The minimum wage in mainland Portugal in 2026 is €920 a month
Since 1 January 2026 the minimum wage in mainland Portugal has been €920 a month gross. It is commonly called the salário mínimo nacional; its legal name is the retribuição mínima mensal garantida (RMMG), the guaranteed minimum monthly pay. In 2025 it was €870, so it has gone up by €50. Take-home pay is €818.80: 11% (€101.20) goes to Segurança Social, and no IRS income tax is withheld from the minimum wage at all. Figures checked in September 2026.
“920 for 2026”
Translated from Russianru_Portugal_pt07.04.2026
It is paid 14 times a year: twelve monthly payments plus holiday pay and Christmas pay. That makes €12,880 a year, or about €1,073 a month on average. Some employers don't pay the two extra payments in one go but spread them out in small monthly instalments (this is called duodécimos). In that case your payslip shows more than €920, but there is no separate payment in the summer or in December.
The islands have their own, higher rates: €980 in Madeira from 1 January 2026, and €966 in the Azores (the mainland €920 plus 5%). What matters is where you work.
The €920 is the base pay for full-time work. If you work part-time, the minimum is calculated in proportion to your hours. Meal allowance (subsídio de alimentação) is not included and is paid on top: from January 2026 it is tax-free up to €6.15 per working day if paid in cash, or €10.455 if paid onto a meal card. Bonuses and supplements for night work and overtime are also paid on top of the minimum: the employer cannot count them towards the €920.
If your contract still shows last year's figure, you don't need to sign anything new: the minimum wage rises by law, and your employer must pay the new rate whatever the contract says. From January your payslip (recibo de vencimento) should show the new figure. That is the document people check, and it is also what is used to assess your income when you renew your residence permit.
“So it's not a problem that my contract says €870 (it was signed in September last year). But on the latest payslips it's more than €920.”
Translated from Russianru_Portugal_pt08.04.2026
Paying less than €920 for full-time work is against the law. You can complain to ACT (Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho), the labour inspectorate: it can order the employer to put things right and fine them, but unpaid wages have to be claimed separately, through the labour court. A common but separate situation is when only the minimum wage is paid on the books and the rest is handed over in cash: your contribution record, future benefits and income for your residence permit are based only on the official part. What to do about this is covered in the guide The employer won't give you an employment contract: what to do.
“It's common practice: the boss pays the minimum (870) officially and the rest in an envelope. But even then it's 1,500 take-home in total, and you have to be someone they really need, like a cook in a restaurant.”
Translated from Russianchatlisboa24.08.2025
A lot of other figures are based on this one. Take visa income thresholds: for the D7 visa the benchmark is one minimum wage for the main applicant, and for the D8 visa it is four, or €3,680 a month in 2026. Some housing thresholds and social benefits are also set as multiples of the minimum wage, so the figure turns up in the most unexpected places. Under the 2024 tripartite agreement, the minimum wage is set to keep rising by €50 a year, to €970 in 2027 and €1,020 in 2028, and the government has promised €1,100 by 2029.