Can't pay your IRS in one go: how to set up an instalment plan
Your tax has been worked out, but you don't have the money for it — that is not a dead end and no reason to hide. The tax authority offers instalments, and you apply for them on the portal in a few clicks. This guide covers the deadline up to which they are granted without any questions, when a guarantee is required, how much extra it costs, what to do if the debt has already gone to enforcement, and why with an approved instalment plan you are not treated as a debtor — neither by AIMA nor for a transaction.
First, check exactly what you have received and the payment deadline
Once your return has been processed, two documents appear in your personal area. The Demonstração de Liquidação (tax assessment) shows how the tax was calculated, and the Nota de Cobrança (payment notice) shows how much to pay, by what date and with which referência de pagamento (payment reference). The second one is the one you check and pay.
The usual IRS deadline is 31 August; if it falls on a weekend, it moves to the next working day. But go by the date on your own notice rather than by the calendar in general: additional assessments and other taxes have their own deadlines.
Where to find all this in the Portal das Finanças (the tax authority's portal): “Pagamentos > Pagamentos a Decorrer” shows what is currently due and with which reference; that is also where you get a duplicate payment slip if you have lost the first one. To check whether the money has arrived, go to “Movimentos Financeiros”, the Regularizado column: the status of the return itself does not change after payment, so there is no point checking it. The payment does not show up within the hour, sometimes only after a few days.
The main thing at this step is to find out the exact amount and the exact date. Everything else is counted from that date: both the window for instalments and the late-payment interest.
“For everyone who has received an IRS assessment notice. To pay the tax, download the document from your personal area on Portal das Finanças using the link below and pay with the Referência number [link]”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkmyptaxes23.06.2026
“The status doesn't change after you pay. But you can check the payment went through on a different page: [link]”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde31.08.2025
Instalments before the deadline and instalments after it are two different doors
The word is the same, but the procedure differs, and mixing them up is costly.
The first door is the fase pré-executiva (the stage before enforcement). These are the 15 days after the payment deadline: the debt is already overdue, but the case has not yet turned into enforcement proceedings. Here you apply for instalments directly on the portal, the decision comes immediately, and you don't need to go anywhere. IRS, IRC and IUC can be split this way, as can IVA and IMT if the tax was assessed by the tax authority itself.
The second door is execução fiscal (tax enforcement). It opens once the 15 days have passed: the tax authority issues a certidão de dívida (debt certificate), opens a case and sends a citação (notice that enforcement has begun). Instalments are granted here too, but you now apply through e-balcão or at a tax office, the terms are stricter, and court costs are added to the debt.
Hence a simple rule: if you notice you are short of money, don't wait for a letter. The first door is the cheapest one to apply through, and better still before the deadline has passed at all: the window on the portal opens together with the notice.
And one more thing people often ask about. An instalment plan does not mean you have agreed with the amount. If you think the calculation is wrong, the dispute over the tax runs separately — through a complaint and by resubmitting the return; in the chats people set up instalments precisely so as not to end up as debtors while the complaint is pending.
“Then it's not really clear what you're worried about. If the tax office has already calculated your 2024 tax at the resident rate — that's a good thing. If it's hard to pay the whole amount right now — you can request instalments.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linktaxinportugal09.10.2025
“Most likely you'd need to go to Finanças for that. But actually the portal often lets you request instalments without that, for the whole tax amount at once.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde19.09.2025
Who can apply and from what amount: the €5,000 and 12 payments rule
Anyone who cannot pay in one go can apply; the rules set no minimum debt from which it “becomes possible”. The limit is different — not on the size of the debt but on the size of the payment: no more than 36 payments, and each at least €25.50. So a debt of €200 can be spread over eight months at most, not three years.
The figure of €5,000 is repeated in the chats all the time, and it is misunderstood. It is not the threshold from which instalments are granted, nor a ceiling above which they are unavailable. It is the guarantee threshold: an individual is exempt from it if the debt is no more than €5,000 (€10,000 for companies) OR if they ask for no more than twelve payments. That “or” is the whole secret: with a debt of nine thousand you can take twelve payments and not provide any guarantee.
