ENI
Published 5 November 2026, 03:36
ENI — Empresário em Nome Individual (sole trader)
A person who runs a business in their own name. No separate company is set up, there is no minimum share capital, and the business trades under the person's own name. You set it up by filing a declaration of start of activity at the tax office and registering with Segurança Social. Personal and business assets are not separated: you are liable for business debts with everything you own; that is how the government services portal described this form of business.
Where you come across it. Moving from employment to working for yourself and starting your own business; invoices for services, social security contributions, the IRS return under category B.
An ENI pays a higher Segurança Social contribution than other self-employed people: under Article 168 of the Código dos Regimes Contributivos, the rate is 21.4% for the self-employed and 25.2% for an ENI and owners of an EIRL. On the other hand, Article 141 expressly gives an ENI unemployment cover, while an ordinary self-employed person only gets it if they are economically dependent on a single client. And do not confuse it with an EIRL: there the capital is at least €5,000 and the business assets are kept separate from personal ones.
Official website: seg-social.pt