Self-employed in Portugal in 2026: how to open activity with the Finanças

In Portugal, freelancers and other self-employed people "open activity" (abrir atividade): they tell the Tax Authority (AT), before starting, that they will work for themselves. That registration lets you issue faturas-recibo, the electronic invoices people still call recibos verdes, and places you in the income tax, VAT and Social Security systems.

General information on the official rules, not tax advice. For your own case, a certified accountant (contabilista certificado) can help.

Do I need a NIF first?

Yes. You file the declaration on the Portal das Finanças, signing in with your NIF and password, a Citizen Card or a Chave Móvel Digital, so the NIF and its password come first. Your NISS can follow: a copy of your start of activity is one of the documents Segurança Social accepts for it.

Can I open activity as a non-resident?

Yes, on the tax side. The AT's leaflet for non-residents covers people who live abroad and will work for themselves in Portugal, with these rules:

• Living outside the EU (or in Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, and Andorrans living in Andorra): you must appoint a VAT representative, resident in Portugal and registered for VAT, before you start. Signing up for electronic notifications does not replace it.
• Living in the EU: appointing a representative is optional.
• The VAT exemption below needs a seat or domicile in Portugal, so it does not apply to non-residents (businesses established in another EU country have a separate cross-border scheme).

Living and working here is a separate question. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa. Other nationals need a visa or residence permit for self-employment, such as the D2 visa, before following the same steps.

How do I open activity online?

1. Sign in to the Portal das Finanças.
2. Go to Atividade > Submeter declarações-início, alteração e cessação.
3. Enter your activity code, the turnover you expect until the end of the year and the IBAN of an account in your name.
4. Submit, then check the result under Consultar dados de Atividade.

You can also do it at a tax office or at a Loja do Cidadão with a Finanças desk. Work accident insurance is compulsory for the self-employed too.

Which activity code do I choose?

Professions are listed in the table of article 151 of the IRS Code (Portaria 1011/2001); other activities use the CAE, Portugal's classification of economic activities, searchable on SICAE. The code matters: it sets your income tax coefficient and withholding rate, among other things. You can register more than one.

How is income tax worked out?

Up to 200,000 euros of yearly income you are in the simplified regime unless you choose organised accounts. Tax applies to a share of your turnover: 75% for the listed professions, 35% for other services and 15% for sales of goods. Part of that allowance depends on expenses recorded in e-Fatura. In your first year and the next, the services shares drop by 50% and 25%, as long as you have no employment or pension income in those years. How income tax applies to non-residents is different, and worth checking with an accountant.

What is a fatura-recibo?

It is the invoice and receipt in one, issued free on the Portal das Finanças or the ATGO app (Faturas e recibos > Emitir) when you are paid on the spot. If payment comes later, you issue an invoice (fatura) and then a receipt (recibo). You enter the client's NIF, the service, the amount, the VAT rate or exemption reason, and any income tax withholding.

Withholding applies when your client keeps organised accounts and your income passed 15,000 euros in the previous year or the current one: 23% for listed professions and 11.5% for other services, according to the AT's March 2026 leaflet.

When do I charge VAT?

Some activities are exempt by nature, such as health care and education. Otherwise, the article 53 small-business exemption applies if you have a seat or domicile in Portugal, do not export and have turnover up to 15,000 euros a year (at the start, your estimate for the rest of the year). That is the threshold in force on {verified}.

If your turnover for the year ends above 15,000 but below 18,750 euros, you start charging VAT on 1 January; if it passes 18,750 during the year, you charge VAT from that invoice on. Either way you file a change declaration within 15 working days. Without an exemption you charge VAT, 23% on the mainland, and file a VAT return even when you issued no invoices.

What does Social Security cost after the first year?

The first time you work for yourself, contributions start on the first day of the 12th month after you open activity; you may ask to start earlier, and the months without contributions do not count towards your pension. After that, you file a quarterly declaration by the end of January, April, July and October. You pay 21.4% of your "relevant income" (70% of service income, or 20% of sales, in the quarter, spread over three months), at least 20 euros a month, between the 10th and the 20th of the following month. In the Social Security Institute's example, 6,000 euros of services in a quarter means 299.60 euros a month.

If you only work in Portugal temporarily and can prove you are covered by another country's compulsory social security system, you may be exempt.

How do I close it?

File a cessation declaration on the Portal das Finanças within 30 days of stopping. Social Security is updated automatically. If you are only changing activity, file a change declaration instead.

Rules change, so check the Portal das Finanças before you act, and ask an accountant about your own situation.