jovem if you have ever benefited from NHR or IFICI, or if your tax affairs aren't in order.

You opt in on the return itself (IRS Automático also offers the option), so it isn't applied unless you claim it. If you are weighing IRS Jovem against IFICI, compare carefully: once you have benefited from IFICI, IRS Jovem is no longer available.

When an accountant is worth it

You can file a simple Portuguese-only return yourself. A certified accountant (contabilista certificado) earns their fee when:

• it is your first year in Portugal, especially with a mid-year move or two residency periods;
• you have foreign income, foreign pensions or investment accounts, and need the tax credit or treaty method right;
• you hold NHR or IFICI status, or are choosing between IFICI and IRS Jovem;
• you are a freelancer, a landlord, or you sold shares, crypto or property;
• you received a notice from AT or need to correct earlier returns.

An accountant can also act as your fiscal contact during the year and spot planning choices, such as aggregating capital income or filing jointly, before the deadline. You can compare accountants who handle IRS returns and ask how they handle foreign income before you hire anyone.