How to set up a company (Lda.) in Portugal as a foreigner

If you want to trade, invoice clients or hold investments in Portugal through a company, the usual choice is a sociedade por quotas, better known as an Lda. (limitada, a private limited company). Forming one is quick and cheap: often a single day at an Empresa na Hora counter, or a few days online. The real work starts afterwards, with accounts, tax returns and registrations that every company must keep up with, however small. This guide walks you through the choices, the steps, the costs and the ongoing obligations as they stand in 2026.

Choosing the right structure

A few practical points:

• Unipessoal, Lda. is simply an Lda. with one shareholder. Its name must say so, for example "Atlântico Digital, Unipessoal, Lda.". You can turn it into a multi-member Lda. later by bringing in partners.
• An S.A. (sociedade anónima, public limited company) is rarely the right starting point for a small business: it needs more capital and more governance.
• If you are a one-person service business with modest income, working as self-employed may be simpler and cheaper to run. Compare both before you decide; see our guide to working as a freelancer in Portugal.

Before you start: NIF, name and capital

A NIF for every shareholder and manager

Every individual shareholder and every gerente (manager, the company's director) needs a Portuguese NIF (número de identificação fiscal, tax number) before the company can be formed. Foreign companies that become shareholders also need a Portuguese tax number. If you do not have one yet, start here: how to get a NIF as a foreigner.

The company name

You have three options:

1. Pick a pre-approved name from the bolsa de firmas (a bank of names already cleared by the registry). This is the fastest route at Empresa na Hora and online.
2. Use automatic approval online, where the platform checks your proposed name as you go.
3. Request a certificado de admissibilidade (certificate of name admissibility) from the RNPC (Registo Nacional de Pessoas Coletivas, national register of legal entities) for a name of your own choosing. It costs €75 (€150 urgent) and is valid for 3 months.

An Lda. name must end in "Limitada" or "Lda.", and a single-member company must include "Unipessoal".

Share capital

For an Lda. the minimum is €1 per quota, so €1 for a single-member company and €2 for two partners. You set the amount freely above that. The official rules let you either deposit the capital in the company's bank account within 5 working days of formation, or declare that the contributions will be paid in by the end of the company's first financial year. A token €1 is legal, but a higher figure can make banks, suppliers and landlords more comfortable.

Step by step: forming the company

Option 1: Empresa na Hora (in person)

Empresa na Hora ("company in an hour") is a one-stop counter at registry offices.

1. Choose a pre-approved name (or bring your certificate of admissibility).
2. All shareholders attend in person with a passport, residence permit or Portuguese ID, plus their NIF. Company shareholders bring their own corporate documents and a resolution authorising their representative.
3. Choose standard articles of association or bring your own.
4. Pay the €360 fee (more if you register a trademark at the same time).
5. You leave with the articles of association, an access code to the permanent commercial certificate (the company's official registry extract), the company card details and the company's Social Security number.

The deed and the registry procedure are in Portuguese. If you do not speak it, arrange for someone you trust to interpret.

Option 2: Empresa Online

The online service suits people who are not in Portugal, provided every partner can sign digitally: with a Portuguese Citizen Card, the Chave Móvel Digital (Portugal's digital mobile key, which foreigners can link to their passport) or a European eIDAS login. Lawyers and solicitors can also file with their professional certificates.

With pre-approved articles the registration is usually very quick; custom articles take longer because a registrar reviews them.

Option 3: Traditional route

You can still form a company through a notary or a registry office with fully bespoke documents. This takes longer and is mainly worth it for complex shareholder arrangements, or when partners contribute assets such as property.

Advertisement · GetLDA.pt — Prefer to have your Lda. set up for you? GetLDA.pt registers Portuguese companies remotely through licensed Portuguese lawyers, for founders of any nationality and without a trip to Portugal. The Standard package costs €1,000 plus government fees and covers the name approval, NIF registration for the partners, the RCBE filing and a referral to a certified accountant. Registration typically takes 2–4 weeks once your documents are ready.

