Moving to Portugal to work? Start here.
Clear guides to the NIF, IFICI, recibos verdes, your own company and your first tax return. Written by Certified Accountants in Lisbon.
Your first year, in the order it happens
Most of the stress in a move comes from doing things in the wrong order. This is the sequence we walk our own clients through.
Get your NIF
Your Portuguese tax number. A lease, a bank account and a phone contract all ask for it.
Before you moveBank account and lease
Both need the NIF. The lease also helps prove where you live.
Month 1Move your tax address
This makes you resident in the tax records and starts the IFICI clock.
Months 1–3Register your activity
As a freelancer or through your own Lda, before your first invoice.
Before invoicingApply for IFICI
In the year after you become resident. Miss it and the 20% rate is gone.
By 15 JanuaryFirst IRS return
Covers the whole year, including income earned abroad.
April to June
Guides
Arrival
How to get a NIF in Portugal
What it is, who needs a fiscal representative, and what to do once you land.
Tax regime
IFICI, the NHR 2.0
A flat 20% for ten years: who qualifies and the 15 January deadline.
Set-up
Freelancer or company?
Recibos verdes against a Lda, with the 2026 rates side by side.
Freelancers
Recibos verdes and VAT
Registering, invoicing, withholding, Social Security and VAT in 2026.
Tax return
Your first IRS return
Split-year residence, foreign income, IFICI and IRS Jovem.
Company
How to open a Lda
Costs, the first 30 days, yearly filings and paying yourself.
Free tools
2 minutes
IFICI eligibility checker
Five questions to see if the 20% flat rate could apply to you.
2026 rates
Freelancer or company calculator
What you keep with recibos verdes against your own Lda.
Free PDF
Moving to Portugal tax checklist
Every step and deadline of your first year, on two printable pages.
Moving from
Country checklists for what to close at home and open in Portugal.
The Netherlands
What to close on the Dutch side and open in Portugal.
Germany
What to close on the German side and open in Portugal.
Belgium
What to close on the Belgian side and open in Portugal.
The United Kingdom
What to close on the UK side and open in Portugal.
The United States
What to close on the US side and open in Portugal.
Canada
What to close on the Canadian side and open in Portugal.
Sweden
What to close on the Swedish side and open in Portugal.
Ireland
What to close on the Irish side and open in Portugal.
Brazil
What to close on the Brazilian side and open in Portugal.
Madeira
Lower regional IRS, 10.5% corporate tax and the 5% free zone.
The Azores
IRS rates 30% below the mainland.
Portugal or Spain?
IFICI against the Beckham law, side by side.
Social Security for freelancers
The 21.4% rate, the quarterly calendar and the first-year exemption.
One contact for the whole move
We handle tax and accounting ourselves. For everything else, we introduce you to people we have worked with for years.
We handle
- NIF and tax address
- IFICI application
- Freelancer registration, VAT and Social Security
- Opening and running a Lda
- Yearly IRS returns
Our partners handle
- Visas and residence permits
- Fiscal representation before you arrive
- Renting or buying a home
- Health insurance and banking
Ask a specialist
Tell us where you are in the move. A Certified Accountant replies within two working days. Questions about visas, housing or insurance go to a vetted partner, only with your OK.