Russian client work done here is taxed in Portugal, off-plan flats resell at a mark-up, and court payouts can take a year
A project for a Russian firm done from Lisbon is taxed in Portugal, not under Russia's simplified regime, chats say
In two tax chats, a member on the old NHR (non-habitual resident) tax regime for new residents, who is registered as a sole trader in both Portugal and Russia, asked how to handle a project for a Russian company if the work would be done from Lisbon. They saw two options. The first was to run the income through the Russian sole trader, paying 6% + 1% under Russia's simplified tax regime, and declare it in Portugal as foreign income. The second was to invoice through the Portuguese sole trader and pay tax here.
Those who replied backed the second option. If the work is done in Portugal by someone who is tax resident here, the income is Portuguese. The Russian sole trader only works, they wrote, if there is real activity in Russia, with staff and a place where the work is done; in tax terms this is an estabelecimento estável (permanent establishment). Otherwise, they warned, the Finanças tax office will charge the maximum.
“The Russian sole trader will only fly if there's some real activity there on the ground, with staff (read up on estabelecimento estável). Finanças will charge you the maximum”
reciboverde28.10.2026
The person asking had found a ruling from the Portuguese tax authority in which income was treated as foreign because the Spanish client had no permanent establishment in Portugal. They were told they had misread it: the client can be anywhere; what matters is where the contractor does the work.
“Both views are mistaken, but the second is closer to the truth. And the counterparty had a permanent establishment in Portugal, if I understood correctly. That's the bit you misunderstood: the counterparty can be anywhere. And when working on a project for a company from Russia, don't forget the restrictions in the 8th sanctions package.”
myptaxes28.10.2026
Russia, meanwhile, treats payment by a Russian company for services as income earned in Russia. In 2023 it suspended its double taxation agreement with Portugal and will not credit tax paid here, so, the chat pointed out, tax may have to be paid in both countries.
“From the Russian point of view, services provided to a Russian company count as income received in Russia and are taxable in Russia. Russia has pulled out of the double taxation treaty with Portugal, so it won't take into account tax paid in Portugal.”
myptaxes28.10.2026
EU sanctions ban providing IT consultancy, legal, architectural and engineering services to Russian companies: before taking on the project, check whether it falls under the ban.
Investors resell off-plan flats for more on completion, and Reddit says the mark-up pays for risk and years of waiting
A Reddit user described a scheme they had come across on the same forum. In a new building in Porto, half the flats are bought off-plan (em planta) in May by families and half by property funds, all for €350,000. In October, once the building is finished, the funds resell their flats to other families for €375,000. The poster asked whether it is buyers who end up paying this mark-up and why it isn't capped.
Replies explained that it has always been done this way: a flat is bought off-plan and, before completion, the contract is assigned (cedência de posição) to another buyer. Private individuals do this too, not just funds. It suits developers: they get part of the money up front without paying the bank interest, although they still can't build without a loan.
“Have you only just discovered buying off-plan and assigning the contract? It's a very old thing, it's always been done. There's nothing to regulate here. Buy early and you risk the project never happening. If it goes well, you make a bit. If it goes badly, you lose a bit.”
r/portugal26.10.2026
Many think the mark-up is justified: investors can't touch their money for six months or more, and they risk the building not being finished on time, or at all. One commenter who had bought off-plan said that after completion in 2024 identical flats by the same developer sold for €125,000 more, and in 2026 one sold for €210,000 more, but their money had been tied up in the build for over three years.
“Yes, it makes sense. These investors waited six months to get 6%. And all that time their money was tied up, and they risked losing out if the market fell, or the build wasn't finished on time, or ran into problems. For that kind of risk, the return is nothing special.”
r/portugal26.10.2026
“I bought off-plan. When the build was finished, identical flats by the same developer were selling in 2024 for €125,000 more. In 2026 one has already sold for €210,000 more than I paid. But buying off-plan was a risk: I put money in without knowing if I'd ever see it again. And it was tied up for more than three years. That's worth money too.”
r/portugal27.10.2026
Those who blame funds for rising rents were reminded of figures from the national statistics institute, INE: of 151,181 new rental contracts in the year to June 2026, 77.4% were signed by private landlords, not companies.
Dismissed ‘for cause’ with no disciplinary process, awarded €9,000 in court, and the money can take up to a year, says Reddit
On Reddit, a worker said they had been dismissed over the phone, supposedly for poor performance, on grounds of justa causa, that is, through their own fault. There was no written statement of charges (nota de culpa) and no disciplinary process in which they could defend themselves. The social security service, Segurança Social, also recorded the dismissal as their fault, and with that on record no unemployment benefit is paid.
No agreement could be reached, so they went to court and won: the company owes them €9,000. Now they are waiting for the money and asking how long it will take.
Replies said it all depends on the company: if it doesn't pay of its own accord, the money is recovered by an enforcement agent (agente de execução), which can take anywhere from two weeks to a year. One commenter shared a similar story: a relative was dismissed by a municipal company, which also blamed her. She sued and the two sides settled: the company had handled the dismissal so badly that the case never even reached a hearing, and she was paid almost everything she had asked for.
“A relative of mine who was dismissed by a municipal company was also told it was her fault. She went to court and they reached a settlement. The company had handled everything so badly that the case never even got to court: they knew from the start they would lose. She got everything (or almost everything) she asked for as compensation.”
r/EmpregoPT27.10.2026
“It very much depends on the enforcement agent. It could be two weeks or it could be a year.”
r/EmpregoPT27.10.2026
Another commenter noted that the €9,000 could have been obtained through the labour court without paying for a lawyer or court fees.