This explains the contradictory advice in the chats. Some write that you must first pay off the amount above five thousand and then ask for instalments on the rest. Others describe how a twelve-payment plan was approved automatically even though the debt was twice five thousand. The second group is right — but only because they took exactly twelve payments.
The deadline to apply is 15 days after the payment deadline. Miss those two weeks and the first door closes, leaving only instalments within enforcement.
“Sharing an interesting experience, might be useful to someone. Got our IRS assessment for the 2025 joint return. The amount due was over 5000, almost double. And even though formally a guarantee is already needed, my plan for 12 instalments registered without any problems and was approved straight away.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde22.06.2026
“Today is the last day to pay income tax in Portugal If your return doesn't show a different deadline, today is the last day to pay IRS for 2024. The deadline is usually 31 August, but when the date falls on a weekend, it's moved to the next working day. From tomorrow, late-payment interest will start to accrue at a rate of 8.309% a year. The state was also supposed to pay out IRS refunds by today, provided the return was filed on time.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkportugal_and_me01.09.2025
How to apply in the Portal das Finanças
The procedure is as follows:
1. Log in to the Portal das Finanças — with your NIF and password or via Chave Móvel Digital (the government digital signature). 2. In the search bar of your personal area, type “Plano Prestacional”. 3. Open “Planos Prestacionais > Simular/Registar pedido”: you will see a list of your notices for which instalments are possible. 4. Choose the notice and the number of payments. This is a simulation: the portal immediately shows how much you will pay per month, and you can change the number until the amount is affordable. 5. Confirm the request. If no guarantee is needed, the plan is approved automatically and there is no letter to wait for — it simply appears under “Consultar Planos”.
After that, payments work like this: the first is due by the end of the month following the one in which the plan was approved, the rest by the end of their own month. The payment slip for each instalment appears from the 11th in “Pagamentos > Pagamentos a Decorrer”; you pay with the reference, like an ordinary tax. You can set up a débito direto (direct debit) — then the money goes out automatically.
You can also speed the plan up: the instalments section has “Amortizar” (pay off part early) and “Antecipar Prestações” (pay the next instalments in advance). The sooner you clear it, the less interest you pay.
An important detail about the simulation: the amount it shows is the debt only. Interest is not included; it will be added to each payment slip separately.
“The 10 steps for your instalment plan: 1. Log in to the Finanças portal with your access credentials; 2. In the search field on your taxpayer page, register Plano Prestacional; 3. Go to the option Planos Prestacionais » Simular/registar pedido; 4. You will be offered a payment plan; 5. You can also choose the type of payment notice that suits you best (you can request it via CTT); 6. At this stage, the simulation, you can choose the number of instalments in which you want to pay off your debt; 7.”
Translated from Portuguese; the original is at the linktaxinportugal16.04.2025
If you do nothing: a plan will be set up for you
This is something almost nobody in the chats knows. If a notice goes unpaid, 15 days after the deadline the tax authority itself sets up a plano prestacional oficioso — an automatic instalment plan, with no application and no guarantee. There are two conditions: the debt is no more than €5,000 for an individual (€10,000 for a company), and you have not asked for instalments yourself.
The plan is made for the maximum number of payments — up to 36, with the same minimum payment of €25.50. You are notified by letter or, if you have signed up for electronic notifications, through the portal or Via CTT.
It sounds like a gift, but you shouldn't rely on it, for three reasons. First, the number of payments is chosen for you by the system, not by you. Second, the first payment under such a plan cannot be made by direct debit — it is paid manually with the reference, and this is exactly where people slip up. Third, if the debt is over five thousand, there will be no automatic plan at all: enforcement starts straight away.
Put simply: the automatic plan is insurance against a total disaster, not a way of managing your affairs.
“He had no choice whether to accept it or not. If tax has been assessed, you have to pay it. Can't pay it in full — set up instalments. There's no other option.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde07.10.2025
The guarantee: when it is required and when you are exempt
A guarantee is security for the debt: a bank guarantee, a seguro-caução (surety from an insurer) or a hipoteca (mortgage on property). It is required only when neither of the two exemption conditions is met: a debt of up to €5,000 for an individual, or no more than twelve payments.
