Recibos Verdes Social Security

Self-Employed Social Security

By Brenda L.Updated 19 October 20267 min read

Recibos Verdes Social Security: How to Declare and Pay in Portugal

How Make Social Security Payment Recibos Verdes

In short

As a freelancer in Portugal, you pay 21.4% on 70% of your service income, at least €20 a month, after a first-time grace period of about a year. You declare your income every quarter on seg-social.pt, by the end of January, April, July and October, and pay each month between the 10th and the 20th, now also by MB WAY or bank transfer. If you also have a job, you pay nothing below €2,148.52 a month of relevant income.

As a freelancer on recibos verdes in Portugal, you pay your own Social Security contributions. Every quarter you tell Segurança Social what you earned, and it sets what you pay each month for the next three months.

This guide explains how much you pay in 2026, when you start, who pays nothing, and how to declare and pay on the new Segurança Social website, step by step.

Table of contents10

Social Security for freelancers at a glance (2026)
How much you pay
When you start paying
Who pays nothing
How to submit your quarterly declaration
How to pay your contributions
Late or missing: what it costs
Getting access: your NISS and your account
Where to get help
FAQ about Social Security on recibos verdes

Rule	2026
Contribution rate	21.4% (25.2% for sole traders with a business)
Income it applies to	70% of your services, 20% of sales of goods or hotel and restaurant income
Minimum	€20 a month
Maximum base	€6,445.56 a month (12 × IAS)
When you start paying	The 12th month after you open your activity, the first time
Quarterly declaration	By the end of January, April, July and October
Monthly payment	Between the 10th and the 20th of the following month
Also employed?	Nothing to pay while 70% of your freelance income stays under €2,148.52 a month

What changed since 2024

Segurança Social Direta is now part of the main website, seg-social.pt, with new menus. The IAS, the index behind several thresholds, is €537.13 in 2026. You can now pay by MB WAY or bank transfer, file a quarterly declaration late, and if you paid only the €20 minimum for a whole year, you become exempt automatically.

How much you pay

Segurança Social takes the income of the last three months and keeps only part of it, your rendimento relevante (relevant income):

70% of what you invoice for services;
20% of sales of goods, and of hotel and restaurant income declared as such.

It divides that amount by three to get a monthly base, and you pay 21.4% of it every month for the next three months. You always pay at least €20 a month, and the base is capped at €6,445.56.

Example

You invoiced €6,000 of services between July and September:

Step	Amount
Relevant income: 70% of €6,000	€4,200
Monthly base: €4,200 ÷ 3	€1,400
Contribution: 21.4% of €1,400	€299.60 a month for October, November and December, each paid the following month

If you expect your income to change, you can raise or lower the base by up to 25%, in 5% steps, when you declare. Contributions give you sickness and parental benefits and count towards your pension. Unemployment-type benefit only exists if most of your income comes from one client.

When you start paying

The first time you open an activity as a freelancer, you have a grace period: contributions start on the first day of the 12th month after you began. Open your activity on 10 January 2026, and you start in January 2027.

This only applies once. If you close your activity and open it again later, you pay from the month you restart. You can also choose to start earlier, in a quarterly declaration.

Who pays nothing

You also have a job: you pay nothing as long as your relevant income (70% of your freelance services) averages under €2,148.52 a month, which means up to about €3,069 of invoices a month. Your salary must be at least €537.13 a month, from a different employer. Above the limit, you only pay on the part above it. Under the general Social Security scheme, this is automatic.
You receive an old-age or invalidity pension, or a pension for an occupational injury with at least 70% incapacity.
You paid only the €20 minimum for a whole year: you are exempt from January, for as long as your income stays that low.
On parental leave, you owe nothing. On sick leave, you owe nothing from the 11th day (from the first day if you are in hospital).

If you are exempt, you don't have to file the quarterly declaration.

Talk to an expert

Freelancing in Portugal for the first time?

Talk to one of our experts for free about your NISS, your activity and your first declarations.

How to submit your quarterly declaration

You declare online only. The steps on today's website:

Log into seg-social.pt with your Chave Móvel Digital, your Cartão de Cidadão, or your NISS and password.
Go to Trabalho > Remunerações e contribuições > Trabalhadores independentes, then click Entregar declaração trimestral. Direct link: submit the quarterly declaration.
Answer Sim if you had income in the quarter, Não if you didn't.
Choose the type of income (services, hotel and restaurant services, sales…) and enter the total for each of the three months.
Say whether you want subsidies, capital gains or intellectual property income counted. They are left out unless you say yes.
Check the monthly amount the system calculates. You can move it up or down by up to 25%.
Click Entregar Declaração. You can still correct it up to 15 days after the deadline.

