Get a NIF in Portugal online - Complete guide 2022

What is the NIF ?

NIF is a taxpayer number in Portugal. In English, it would be called “fiscal number” for individuals. NIF allows to identify each taxpayer and his tax obligations to make a registration request or a tax return. For individuals, it appears on the income tax return, corporate tax return, income tax notice, housing tax and property tax.

The NIF is used by residents as well as non-residents to open a bank account or enjoy tax benefits that make a lot of people work from Portugal, with foreign income. It allows to exempt from VAT the transactions between European companies which are subject to it in order to make the operation neutral for the tax services. The intra-community VAT number allows auto-entrepreneurs not to worry about the VAT rules that apply in the countries of the Union.

The taxpayer number allows you to declare to the tax authorities and to the clerk of the commercial court your tax information, and your trade register. You need this tax resident card to benefit from a pension, a family allowance, a health insurance contract, and opening a bank account. You also avoid double taxation for your main residence, whether or not you are the actual beneficiary.

Process to obtain a Portugal NIF for EU residents

To get a tax identification number you must have a valid identification method (ID card, passport) and a proof of address (not necessarily in Portugal). You can request your NIF physically while in Portugal, but it is tedious and you have to speak Portuguese, because you will have to take an appointment on the phone and they usually don't speak english. On the other hand, you can also now request your NIF online directly.

Request a NIF online to receive it by email

If you are a European resident, you can assign a Fiscal representative to do your request on your behalf. You can use services on the internet to request your NIF number in Portugal online, and they will assign you a fiscal representative, so you don’t even have to know someone in Portugal.

To do so, you will need to complete a form, and then send your identification (ID card, passport) and a proof of address from your origin country, and then they will get a NIF in Portugal on your behalf. From this point on, they will send you your NIF document by email, as a PDF.

Process to obtain a Portugal NIF for non-EU residents

Whether you are a resident of Brazil, United States of America, or even China, you can request a NIF online, but only by having a Portuguese resident request it on your behalf. Currently, some companies can help you to obtain your NIF number, by acting as your fiscal representative, and request the NIF on your behalf. You will need to send a copy of your passport, a proof of address from your origin country (translated in latin alphabet), and complete a short form, and then they will send it back to you through email.

It is the simplest way to get a NIF in Portugal while not being in Portugal, it costs an administrative fee to process your application, but it’s the most convenient way to obtain a NIF online.