If a guarantee is needed after all, the procedure is as follows. It is offered together with the request; the amount is the debt plus interest up to the end of the plan; it must remain valid for the whole term of the plan plus three months. You must provide it within 15 days of being notified that the plan has been approved; for a mortgage the deadline can be extended to thirty. And only in this case do you receive a notice that the plan has been approved or refused. Without a guarantee there is no letter at all — the plan is approved silently.
In enforcement proceedings the calculation is different and noticeably more expensive: there the guarantee covers the full amount of the debt, interest and costs, plus another 25%, again for the term of the plan plus three months. The exemption is the same: up to €5,000 for an individual, up to €10,000 for a company.
In the chats, hardly anyone ever provided a bank guarantee for instalments, and that matches the rules: up to twelve payments, nobody asks for one. But it is often confused with a guarantee for a different purpose — the one required to suspend enforcement while the tax is being disputed. These are different things.
“the guarantee is given for tax liabilities, not for a Reclamacao graciosa. Besides, you can request instalments on the assessed tax without a bank guarantee too.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linktaxinportugal27.09.2025
“The substantive answers were also given above: 1. When "the accountant declared rubbish", it's not a Reclamacao graciosa you need at all. 2. The guarantee is given for tax liabilities, not for a Reclamacao graciosa. 3. A bank guarantee usually isn't needed to set up instalments. It's just that from your questions it looks like you're doing something slightly different from what would actually solve your problem. You're welcome.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linktaxinportugal27.09.2025
What it costs on top: interest, costs and fines are three different things
Instalments are not free, but they won't ruin you either. Three different charges are added on top, and they should not be confused.
Juros de mora (late-payment interest). It runs from the day after the voluntary payment deadline until the month in which you pay. It is not in the plan simulation — it is added to each payment slip separately. The rate for debts to the state is set every year. The one quoted in the chats is 8.309% a year; that is the figure from September 2025, when the deadline for paying 2024 IRS expired. We found no rate for 2026 either in the chats or on the tax authority's website: check your actual amount on the payment slip, where the interest has already been calculated. Two rules from the law on this interest are worth knowing: if the debt is secured by a bank guarantee, the rate is halved, and it does not accrue for ever — no more than five years, or no more than eight with an instalment plan.
Custas (enforcement costs). These appear only once the case has reached execução fiscal and are calculated according to the court costs scale. At the stage before enforcement there are none — another reason not to miss those 15 days.
Coima (fine). This is neither interest nor costs but a penalty for an offence — for filing a return or paying late. It comes as a separate document, and in the chats people describe them as small: €25 was charged for paying IVA late. A fine can sometimes be waived: under article 29 of the RGIT (the regime for tax offences), a fine is not applied if the offence has been remedied and the treasury has lost nothing by it. This works for late paperwork, not late money: non-payment of tax always counts as a loss to the treasury. You apply by letter through e-balcão, within the time allowed for your defence; the archive has a case where fines of €564.75 were cancelled this way — after three months.
“The tax office sent me a 25 euro fine for paying IVA late. I filed my Q1 return on time, they blew all the deadlines with their analysis, I even sent them a message about it on ebalkao. They replied, all fine, coming soon. And a month after the payment deadline they dumped a bill on me, but already under faltas. I paid it. And now a fine for late tax payment arrives. And they say you can challenge it in court. But weigh up your risks, mate. OK. I'm not going to court over 25 euros. But the same thing happened with Q2. The return is still under analysis. All the deadlines blown.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde12.09.2025
“If it's from the practice I know, most likely there won't even be a fine, they just won't accept the amount as a deduction. Or, if they find out later, they'll reassess the tax and calculate interest. It's like the 60-day deadline for changing tax residency under art. 19 LGT — the code has an administrative penalty for breaking that deadline, but despite mass violations nobody has been penalised. Well, or I don't know of any. Although randomness rules law enforcement practice here, anything can happen ) So, just in case, better not to break the law.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkmyptaxes02.03.2026
If the debt has already gone to execução fiscal
Here is how it works. A certidão de dívida is issued for the unpaid debt, a processo de execução fiscal (enforcement case) is opened on the basis of it, and a citação is sent. The citação states where the debt comes from, how much it is, and that you have 30 days to pay, lodge an objection, offer a dação em pagamento (handing over property in settlement of the debt) — or ask for instalments. You can also ask later, right up to the day the sale of seized property is scheduled.
