Income tax in Portugal 2026: IRS from 12.5% to 48%, 183 days in any 12 months

Article 16 of the Código do IRS does not look at the calendar year but at any 12-month period that starts or ends in the year concerned: more than 183 days, consecutive or not, in such a period make you resident for that year. A stay from August to February can therefore cross the line without either calendar year looking heavy, and that is what the counter above shows with its sample dates. You can also become resident with fewer days: it is enough to have, on any day of that period, a home in conditions suggesting a present intention to keep and occupy it as your habitual residence. The Code counts as a day of presence any day, whole or partial, that includes an overnight stay in the country. It adds two further cases: crew of ships or aircraft serving Portuguese entities on 31 December, and public duties abroad in the service of the Portuguese State. A resident pays on total worldwide income.

2026 IRS rates and the solidarity rate

Rates from article 68 of the IRS Code.

These bands are progressive: each rate hits only its slice of income. Applying the table, without the additional rate, gives €3,343 of tax on €20,000 of taxable income, and €9,750 on €40,000. Rendimento coletável is income after deductions, not gross salary. Article 68 also publishes a column of average rates; its second paragraph, as read on 3 November 2026, still cites an amount of €8,059 while the first band stops at €8,342, a gap the official page does not explain.

Above €80,000, article 68-A adds 2.5% from €80,000 to €250,000, then 5% beyond. For joint taxation, that calculation runs on half the income and the result is multiplied. Some income leaves the scale through special rates. Article 72 taxes at 28%, among others, the positive balance of certain capital gains and capital income not subject to withholding, and at 25% income from residential letting, with reductions for long leases.

Non-residents: Portuguese-source income only

Outside residence, IRS covers only income obtained in Portuguese territory (article 15). The years of arrival and departure are cut in two: you are resident from the first day of presence in the period, and you stop being resident on your last day of presence, each status with its own scope. Three reservations change that calculation, and they are worth reading before you book a flight.

What leaving does not settle by itself

Resident for the whole year despite leaving. If you spent more than 183 days in the country in the year you lose residence, and you then receive income later that same year which would have been taxed had you stayed, you are treated as resident for the entire year (no. 14). The exception applies if you show that this income is taxed by a similar tax in another EU or EEA state, subject to cooperation, or elsewhere at no less than 60% of the Portuguese rate (no. 15).

Coming back the next year. If you become resident again in the year after the year you left, you are treated as resident for the whole year of departure (no. 16). A departure followed by a quick return can erase the split you thought you had.

Tax havens. A Portuguese citizen who moves residence to a territory on the list of clearly more favourable regimes stays resident in the year of the move and the four years after, unless valid reasons are proved, such as temporary work for an employer domiciled in Portugal (nos. 6 and 7).

After non-habitual residence: IFICI and its conditions

The old non-habitual resident regime was repealed by Law 82/2023, with a transitional provision for some people already registered or meeting the conditions on 31 December 2023, or who became resident up to 31 December 2024 with a contract, lease, visa or process dated before set deadlines. Beyond that, what exists now is article 58-A of the Tax Benefits Statute: a special 20% rate on net category A and B income from eligible activities, for 10 consecutive years, with the option of the general scale instead. You must become resident under nos. 1 and 2 of article 16, not have been resident in the previous five years, and carry out one of the listed activities: higher education and scientific research, skilled roles in companies meeting certain conditions and certified startups, among others. Each year depends on tax residence and on continuing eligible income, and a late registration shortens the remaining term instead of extending it. It is no regime for any newcomer.

Counting over 12 months in practice

The relevant 12 months start or end in the year: for 2026, that runs from periods beginning in 2025 to periods ending in 2027. So enter your stays over two or three years, not just the current one. The counter looks for your busiest 12 months. If you stay below 183 days but keep a flat in Lisbon, that result does not protect you, as the home test is not counted. Keep leases, bills and proof of occupation, whichever way you need to argue. Residence is also assessed for each household member, not for the household as a block (no. 5). For conflicts with another country, see dual tax residency; we have not reviewed any Portuguese treaty here. You can also compare with neighbouring Spain, which counts over the calendar year, or the country table. The Taxlag app can keep this count across several years.