Declare the same figures as for your taxes

Enter what you invoiced each month without VAT, by the date of the service, as on your recibos verdes. Segurança Social compares your declarations with the tax authority's data every January, and bills any difference above €20.

Declaration deadlines

Declaration	Income of	Deadline
October 2026	July to September 2026	Monday 2 November 2026
January 2027	October to December 2026	Monday 1 February 2027
April 2027	January to March 2027	Friday 30 April 2027
July 2027	April to June 2027	Monday 2 August 2027
October 2027	July to September 2027	Tuesday 2 November 2027

The legal deadline is the last day of the month; when it falls on a weekend or a public holiday, it moves to the next working day. Missed it? You can still file, marked as late, until the end of the month before the next declaration period. In January you also confirm your income of the previous year.

How to pay your contributions

You pay every month, between the 10th and the 20th, for the previous month. Segurança Social puts a payment slip in your messages each month. To pay:

Log into seg-social.pt and go to Pagamentos e dívidas > Valores a pagar à Segurança Social.
Open Pagamentos, then Fazer pagamentos (direct link: make a payment).
Tick the months you want to pay and click Pagar.
Choose MB WAY, Multibanco or bank transfer.

The ways to pay:

MB WAY: up to €10,000. You have 4 minutes to approve the payment on your phone.
Multibanco or home banking: with the payment reference, or without one under Pagamentos à Segurança Social > Trabalhadores Independentes, with your NISS and the month.
Bank transfer: every payment slip shows an IBAN and SWIFT code, handy if your account is abroad.
Direct debit: authorise it under Pagamentos e dívidas. It only covers the current month, not arrears.
In person: at a Segurança Social cash desk (tesouraria), by card, or in cash up to €150. No appointment needed.

A slip you generate yourself is valid for 120 hours, and a payment can take up to 72 hours to appear.

Late or missing: what it costs

A missing quarterly declaration: a fine of €50 to €250. Your base also falls back to the €20 minimum, and the difference is billed after the January review.
Paying up to 30 days late: a minor offence, €50 to €250.
More than 30 days late: a serious offence, €300 to €1,200.
Interest: 7.221% a year in 2026, charged for each month or part of a month.
Benefits: to receive sickness or parental pay, your contributions must be up to date by the end of the third month before the event.

Can't pay everything at once? You can request a payment plan online (Pedir plano prestacional). Unpaid debts go to tax enforcement.

Getting access: your NISS and your account

You need a Social Security number (NISS). Foreign citizens request it online only, on seg-social.pt. For self-employment, upload your ID, your start-of-activity proof and your invoices (non-EU citizens also a residence permit or visa).

Then create your account: on the login page, click Registar, enter your NISS and personal details, receive a code by email or SMS, and choose your password. With a Chave Móvel Digital, you can log in straight away.

Apply for your Portuguese NISS online in just 5 minutes

An easy, secure way to get your Portuguese NISS, officially processed with the social security office and includes your Segurança Social Direta password.

Get your Portuguese NISS now

100% online process

Apply from abroad

Password for your Segurança Social Direta account

Where to get help

Phone: +351 210 545 400 or 300 502 502, on working days from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Choose option 3 for workers. Have your NISS and your phone security code (requested online) ready.
Appointments: book an in-person or video appointment on Siga, by phone on +351 210 548 888 or 300 088 888, or on WhatsApp since October 2026.
In writing: e-Clic, Segurança Social's online request desk.
Abroad: Social Security attachés help Portuguese residents in Germany, France, Luxembourg, the UK, Switzerland, the USA and Canada.

Good to know

On the simplified tax regime, the part of your contributions above 10% of your gross income is deductible in your IRS. Keep your payment receipts: you can download them under Pagamentos e dívidas. If you hire an accountant for the year, the quarterly declarations are usually part of the job.

Do I pay Social Security in my first year as a freelancer?

No, the first time you open an activity. You start paying on the first day of the 12th month after you began.

How much Social Security does a freelancer pay in Portugal?

21.4% of 70% of your service income (20% for sales of goods), averaged per month over the last quarter. For €2,000 of services a month, that is €299.60 a month. The minimum is €20.