If you do nothing within 30 days and there is no guarantee, the case moves to penhora — seizure. They can seize bank accounts, securities, salary and pension (but no more than two thirds), rental income, a car, a flat. The seizure is lifted once the debt and all charges have been paid.
How to apply for instalments here: through e-balcão, “Registar nova questão” with the subject “Justiça Tributária > Execuções > Pagamento em Prestações”, or at your tax office by appointment; the plan is drawn up by the office where the cases are held. In the request you list all the cases at once and state how you propose to pay.
Terms: usually up to 36 payments, each at least one unidade de conta — the unit of account for court costs (in August 2026 the tax authority's website shows €102, a figure given for 2025). In exceptional cases — with proven serious hardship and a debt of more than 500 such units — the term is extended to five years, but then each payment must be at least ten units.
What the archive does not have: a single account from a Russian speaker of how enforcement went for them, an account being frozen or property being sold. There is a forwarded guide on where to find your cases on the portal, and tax authority warnings about scammers who send letters and texts about penhora with links to fake websites. The real tax authority does not ask for money via a link in a text message: you check your debts in your personal area.
“This is quite easy to do through your personal area on Portal das Finanças. Follow these instructions: – Log in to Portal das Finanças; – On the Portal choose the ‘Tax Services’ option; – Select ‘Citizens’ to check the tax status of an individual taxpayer; – Find the ‘Tax services’ section and choose the ‘Check’ option; – The next page will have a long list of checks that can be done on Portal das Finanças.”
Translated from Portuguese; the original is at the linkmyptaxes03.09.2023
“You clearly don't understand very well how these kinds of tax investigations work. With tax offences the presumption of innocence doesn't apply. In an investigation, if the inspector doesn't find your arguments convincing, he'll reassess your taxes, fines and interest (which will keep growing every day you don't pay), and then you can go to court to contest it if you want.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkbanksdeportugal21.02.2026
What happens if you miss a payment
This is where the difference between the two doors is harshest.
With instalments before enforcement there is no forgiveness: miss one instalment and all the others fall due immediately, and a debt certificate is issued for the whole balance. Only speed can save you: if you pay before the certificate is issued, the plan carries on, and interest for those days is added to the last payment. If there was a guarantee, the unpaid balance is claimed from whoever gave it — they have 15 days to pay.
With instalments within enforcement there is more leeway: the plan collapses after three missed payments in a row or six in total, and even then only after a notice that still lets you clear the debt. But if the plan had no guarantee, the same strict rule applies: miss one and you lose the lot.
In practice the most common problem is not the money but the payment slips. The bank won't accept the reference of an overdue payment, the app complains about an “incorrect amount”, and people decide it can't be paid. It can: you get a fresh document in “Pagamentos a Decorrer” or in the plan itself, and if it isn't there either, you write through e-balcão and ask for a new reference or bank details for a transfer.
And what other people's experience shows: you can come to a new arrangement. The archive has a story where the tax authority withdrew its consent to instalments because of late payments, but then granted a new plan after all — shorter than the previous one.
“definitely not because of that. It's something else. Maybe the tax payment deadline has passed or the instalment period is wrong or the amount doesn't fit.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde02.09.2025
Instalments and the certificate of no debt
This is the main reason people set up instalments in the first place. Your tax position is considered regularizada — “in order” — not only when you have no debts at all, but also when you have an approved instalment plan and are paying it. The same applies if enforcement has been suspended by a guarantee.
The practical point is simple: with an active plan, the Certidão de Dívida e Não Dívida certificate comes out clean. You order it on the portal under “Certidões > Pedir Certidão”, choose “Dívida e não dívida”, the PDF is issued immediately and is valid for three months. AIMA asks for this document, together with the same one from Segurança Social, when you renew your residence permit, and it is also requested for transactions and by banks.
