Non-habitual resident

What is the Non-habitual Resident?
Portugal has one of the best tax regimes for pensioners, high networth individuals and entrepreneurs.

The tax regime for non-habitual residents allows any citizen, regardless of nationality, to enjoy the Portuguese climate while benefiting from an attractive tax regime. If you have not lived in Portugal in the last 5 fiscal years, plan to retire or your main source of income is capital income, you can improve your tax burden by moving to Portugal.

Who can benefit from this scheme?
Citizens who become tax residents in Portugal who have not been considered residents of Portugal in the five years prior to the year of application may apply to this statute.

This applies both to foreign citizens and to Portuguese citizens who are living outside the country and intend to return to Portugal. To be considered a resident in Portugal, you will have to stay more than 183 days in Portugal or have a house that suggests the intention of maintaining the house and occupying it as a habitual residence.

What are the benefits?
Income from dependent work, pensions, business and professional income and other types of income obtained abroad may be exempt from IRS under certain conditions. However, certain exempt earnings will be taken into account for the purpose of applying marginal IRS rates.

Income from dependent work and business and professional income earned in activities of high added value with a scientific, artistic or technical character (Ordinance No. 12/2010, of January 7) will be subject to an autonomous taxation of 20%, at the which adds the extraordinary 3.5% surcharge;

How to apply for this status?
In order to benefit from the application of this regime, the person must be registered in the AT taxpayer register as a “Golden Visa”. For this purpose, the taxpayer must request the application of the regime and submit a declaration that the necessary requirements to be considered residents in Portuguese territory have not been verified, in any of the previous 5 fiscal years. However, when there are well-founded indications of lack of veracity of the elements contained in the said declaration, the presentation of tax residency certificates and annual income declarations may be requested to attest residency abroad.