Recibos Verdes Invoice: Step-by-Step Guide
In short
Issue your recibos verdes on the Portal das Finanças or the ATGO app: a fatura-recibo when you are paid, a fatura and then a recibo when you are paid later. In 2026, you can be VAT-exempt up to €15,000 of turnover, and companies withhold 23% IRS for listed professions or 11.5% for other services, unless you opt out below €15,000. For a single job without an open activity, use an ato isolado, which always carries VAT.
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As a freelancer (trabalhador independente) in Portugal, you invoice your clients with recibos verdes, the free invoices and receipts of the Portal das Finanças. Every payment you receive for your work needs one, and the rules on VAT and IRS withholding decide what you actually keep.
This guide walks you through each screen of the portal, with the figures that apply in 2026: the €15,000 VAT exemption, the 23% and 11.5% withholding rates, and the new rules for one-off jobs (ato isolado).
Table of contents10
- Which document do you need?
- Before you start
- How to issue a fatura or fatura-recibo, step by step
- How to issue a recibo for an invoice you already sent
- Fix a mistake or reuse an invoice
- Save time with client and service profiles
- Ato isolado: a one-off job
- Your other obligations as a freelancer
- Where to get help
- FAQ about recibos verdes invoices
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Which document do you need?
| Document | When to issue it |
|---|---|
| Fatura-recibo (invoice-receipt) | You are paid when you invoice, or you invoice a payment you have just received. The simplest option. |
| Fatura (invoice) | You invoice now and are paid later. Issue it by the 5th working day after the job is done. |
| Recibo (receipt) | The client pays an invoice you already issued. |
| Nota de crédito (credit note) | You need to correct the amount or the VAT of an invoice, or refund part of it. |
| Ato isolado | A one-off job when you have no open activity. Only one a year. |
The 2026 figures to know
| Rule | 2026 |
|---|---|
| VAT exemption (article 53) | Turnover of €15,000 or less last year |
| Exemption lost at once | On the invoice that takes you past €18,750 in the year |
| Standard VAT rate (mainland) | 23% |
| IRS withholding, listed professions | 23% |
| IRS withholding, other services | 11.5% |
| Withholding opt-out | Income under €15,000 a year |
| Fine for a missing or late invoice | €150 to €3,750 |
What changed since 2024
Withholding for listed professions went down from 25% to 23% on 1 January 2025. The VAT exemption threshold went up from €14,500 to €15,000. Since July 2025, a one-off job no longer needs any activity registration, and no IRS is withheld when the amount withheld would be under €25.
Before you start
- An open activity: you declare your start of activity (início de atividade) with the code of your profession, online or at a tax office. Our freelancer guide explains how.
- A NIF and access to the Portal das Finanças: log in with your Chave Móvel Digital, your Cartão de Cidadão (with a card reader) or your NIF and password. If you have no password yet, request it under Registar-se: it arrives by post at your tax address in about 5 working days. No NIF yet? Get your NIF online with AnchorLess.
- Your client's details: their tax number (NIF, or foreign tax ID) and name if they are a business.
You can also issue recibos verdes on your phone with the tax authority's free ATGO app.
How to issue a fatura or fatura-recibo, step by step
1. Open Faturas e Recibos
Log into the Portal das Finanças and type "Faturas e Recibos" in the search bar, or pick it under Serviços Frequentes. You can also go straight to Faturas e Recibos > Emitir.
2. Choose the date and the type of document
Under Emitir, choose Fatura ou Fatura-Recibo. Then fill in:
- Data da transação: the day you did the work (or received an advance). It can't be a future date.
- Tipo: Fatura-Recibo if you have been paid, Fatura if you haven't. A fatura also asks for a due date (data de vencimento).
- Atividade exercida: the activity code you registered. If yours is missing, add it under Entregar > Declarações > Atividade.
3. Enter your client (adquirente)
- A Portuguese company: type its NIF and the name and address fill in by themselves.
- A private person: you can leave the client blank. Add their NIF if they ask: they need it to deduct your invoice in their own IRS.
- A foreign client: choose their country, then enter their tax ID in the NIF field and their name.
4. Choose the reason for the document (Motivo de Emissão)
This box is compulsory. In most cases choose Pagamento dos bens ou dos serviços (payment for your work). Choose Adiantamento for an advance, or the last option for money a client gives you to pay expenses in their name. With that last option, no IRS is withheld.
5. Describe your service and set the VAT
Under Produtos, Serviços ou Outros, click Adicionar. Choose the type (usually Serviço), write a clear description, then the quantity, the unit and the unit price before VAT.
Then pick the VAT rate:
- 23% for most services on the mainland (Madeira and the Azores have lower rates).
- 0% with the exemption reason "Artigo 53.º" if you are VAT-exempt as a small business. The invoice then states "IVA - regime de isenção".
- 0% with "Artigo 9.º" for professions exempt whatever your income, such as doctors, nurses, psychologists or private tutors.
6. IRS withholding (retenção na fonte)
When your client is a company, or any client that keeps organised accounts, it withholds part of your payment and pays it to the tax authority for you. The IRS box appears once you enter that client's NIF on a fatura-recibo (or later, on the recibo):
- 23% for the professions listed in article 151 of the IRS Code: consultants, IT programmers, designers, translators, architects, lawyers, teachers and others.
- 11.5% for other services, including the general code 1519.
- No withholding for private clients and foreign clients, or when the amount withheld would be under €25.
