How to file your first IRS return in Portugal

First work out whether you have to file the return yourself

The ordinary annual income tax return is filed through Portal das Finanças on the Modelo 3 form (the annual IRS return). The standard filing period for the previous year is from 1 April to 30 June of the following year.

If in the year you had not just simple Portuguese salaries but also sole trader income, foreign income, foreign accounts, NHR/IFICI, a family, deductions for children or partial residency, it is almost always better to check the return by hand rather than rely on the automatic option. Even when tax has already been withheld at source, that does not mean you have nothing to file.

Check your tax status and the address on your NIF before filling it in

Before filing, log in to Portal das Finanças and check your address and whether the tax authority treats you as a Portuguese tax resident. You can see this in your personal account, for example under A Minha Área → Situação Fiscal Integrada → Dados Gerais de Identificação. For a first return this is critical: it decides whether you can file as a resident, as a non-resident or a part-year return.

If you moved in the middle of the year, in practice the tax authority goes not by your «date of entry» but by the date your NIF address was changed. If the address in the system has not been updated, the return may go under the wrong regime and the tax will come out different.

Gather documents and figures for the whole calendar year

You should have to hand your Portuguese income, details of recibos verdes/atividade, foreign income, tax withheld abroad, an IBAN for the refund and information on dependants. If you had foreign interest, dividends, salary, business income or accounts outside Portugal, also prepare the details for Anexo J (the annex for foreign income and assets).

If you are married and want to file jointly, you will usually need the details of both spouses and the children. It makes sense to give the children's NIFs, otherwise you may lose deductions. A foreign marriage does not usually need to be separately «legalised for the tax authority» for a joint return, but the family details in the system must be correct.

Work out which annexes to Modelo 3 you need

For a first return the most important thing is not the Modelo 3 form itself but the right set of annexes. Common ones are: Anexo B (income from atividade/sole trader under the simplified regime), Anexo J (foreign income, foreign accounts and some assets abroad), Anexo L (the NHR/IFICI regime), plus the basic sheets on family and residency.

If you provide services as a Portuguese TI/sole trader, you usually look at Anexo B. If you have foreign interest, dividends, salary, income from services from a foreign payer or foreign accounts, you often need Anexo J. But annexes must not be duplicated mechanically: if the same income is entered twice, the system will count it twice.

If you have sole trader or self-employed income, start with Anexo B

Category B income usually goes in Anexo B. This covers income from atividade aberta (an open business activity), including if you issued faturas-recibo (invoice-receipts) through Portal das Finanças.

If you were already working as a Portuguese tax resident, the rules say the activity must be opened before regular business work begins. If it was opened a little late, in practice people then issue documents at least from the date the atividade was opened. For a first return it is important that the figures in Anexo B match what went through the Finanças system.

If you had foreign income or foreign accounts, fill in Anexo J very carefully

Anexo J is one of the most common sources of mistakes in a first return. It is where foreign income goes and, in the relevant sections, details of foreign accounts. The income codes, the source country, the amount of income and the tax withheld abroad must be chosen very precisely: one wrong category can mean the tax in Portugal is calculated differently from what you expected.

Recent messages show that even for people who have filed Anexo J successfully before, the rules and the technical checks change. For example, in 2026 the portal started rejecting accounts not in IBAN format in Quadro 11, although such details used to be accepted. And on income, people have found that tax withheld abroad was not credited automatically because of the code or taxation method chosen.

Foreign accounts in Quadro 11: Wise, Revolut and anything that is not PT50

Anexo J has a separate section 11 — it lists not income but the accounts themselves outside Portugal. The rule is simple: you list any account at any bank outside the country, in the EU and beyond. You list it even if there was not a single transaction and the balance is zero: in section 11 you report that the account exists, not income.

Where people get confused most often is Revolut. Since 24 July 2025 it has had a Portuguese branch and PT50 numbers: such an account does not count as foreign. But for the year when you had a Lithuanian number, the account is declared — Revolut itself told its customers in Portugal in April 2025 that for 2024 all its accounts count as foreign. Wise is simpler: it is not a bank but a payment institution with a Belgian licence, the account number is always Belgian, so the account is always foreign.

Here the chats contradict themselves, and you need to know this. In 2024 they advised not declaring accounts at «e-wallets without a banking licence» such as Wise; in 2026 the same question gets a one-word answer — declare. The 2024 advice is now considered dangerous: both Wise and Revolut report account details to the country of tax residency automatically, so «the tax authority won't find out» no longer works.