If your position is not in order, the same certificate will show the exact amount of the debt — there is no hiding it.
Public lists of debtors are a separate matter. By law the tax authority publishes the names of those whose debt is overdue and unsecured: in the chats the threshold is said to be €7,500. What those conversations miss: an approved instalment plan is direct grounds for demanding immediate removal from the list, and this is stated on the lists page itself. The lists are cleaned daily as debts are paid and added to once a month.
“For renewing my permit they asked me for the following documents: Passaporte válido; - Título de residência; - Meios de subsistência (extratos bancários ou recibos de vencimento dos últimos três meses); - Comprovativo de morada; - Declaração de não dívida às Finanças; - Declaração de não dívida à Segurança Social; - Declaração de IRS do ano anterior.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkRussosEmPortugal27.01.2025
“To put yourself and everyone else at ease, you can download the certificate of no IRS debt: [link] -> Dívida e Não Dívida”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linktaxinportugal26.07.2025
A tax refund when you owe money — and how not to pay twice
If you are due a refund on one return but owe money on another tax, the money won't be sent to you: a compensação — offset — kicks in. Under article 89 of the CPPT the refund goes towards the debt automatically, without your consent, and first covers interest and costs and only then the tax itself. There are two exceptions: the deadline for a complaint is still running or a complaint has already been lodged — and, second, the debt is being paid in instalments and is secured by a guarantee.
Hence the mismatch people complain about in the chats: the refund arrived, but the instalment payments stayed the same. That is how it works: recalculating a return does not rewrite the plan by itself.
The second common problem is paying twice. Someone sets up a direct debit and, just in case, also pays manually with the reference; the money goes out twice, and the tax authority replies that it cannot set the overpayment against the next instalment. The solution from the archive that works: go to the bank and cancel the debit with a written request.
The rule is simple: if you chose débito direto, don't pay anything else on that payment slip; if you pay manually, don't set up a debit.
“Today my status changed to REEMBOLSO EMITIDO, the money came into my account, but I haven't even paid any tax yet. I don't think there was a status when you could pay, or maybe I missed it”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linkreciboverde21.05.2026
“checked! I can confirm: the certificate really does say there are no debts as of 26.07.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linktaxinportugal26.07.2025
What this instalment plan does not cover: IMI, IUC and social security contributions
Not every tax paid in parts is an instalment plan.
IMI (property tax) is split by law automatically, and you don't need to ask: up to €100 — one payment, from €100 to €500 — two, over €500 — three; the payment months are fixed in advance.
With IUC (vehicle tax) there is confusion in the chats, and it is worth pointing out. In autumn 2025 the chats said that from as early as 2026 the tax would be decoupled from the car's registration month and split according to the amount. In July 2026 the government announced this new schedule from 2028, calling 2027 a transition year. Your own notice will show who is right: check the deadline on it, not in someone's retelling.
Segurança Social contributions are a different body altogether. It has its own instalments, its own conditions and its own personal area (Segurança Social Direta), and the tax authority has nothing to do with it. The certificate of no debt is also a separate one — from Segurança Social.
And not relevant here at all: instalments from sellers, banks and debt collectors. The word is the same, but it has nothing to do with taxes.
“Time to pay IMI is coming In May the payment period for the municipal property tax (Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis) begins. This year the first instalment or the whole amount must be paid by 1 June. The tax amount determines the payment schedule. If the charge is 100 € or less, it must be paid in a single payment in May. For amounts from 100 to 500 € payment is split into two parts — in May and November. If the tax exceeds 500 €, it is divided into three stages, falling in May, August and November.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linklepta05.05.2026
“The government has changed the deadlines for paying vehicle tax The government has approved a change to the deadlines for paying the IUC vehicle tax. It will now have to be paid on fixed dates, no longer tied to the car's registration month. Under the new scheme (from 2028): ✷ up to 100€ — in one payment by the end of April; ✷ from 100 to 500€ — in two parts: in April and October; ✷ over 500€ — in three parts: in April, July and October. 2027 will be a transition year. If IUC doesn't exceed 500€, it will have to be paid in one payment in October. If it's more — in two: in July and October.”