“Through the labour court you'd have got that €9,000 without paying court fees or lawyers...”
r/EmpregoPT27.10.2026
Under the law, dismissing a worker for their own fault without a statement of charges and a disciplinary process is unlawful, but the dismissal must be challenged in court within 60 days.
A Caixa manager wants the deed after the purchase, but the chat advises giving the bank only the property certificate code
Someone buying a flat collected a banker's draft for the purchase from Caixa Geral de Depósitos, and the manager told them to bring the escritura, the deed of sale signed at the notary, to the bank once it was signed. The manager did not explain why.
In the chat, an agency replied that in its 12 years in business it had never come across such a requirement, and called the manager incompetent: the draft is issued on the basis of the promissory contract (the preliminary sale agreement), with no extra conditions. All the bank needs, the agency advised, is the access code for the land registry certificate (certidão permanente): with it, the bank can check for itself on the Predial Online portal that the flat is yours, and it has no need to know the terms of the deal.
“Never in the agency's 12 years has there been such a requirement. Just an incompetent manager. The banker's draft is issued on the basis of the promissory contract without any additional conditions or requirements”
banksdeportugal28.10.2026
The notary registers the sale online and writes the code into the escritura, so the certificate appears almost at once and is valid for six months. The property's tax record (caderneta predial) is updated later: the notary, they wrote, has 60 days to send the deed to Finanças, and you can speed things up by uploading it yourself through your account on the Portal das Finanças.
“The notary registers it online on the portal, and the registration code is written into the escritura. So the ownership certificate appears online almost immediately. It is valid for six months. The property record on the Finanças portal doesn't appear straight away, only after the notary sends a scan of the escritura there. They have 60 days to do this; if you need it faster, do it yourself from your personal account.”
banksdeportugal28.10.2026
In practice it can take longer. One buyer has been waiting for the update for more than a month, and others say registration can drag on for three to five months if it lands at an office of the IRN, the registries and notaries institute, where ‘nobody works’.
“On average, yes, it can easily drag on for 3–5 months if the registration ends up at the IRN, where nobody works”
banksdeportugal28.10.2026
Free Creche Feliz nursery places for 2027: apply only via Segurança Social, no earlier than 60 days ahead, mums say
On Reddit, an expectant mother asked when to apply for a nursery place under the Creche Feliz programme, which offers free places for children under three, and whether it could be done before the baby is born.
She was told that the old way, writing to the nursery during pregnancy and reserving a place, is on its way out. For 2027, applications are made only on the portal of the social security service, Segurança Social. The child's details are needed, including their social security number (NISS), and the application can be made no earlier than 60 days before the child starts at the nursery. Most nurseries, they wrote, no longer hold places.
“For babies starting nursery in 2027, applications will only be through the Segurança Social portal. You need the child's details, and you can only apply 60 days ahead, meaning the child must start nursery no later than 60 days after the application. Before, you could apply right at the start and hold a place; now it's a transition period, but most nurseries no longer ‘hold’ places.”
r/MaternidadePT27.10.2026
Private nurseries and those run by charities (IPSS) take bookings earlier, replies pointed out. Since April 2026, Segurança Social itself has accepted applications for Creche Feliz places only through the Segurança Social Direta online account.
“For the official Creche Feliz registration you'll need the baby's details. You can only sign up in advance at private nurseries or IPSS nurseries.”
r/MaternidadePT27.10.2026
One mother signed up the old way, by email, back in her first trimester: her baby is now four months old and still has no place. Another thinks the new system makes more sense.
“You can only sign up for Creche Feliz through the Segurança Social app, and you need the baby's details for it (NISS, for example). We signed up by email directly with the nursery when I was finishing my first trimester, but back then Creche Feliz registration through the app wasn't working yet. Our baby is four months old today and we still don't have a place 🤷🏼♀️”
r/MaternidadePT27.10.2026
Applying for a bachelor's without B1 Portuguese: a pledge to learn it can work, but the place may go to someone who speaks it
In a chat about Portuguese universities, a prospective student asked whether she could get onto a bachelor's degree that requires B1 (intermediate) Portuguese if she had only just started learning, for example by attaching a declaration on her honour (declaração sob compromisso de honra) that she would reach that level by the start of the course.
A member answering from her own experience said people had got in this way, but the decision rests with the university. The declaration is attached instead of a certificate or alongside one, and you can set out in it how you will learn the language, but there is no guarantee of a place. Competition is stiffer for bachelor's degrees, and the place may go to a foreigner who already speaks Portuguese.
“Yes, there's been experience of this, but the decision still rests with the university — whether to admit you with such a declaration or turn you down. So you can take the risk, attach the declaration, even set out how you'll learn the language, but in the end it all depends on admissions for the specific course. Competition is higher for bachelor's degrees, so they may give the place not to a foreigner who doesn't know the language but to a Portuguese-speaking foreigner”
HigherEducationPortugal28.10.2026
One fallback is a foundation year: it teaches the language and makes getting in easier afterwards, although, the applicant noted, there is no such year for maths. Another tip: if you don't get in, ask the university to enrol you on individual first-year modules. You then study alongside everyone else, though not as a student on the degree programme but paying for each module. In the same member's view, an IELTS certificate (an English-language test) makes no sense for a programme taught in Portuguese.
“There's also a foundation year: they'll teach you the language, and getting in afterwards is easier.”
HigherEducationPortugal28.10.2026
“Another tip for you: if you don't get onto the bachelor's, ask the university to enrol you separately on the subjects that make up the first year. That is, you'll study alongside everyone else, but not as a student on the three-year bachelor's programme, rather as a student who has paid to attend individual subjects.”
HigherEducationPortugal28.10.2026
