How to Become a Freelancer in Portugal
In short
To freelance in Portugal, get the right visa if you are not from the EU, a NIF and a NISS, then open your activity on the Portal das Finanças before your first job. In 2026, you pay IRS on 75% of income for most professions (less in your first two years), no VAT up to €15,000 of turnover, and Social Security of 21.4% of 70% of your income from your 12th month. Invoice every payment with a recibo verde and file your IRS between April and June.
Summarise this article with the AI of your choice:
To work as a freelancer in Portugal, you register as an independent worker (trabalhador independente) with the tax authority and invoice your clients with recibos verdes, the free invoices of the Portal das Finanças.
This guide covers the whole path for expats in 2026: the visa, the numbers you need first (NIF and NISS), how to open your activity step by step, how much tax and Social Security you pay, and what to do once you are registered.
Table of contents13
- Freelancing in Portugal at a glance (2026)
- What is the freelancer regime in Portugal?
- What helps when you start
- Which visa do you need to freelance in Portugal?
- The numbers you need before you register
- How to register as a freelancer in Portugal, step by step
- How much tax do freelancers pay?
- VAT for freelancers
- Social Security for freelancers
- What to do once you are registered
- How to find clients as a freelancer in Portugal
- Where to get help
- FAQ about freelancing in Portugal
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Freelancing in Portugal at a glance (2026)
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Right to work | EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa. Others need a residence visa that allows self-employment, such as the D8 or the D2. |
| 2. NIF | Your Portuguese tax number, needed for everything. |
| 3. Open your activity | Declare your start of activity on the Portal das Finanças, before your first job. It is free. |
| 4. NISS | Your Social Security number, requested online. |
| 5. Invoice | Issue a recibo verde for every payment. |
| 6. Declare and pay | Social Security every quarter, VAT if you charge it, IRS once a year. |
The 2026 figures to know
| Rule | 2026 |
|---|---|
| VAT exemption | Turnover up to €15,000 a year |
| Taxable share of income (simplified regime) | 75% for listed professions, 35% for other services, 15% for sales |
| First-year tax cut (services) | That share halved the first year, cut by a quarter the second |
| Social Security | 21.4% of 70% of your income, from the 12th month |
| IRS withholding by company clients | 23% (listed professions) or 11.5% |
| D8 visa income | €3,680 a month (4 × minimum wage) |
What changed recently
Since 2025, your first-year turnover forecast is no longer converted to a full year, and only exporters are excluded from the VAT exemption. Withholding for listed professions fell to 23%. New activity codes (CAE Rev. 4) apply since January 2025. In October 2026, Parliament also approved lower IRS rates for 2026, backdated to January, which will apply once the decree-law is published.
What is the freelancer regime in Portugal?
A freelancer is a trabalhador independente: you work for clients, not for an employer, and you are responsible for your own tax and Social Security. Your income is Category B income for IRS, the Portuguese income tax.
Most freelancers use the simplified regime (regime simplificado), the default up to €200,000 of income a year. Instead of keeping accounts, you are taxed on a fixed share of what you invoice: the coefficient, 0.75 for most professional services.
What helps when you start
- A lower tax base in your first two years: in the year you start and the next one, the 0.75 and 0.35 coefficients are cut by 50% and then 25%. For a consultant, only 37.5% of income is taxable the first year, then 56.25%. This applies if you have no salary or pension income in those years and did not close an activity in the previous five years.
- No Social Security for about a year: the first time you register, contributions start on the first day of the 12th month after you began.
- No VAT up to €15,000: with a turnover of €15,000 or less, you don't charge VAT and file no VAT returns (article 53 exemption).
- Social protection: once you contribute, you are covered for sickness, parenthood, invalidity and old age, and for unemployment if most of your income comes from one client. Public healthcare (SNS) comes from your legal residence, not from Social Security.
Which visa do you need to freelance in Portugal?
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can live and freelance in Portugal without a visa. Other nationalities need a residence visa that allows independent work, then a residence permit from AIMA. To get that permit, you must have opened your activity and registered with Social Security.
- D8 digital nomad visa: for remote work for clients or employers based outside Portugal. You need an average income of at least €3,680 a month over the last three months (four times the 2026 minimum wage), shown with your service contracts or invoices. See our D8 visa guide.
- D2 visa for independent professionals: you need a written service contract, or a written proposal for one, and the qualifications for your profession. The business-plan route of the D2 is for entrepreneurs who set up a company. See our D2 visa guide.
- D7 visa: for passive income (pensions, rents, investments), from €920 a month for one adult. It is not a work visa.
A residence visa also gives you provisional tax, Social Security and health numbers. Since October 2025, the job-seeker visa only covers qualified, specialised work.
The numbers you need before you register
1. NIF (tax number)
The NIF is mandatory for everything, from opening your activity to signing a lease. You can get your NIF online with AnchorLess, or at a tax office by appointment.