Translated from Russian; the original is at the linknmd_pt10.07.2026
What it costs, according to community conversations
| Fine for paying tax late | €25 | source |
| Fines for late IVA returns | €564.75, waived on request | source |
What to bring
- Nota de Cobrança — the notice with the amount, deadline and payment reference
- Demonstração de Liquidação — the tax assessment, if you dispute the amount
- Access to the Portal das Finanças: NIF and password or Chave Móvel Digital
- IBAN of a Portuguese account — if you set up a direct debit for the payments
- Certidão de Dívida e Não Dívida — certificate of your tax position, valid for three months
- The same certificate from Segurança Social — it is requested together with the tax one
- Citação — the enforcement notice, if the case has already reached that stage: it gives the case number and the deadline
- Documents for a guarantee (bank guarantee, insurance surety or mortgage) — only if there are more than twelve payments and the debt is over €5,000
Where people most often trip up
- The window for instalments without enforcement is 15 days after the payment deadline. Miss it and from then on it's only through execução fiscal, with costs.
- €5,000 is the guarantee threshold, not the instalment threshold: up to twelve payments, no guarantee is required whatever the size of the debt.
- The plan simulation does not include interest: the portal shows only the debt, and interest is added to each payment slip.
- With instalments before enforcement, missing one payment brings down the whole plan — all the rest fall due at once.
- In a plan the tax authority set up itself, the first payment cannot be made by direct debit: it is paid manually with the reference.
- A direct debit plus a manual payment means paying twice; the tax authority refuses to set it against the next payment, so you have to cancel it through the bank.
- A refund on another return will automatically go towards the debt unless the debt is secured by a guarantee or is being disputed.
- An approved instalment plan means your “position is in order”: the certificate comes out clean, and you can demand removal from the list of debtors.
- The certificate of no debt is valid for three months: for AIMA get a fresh one, not last year's.
- A fine (coima) is not interest: it comes separately and can only be waived under its own rules, for late paperwork, not late money.
- An instalment plan does not mean you agree with the amount: you can dispute the tax at the same time, and that is exactly why people take one — so as not to become a debtor.
- Don't open payment links from text messages or letters: your real debts are visible only in your personal area.
How it went for people
Instalments granted, then withdrawn, then granted again
A man did not pay his 2023 income tax on time: the money had been spent. Through his accountants he asked the tax authority for instalments, and it agreed to spread the debt over six months for a small percentage. He missed the deadlines again, a €25 fine arrived, and the tax authority wrote that it was withdrawing its consent to the instalments. The accountants said he could ask again; this time the tax authority agreed to two equal payments. In January he paid off the whole debt in one go. Story from February 2025.
Instalments as a way not to become a debtor while a dispute is ongoing
First year as a sole trader: in July the man was refused the reduced rate on the grounds of foreign income in the previous year, when he had neither the business nor any of the deductions yet. At the end of July he lodged a complaint — and there was still no reply by the end of November. So as not to end up a debtor in the meantime, he set up a tax instalment plan and at the same time looked for a lawyer to go to court. November 2025.
Paid twice — had to cancel it through the bank
A woman paying her IRS in instalments had one payment go out twice: by direct debit and manually. Finanças told her they could not set the overpayment against the next instalment and sent her to the bank to cancel the debit. She went to the branch and wrote a request — the bank cancelled the payment. April 2026.
Banks would not accept an overdue instalment payment
A man tried to pay an instalment whose deadline had already passed: he took the reference and amount straight from his plan on the tax portal, but two different banks showed an error at different times. He expected that his access to his personal area would be blocked after the delay — nothing of the sort happened. February 2025.
Fines of €564.75 waived after a letter through e-balcão
A man was fined for late IVA returns. He wrote a short request through e-balcão asking to be exempted from the fines, citing article 29(2) of the regime for tax offences — the offences had been remedied and caused no loss to the treasury. Three months later the fines were cancelled. February 2025.
Retold in our own words from messages in open chats. The link leads to the full original message.