After formation: the first 30 days

1. Bank account. Open a business account in the company's name and, if you chose that option, deposit the share capital within 5 working days. Portuguese banks carry out thorough due-diligence checks on foreign owners, so have passports, proof of address, the company's commercial certificate and a short description of the business ready.
2. Start of activity (início de atividade). The company must file its tax registration with the AT (Autoridade Tributária, the tax authority) within 15 days of the commercial registration. A certified accountant submits it, so appoint yours straight away. This declaration also sets the VAT regime and the activity codes.
3. Beneficial owner (RCBE). Declare the people who ultimately own or control the company in the Registo Central do Beneficiário Efetivo within 30 days of formation. You can often do this at the counter or online while forming the company. The information must be kept up to date and confirmed every year.
4. Social Security. The company is registered with Social Security when it is formed. Managers and any employees must be registered too, and employees must be reported before they start work. A foreign manager without a Portuguese Social Security number (NISS) will need one.
5. Invoicing. Set up certified invoicing software. Invoice data is sent to the tax authority as a monthly SAF-T file, generally by the 5th of the following month.

Ongoing obligations

The certified accountant is not optional. Companies must keep organised accounts, and the start-of-activity declaration, Modelo 22 and IES are submitted by a contabilista certificado registered with the OCC (Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados). Unlike a freelancer, a company cannot skip this because turnover is low.

How companies are taxed in 2026

Corporate income tax (IRC)

Lei n.º 64/2025 cut the general IRC rate from 20% to 19% for tax periods starting in 2026, with further cuts to 18% in 2027 and 17% from 2028 already legislated. Qualifying SMEs (and small mid-caps) pay 15% on the first €50,000 of taxable profit, down from 16%, and 19% on the rest. To qualify, the company must carry on a commercial, industrial or agricultural activity as its main business and meet the EU SME criteria. Your accountant will confirm whether yours does.

On top of IRC:

• Derrama municipal (municipal surcharge): up to 1.5% of taxable profit, set by each municipality. Some charge less or nothing.
• Derrama estadual (state surcharge): only on taxable profit above €1.5 million, at 3% up to €7.5 million, 5% up to €35 million and 9% above that.
• Autonomous taxation (tributação autónoma): separate taxes on certain costs, such as company cars and entertainment, which apply even when the company makes a loss.

Madeira and the Azores have lower regional rates.

Illustration (round numbers): an SME in mainland Portugal makes €80,000 of taxable profit in 2026 in a municipality charging the full 1.5% surcharge. IRC = 15% × €50,000 + 19% × €30,000 = €13,200. Municipal surcharge = 1.5% × €80,000 = €1,200. Total ≈ €14,400, about 18% of profit, before any autonomous taxation.

Paying yourself

• Manager's salary. Pay to a gerente is employment income for IRS (personal income tax). Social Security for managers is 34.75%: 23.75% paid by the company and 11% deducted from the manager. It is generally calculated on the actual pay, with a minimum monthly base of one IAS (Indexante dos Apoios Sociais, €537.13 in 2026). Unpaid managers are excluded only in specific cases, for example when they are already covered by another mandatory scheme or are pensioners, so check yours.
• Dividends. Profits distributed to Portuguese-resident individuals are normally taxed at a flat 28%, withheld by the company. Residents can instead choose to add them to their other income (englobamento), in which case dividends from a Portuguese company count at only 50% of their value. Non-residents are taxed under the relevant tax treaty.

Common pitfalls for foreigners

• Forgetting the RCBE deadline or treating it as a one-off. Fines apply, and banks check the register.
• Appointing an accountant too late, so the 15-day start-of-activity deadline is missed.
• Mixing personal and company money. Paying personal bills from the company account creates tax problems.
• Assuming the company solves residency or tax-residency questions. Where the company is "effectively managed" from, and where you live, both affect tax.
• Not budgeting for fixed costs: accounting, a certified invoicing tool and, if you pay yourself, Social Security on the minimum base, even in quiet months.

How an accountant can help

For a company, an accountant is a legal requirement, not a luxury. A good contabilista certificado will file your start-of-activity declaration within the deadline, keep the books, handle VAT, payroll, Modelo 22 and IES, and advise on salary versus dividends. Many also help with the formation itself and with the RCBE. Look for someone who works in your language, regularly serves foreign-owned companies and explains clearly what their monthly fee covers. Our guide on choosing an accountant in Portugal lists questions to ask. You can compare certified accountants who help set up companies or specialise in IRC and corporate tax on Accountants Hub.