Living outside the EU or EEA? You don't need a fiscal representative to get a NIF. But once you have tax obligations, for example when you open your activity, you must appoint one within 15 days or sign up for the tax authority's electronic notifications. You also need a VAT representative in Portugal before you start. When you move to Portugal, update your address within 60 days: you become tax resident after more than 183 days in 12 months, or earlier if you have a home here that you intend to keep.
2. NISS (Social Security number)
Foreigners request the NISS online only, on seg-social.pt, with their passport, proof of activity (start-of-activity declaration and invoices) and a residence permit, a qualifying visa, or proof that they applied for a permit. Holding or applying for a residence permit? Ten Espaços Cidadão (in Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Lagos, Olhão and other towns) issue your NIF, NISS and health number in one visit, without an appointment.
3. A bank account in your name
The tax authority asks for the IBAN and BIC of an account in your name, linked to your activity, for refunds. See how to open a bank account in Portugal remotely.
Moving to Portugal to freelance?
Talk to one of our experts for free about your visa, your NIF and opening your activity.
How to register as a freelancer in Portugal, step by step
You open your activity with the declaração de início de atividade, before your first job: filing late can cost €300 to €7,500. It is free online, or you can declare it in person at a tax office or a Loja do Cidadão.
- Log in to the Portal das Finanças with your NIF and password, your Cartão de Cidadão or your Chave Móvel Digital, and go to Atividade > Submeter declarações – início, alteração e cessação.
- Check your details (name, NIF, tax address).
- Choose a regular activity, not an ato isolado (that is for a single job).
- Give your start date: the real day you start working.
- Choose your activity code (see below). It decides your coefficient and your withholding rate.
- Estimate your turnover until 31 December. Since 2025 it is no longer converted to a full year: €10,000 expected from October stays €10,000. Up to €15,000, you can be VAT-exempt.
- Say where your clients are (Portugal, EU, outside the EU) and where you work (home, office, coworking).
- Enter your IBAN and BIC.
- Keep the simplified regime and, if you charge VAT, quarterly returns (the default below €650,000; monthly is an option).
- Submit, then check what was registered under Situação Fiscal Integrada > Informação Cadastral > Atividade Exercida.
CIRS or CAE: which activity code?
- CIRS codes are the professions listed in article 151 of the IRS Code: architects (1001), engineers (1003), consultants (1320), IT programmers (1332), translators (1334), designers (1336), lawyers (6010), nurses (5010), artists (2010 to 2019) and more. They are taxed at 0.75.
- CAE codes classify other activities (trade, industry, crafts, services not in the list) under the CAE Rev. 4 classification, in force since 2025. You can look them up on the SICAE website.
- Code 1519 (other service providers) is a last resort, only when no CIRS or CAE code fits. Company clients withhold 11.5% on it, not 23%.
How much tax do freelancers pay?
Under the simplified regime, IRS applies to a share of your gross income, set by your activity:
| Activity | Taxable share | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Professions in the article 151 list | 75% | Consultants, programmers, designers, translators, architects, artists |
| Other services | 35% | Hairdressers (CAE 96210), car mechanics (CAE 95310), short-term rentals of flats and houses (50% in a containment area) |
| Sales of goods, restaurants and hotels | 15% | Online shops, shops, restaurants |
The 15% expense rule: with the 75% or 35% coefficients, part of your income is added back unless your expenses reach 15% of it. €4,587.09 a year is counted automatically, so the rule only matters above about €30,600 of income. Rent of a work space, staff and invoices for your business count; mixed-use expenses count for 25%. Mark your business invoices on e-fatura by the end of February.
Your compulsory Social Security contributions above 10% of your gross income are deductible.
2026 IRS brackets (mainland)
| Taxable income | Rate in force | Rate approved in October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to €8,342 | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| €8,342 to €12,587 | 15.7% | 15.2% |
| €12,587 to €17,838 | 21.2% | 20.7% |
| €17,838 to €23,089 | 24.1% | 23.6% |
| €23,089 to €29,397 | 31.1% | 30.6% |
| €29,397 to €43,090 | 34.9% | 34.6% |
| €43,090 to €46,566 | 43.1% | 43.1% |
| €46,566 to €86,634 | 44.6% | 44.6% |
| Above €86,634 | 48% | 48% |
The rates are progressive: each rate applies to the part of income in its bracket. Parliament approved the lower rates on 9 October 2026, backdated to 1 January; they apply once the decree-law is published, and settle in your 2027 tax return. Above €80,000 of taxable income, a solidarity surcharge of 2.5% applies (5% above €250,000). Under 35? IRS Jovem also exempts part of freelance income in your first ten years of work.
IRS withholding
Clients with organised accounts, which means companies, withhold IRS from what they pay you: 23% for listed professions and 11.5% for other services. Private clients and foreign clients don't withhold.
