Starting as self-employed
We set out the tax regime to choose, how to register your activity and what you owe and file in your first year as a freelancer in Portugal.
Send us your request
We reply within 2 working days with the right service, its price and how to start.
In short
Starting as self-employed in Portugal means registering your activity with the tax authority, choosing how your income is taxed, and knowing when VAT and social security apply. Social security contributions are normally 21.4% on 70% of your fees. You may qualify for the VAT exemption while your turnover stays within €15,000, subject to conditions, and clients abroad change the rules.
What decides it:
- the activity you register;
- the turnover you expect;
- whether your clients are in Portugal or abroad;
- whether you also have employment income or a pension;
- whether this is your first registration as self-employed in Portugal.
What you get
- The tax regime to choose for your income, with the reasons for the choice.
- How to register your activity with the tax authority.
- Your obligations in the first year for income tax, VAT and social security, with their dates.
- A call with your adviser when your case needs it.
How it works
- After payment, you upload your documents in your portal, such as any contracts with clients and the records of your other income.
- Your advice reaches your portal, signed by your adviser, with your first-year obligations and the date each one falls due.
The dates that matter
Register your activity before you start it. On a first registration, Social Security contributions normally start on the first day of the 12th month after the month you begin, unless you opt for earlier coverage, and your income is declared in the IRS return filed between 1 April and 30 June of the following year.
What clients say
Taxbordr’s entity-versus-freelancer analysis proved I didn’t need a Portuguese company. Staying as a sole trader with corrected recibos verdes (Portugal’s self-employment receipts) reduced avoidable corporate and compliance friction.
Canadian freelancer, Lisbon In one year I had UK consulting income, RSUs from a former employer, a small Portuguese sole-trader activity, and questions about whether IFICI was even available to me. I did not know what belonged on the return and what was just noise. Taxbordr separated the income streams, flagged the documents I was missing, and gave me a filing plan I could actually follow.
Irish consultant, Braga
From clients we have advised. Names withheld at their request.
Related guides
Questions
Do I need a company instead?
It depends on the activity you register, the turnover you expect, whether your clients are in Portugal or abroad and whether you employ staff. The advice says whether a company would change the tax result; if it would, we can also handle starting a company.