If you expect to earn less than €15,000 this year (and earned less than that last year), you can choose not to have IRS withheld: select the article 101-B exemption on the document. It stops the month after you pass €15,000. Not withholding now doesn't mean no tax: you settle it in your annual IRS return. Our freelance tax calculator estimates that yearly tax.
7. Check the totals and issue
On a fatura-recibo you can record how you were paid (bank transfer, MB WAY, cash…). This is optional. Check the totals at the bottom (net value, VAT, IRS withheld, total to pay), then click Emitir.
The document is final. If you entered your client's NIF, it also appears in their own area of the portal, so you only need to send them the PDF.
Tips to stay out of trouble
Issue every invoice on time: a missing or late one costs €150 to €3,750. If you slip, correct it yourself before the tax authority opens a case: the fine is then cut to 12.5% of the minimum, often just €25. Keep an eye on your running turnover if you are VAT-exempt: from the invoice that takes you past €18,750, you must charge VAT.
How to issue a recibo for an invoice you already sent
When the client pays a fatura, issue the matching recibo on the day of payment:
- Go to Faturas e Recibos > Emitir > Recibo.
- Find the invoice by client or number and click Emitir recibo.
- Enter the date and amount received, the IRS withholding if it applies, then click Emitir.
Shortcut: right after you issue a fatura, the portal offers to issue its recibo straight away.
Fix a mistake or reuse an invoice
- Wrong client or NIF: cancel the document (Anular) under Consultar, then issue a new one.
- Wrong amount or VAT rate, or a partial refund: issue a Nota de Crédito from the Emitir menu.
- Same invoice every month: under Consultar, open an old invoice and click Emitir Novo. Everything is copied except the date.
- Year-end totals: Consultar > Exportar tabela gives you an Excel file of your invoices and the VAT you charged.
Starting out as a freelancer in Portugal?
Talk to one of our experts for free about your activity, your NIF and your first invoices.
Save time with client and service profiles
If you invoice the same clients or services often, save them once and pick them from a list next time.
Client profiles
- Under Emitir, open Clientes and click Adicionar.
- Enter the country, NIF (or foreign tax ID), name and address, then click Guardar.
Service profiles
- Under Emitir, open Produtos, Serviços ou Outros and click Adicionar.
- Choose the type, a reference, a description, the unit and the unit price, then click Guardar.
Ato isolado: a one-off job
An ato isolado lets you invoice a single job without registering as a freelancer. Since July 2025 it needs no registration at all, whatever the amount. The rules:
- Only if you have no open activity, and not in the year you closed one or the year after.
- One a year: the tax authority accepts it only if it is your only taxable job that calendar year. For a second job in the same year, open your activity first.
- Always with VAT (23% for most services), unless the service is exempt under article 9. The €15,000 exemption never applies. After issuing it, print the payment slip (Modelo P2) and pay the VAT by the end of the following month.
- IRS: declare the income in Annex B of your IRS return. You don't need to file a return if the job was under €2,148.52 and your household had no other income.
How to issue it
Go to Faturas e Recibos > Emitir > Fatura ou Fatura-Recibo, as above. Because you have no open activity, the Tipo field offers Fatura-Recibo Ato Isolado and Fatura Ato Isolado. Choose the activity in the list, fill in the client and the service, then issue it.
Your other obligations as a freelancer
- VAT returns: if you charge VAT, you file a quarterly return. Next deadlines: 20 November 2026 (pay by the 25th), then February and May 2027. Our Portuguese tax calendar has their exact dates. If all your invoices come from the portal, the return is pre-filled for you.
- Social Security: you declare your income every quarter and pay 21.4% on 70% of it, after your first 12 months. See our guide to Social Security for recibos verdes workers.
- Annual IRS: every recibo verde goes into your IRS return, filed between 1 April and 30 June of the following year. See our guide to filing your IRS in Portugal.
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Where to get help
- Phone: the tax authority's helpline, +351 217 206 707, on working days from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Its menu has options for recibos verdes and ato isolado.
- In writing: e-balcão, the portal's online help desk, open to non-residents too.
- In person: book an appointment at a tax office with Atendimento por Marcação. You don't need one to issue recibos verdes: it is all online.
- The official guide: the tax authority's Faturas e Recibos user guide (PDF in Portuguese, January 2026) shows every screen.
FAQ about recibos verdes invoices
Do I have to charge VAT on my recibos verdes?
Not if your turnover was €15,000 or less last year: you can be exempt under article 53 and write "IVA - regime de isenção" on your invoices. Above that, or once you pass €18,750 during the year, you charge VAT, usually 23%.
Does a foreign client withhold IRS?
No. Only clients with organised accounts in Portugal withhold IRS. For a foreign client, enter their country, tax ID and name, and leave the withholding at zero.
Can I issue a recibo verde without opening an activity?
Only for a single one-off job a year, as an ato isolado. For regular work, declare your start of activity first.
When must I issue the invoice?
A fatura by the 5th working day after the job is done, and a fatura-recibo or recibo on the day you are paid.
Key takeaways
Issue your recibos verdes on the Portal das Finanças or the ATGO app: a fatura-recibo when you are paid, a fatura and then a recibo when you are paid later. In 2026, you can be VAT-exempt up to €15,000 of turnover, and companies withhold 23% IRS for listed professions or 11.5% for other services, unless you opt out below €15,000. For a single job without an open activity, use an ato isolado, which always carries VAT.
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