Interest on the balance is a separate line. Wise pays it itself and withholds tax in Belgium itself; in Portugal this is category E income, it is declared, and what was paid in Belgium is credited — but not in full. A person who worked this out on their 2025 return wrote plainly in July 2026: they had expected more, very little was credited.

If you forgot accounts, the return can be refiled before 30 June: the portal offers to take the previous one as a template, add the annex and submit again — people did this in June 2026. None of those who told their stories got a fine for an undeclared account, but do not count on it: a letter from the tax authority reminding you to fill in Anexo J if you have accounts abroad arrives in people's inboxes by itself.

“If you've still got a Latvian IBAN at revolut you still have to list it in Anexo J, like any other accounts at any banks outside Portugal, both in the EU and outside the EU”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

reciboverde05.05.2026

“Yes, you have to. You put the amount of your pension in Anexo J, and that's also where you list your Russian and other foreign accounts. Unless you're a former MP, NHR with the 10% rate for foreign pensions doesn't pay off for you, on the progressive scale the tax will most likely be 0 or close to zero.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

myptaxes16.06.2025

“As far as I know PayPal, Payoneer, wise are all part of crs ( automatic exchange of tax information) and once a year send the account statements to the country of residence , i.e. Portugal.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

taxinportugal08.10.2024

If you have NHR/IFICI, check Anexo L and the taxation method separately

If you have NHR or the new IFICI regime, it is not enough just to tick the status box. You also need to link it correctly to the relevant income and choose the right method in Anexo L. This is where people most often find that they expected an exemption or a credit for foreign tax, but the system charged another 28% or worked out the tax on the general scale.

Be especially careful with foreign dividends, interest, category B income and income from working for a foreign company. Formally, even with a foreign payer, the source of the income may be judged differently for Portugal depending on the category of income and where the work was actually done.

Choose: a joint return or separate returns

Spouses in Portugal can file either a joint return or two separate ones. The first time, this often affects the final tax more than it seems, especially if the spouses have different incomes, there are children or part of the income is taxed on the progressive scale.

If only one spouse was a Portuguese resident for part of the year, or your tax regimes differ, it is better to check both scenarios separately. Sometimes a joint return lowers the rate, sometimes it does not. If in doubt, run the simulation both ways.

Fill in Modelo 3 on Portal das Finanças and run a simulation

Filing is done online through Portal das Finanças. Once you have filled in the basic form and annexes, run the simulation if it is available for your set of details. Compare the result with what you expected: is there tax to pay or a refund, has income been doubled, have the children, withholding and foreign tax been counted correctly.

If the system shows an unexpected amount, do not rush to submit it «as is». A common problem in a first return is an extra Anexo, a wrong income code in Anexo J or the wrong regime for NHR. Sometimes it helps to remove some annexes temporarily and see which part causes the error in the calculation.

Submit the return by 30 June

If everything adds up, submit the return on time. The usual deadline for individuals' IRS is 30 June. After submitting, save the PDF and the comprovativo de entrega (proof of submission).

If you notice a mistake after submitting, you can usually file a declaração de substituição (replacement return). When refiling, the portal lets you use the previous return as a template so you do not have to fill everything in again.

After filing, keep an eye on the status and letters from Finanças

After submission the return may go through several statuses: from received to assessed, with a bill or a refund. If everything is simple, the check is sometimes quick. But complex returns with foreign income, NHR/IFICI or corrections may take longer than officially expected.

If the tax authority finds a problem, it may charge extra tax, disallow some deductions or ask for clarification. Sometimes the mistakes are on the system's side, so it is worth checking your personal account and messages on the portal rather than just waiting for the automatic result.

If the assessment shows you owe more and you do not have the money right now, the clock is ticking in days: you can ask for an instalment plan without enforcement within 15 days after the payment deadline, directly on the portal. Asking does not mean you agree with the amount — you can dispute the calculation at the same time.

If you find a mistake or the tax looks odd, correct it rather than guess

If after filing you realise you chose the wrong code, forgot an annex or gave the wrong status, file a replacement return. This is normal practice, especially for a first return. It is better to correct it yourself than wait for a letter with a fine or an odd assessment.

If the problem is technical and the portal will not let you file or accept the details, a request through e-balcão (the online help desk) sometimes helps, and sometimes it is quicker to sort it out in person at Finanças. From real experience, when the deadline was close, a visit in person made it possible to fix the mistake the same day and file the return the next.