If you expect less than €15,000 this year, you can opt out: write "Sem retenção, nos termos do n.º 1 do artigo 101.º-B do Código do IRS" on each recibo (the portal offers it). From your third calendar year, you may also have to pay IRS in advance in July, September and December, based on your tax two years earlier.
VAT for freelancers
- Exemption: with a turnover of €15,000 or less last year (or expected this year if you are starting), you can be exempt under article 53, if your domicile is in Portugal and you don't export goods. Your invoices then say "IVA - regime de isenção".
- Losing it: above €15,000 at the end of the year, you charge VAT from 1 January. Above €18,750 during the year, you charge it at once, on the invoice that crosses the line. In both cases, file a change declaration within 15 working days.
- Quarterly returns: file by 20 May (January to March), 20 September (April to June), 20 November (July to September) and 20 February (October to December), and pay by the 25th.
- Business clients in the EU: the service is usually taxed in the client's country: your invoice says "IVA - autoliquidação" and you report it in a recapitulative statement.
Social Security for freelancers
After your first year, you declare your income every quarter (January, April, July, October) on seg-social.pt and pay 21.4% of 70% of your service income, about 15% of what you invoice, each month between the 10th and the 20th. The minimum is €20 a month. If you also have a job, you pay nothing while 70% of your freelance income stays under €2,148.52 a month. Everything is explained in our guide to Social Security on recibos verdes.
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What to do once you are registered
1. Issue your recibos verdes
Every payment needs an invoice from the Portal das Finanças or the ATGO app: a fatura within 5 working days of finishing the job (by the 15th of the next month for EU business clients), or a fatura-recibo on the day you are paid. Our step-by-step guide shows how to fill out a recibo verde. If you use certified invoicing software instead, report your invoices to the tax authority by the 5th of each month.
2. Take out work accident insurance
A seguro de acidentes de trabalho is compulsory for every independent worker. It covers accidents at work and on the way to work, for at least 14 times the minimum wage a year. Without it, the fine is about €50 to €500. See our guide to insurance in Portugal.
3. Register with the national health service
With a residence permit, register at your local health centre (centro de saúde) with your ID, NIF and Portuguese address to get your SNS number. No NISS is needed. See our guide to healthcare for expats.
4. File your IRS every year
Declare your recibos verdes in your IRS return (Annex B) between 1 April and 30 June of the following year. Withholdings and payments on account are only advances: the return settles your tax. See how to file your IRS in Portugal.
Tips for your first year
Open your activity before your first job, not after. Even without Social Security to pay in your first year, you are not covered either: plan for it. Set aside money for your IRS, especially if your clients don't withhold. And keep your business invoices on e-fatura from day one.
How to find clients as a freelancer in Portugal
- Online: LinkedIn and international marketplaces such as Upwork remain the main channels for remote work. You can invoice foreign clients with recibos verdes.
- Communities: expat and digital nomad communities are a good source of referrals.
- Coworking spaces: working from a coworking space in Lisbon, Porto or the Algarve is one of the best ways to meet other professionals and future clients.
- Local clients: Portuguese salaries and rates are lower than in much of Western Europe or North America, so price local work with the local market in mind.
Where to get help
- Tax authority (AT): +351 217 206 707, working days 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (set up your phone access code first), or in writing on e-balcão, which non-residents can use too. A NIF for a foreigner at a tax office needs an appointment, which you book on Atendimento por Marcação.
- Social Security: +351 210 545 400 or 300 502 502, working days 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; appointments on Siga.
- Health: SNS 24, 808 24 24 24.
FAQ about freelancing in Portugal
Can I freelance in Portugal on a D8 visa?
Yes. The D8 is for remote work for clients or employers abroad, with an income of at least €3,680 a month in 2026. You open your activity in Portugal like any freelancer.
How much tax does a freelancer pay in Portugal?
Under the simplified regime, IRS applies to 75% of income for most professions (35% for other services), at progressive rates from 12.5% to 48%, with lower shares in your first two years. Social Security adds 21.4% of 70% of your income after the first year.
Do I need a Portuguese bank account?
The tax authority asks for the IBAN of an account in your name. A Portuguese account is the simplest, especially for paying taxes and Social Security.
Do I have to charge VAT?
Not if your turnover stays at €15,000 or less a year and your domicile is in Portugal. Above that, you charge 23% on most services.
Key takeaways
To freelance in Portugal, get the right visa if you are not from the EU, a NIF and a NISS, then open your activity on the Portal das Finanças before your first job. In 2026, you pay IRS on 75% of income for most professions (less in your first two years), no VAT up to €15,000 of turnover, and Social Security of 21.4% of 70% of your income from your 12th month. Invoice every payment with a recibo verde and file your IRS between April and June.
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