Tax calendar: dates you need to put in your diary for 2026
Below you will find some of the key dates to keep in mind regarding tax obligations in Portugal.
Before submitting your Personal Income Tax (IRS) return, it is important to complete a number of preliminary steps that, in recent years, have become part of every taxpayer’s routine. Procedures such as validating and registering invoices on the Tax Authority’s portal are now essential to ensure the correct calculation of tax deductions.
The taxpayer’s active involvement plays a crucial role in determining the final IRS assessment. Consulting the tax calendar and meeting the relevant deadlines will help you avoid losing tax benefits and prevent the application of fines or penalties.
January
Within the scope of the tax incentive TISRI or also known as NHR 2.0 (Tax Incentive for Scientific Research and Innovation) in Portuguese it stands for IFICI, the 15 January deadline serves two distinct purposes. From the first year of application of the regime onwards, this date corresponds to the annual renewal of the incentive, through the submission of evidence that the taxpayer continues to carry out an eligible activity, which is an essential condition for maintaining the associated tax benefits.
However, as this is the first year of implementation of the IFICI, the 15 January deadline is also relevant for the initial application to the regime. Taxpayers who became Portuguese tax residents in 2025 were required to submit their application for access to the incentive by 15 January 2026 in order to ensure that the benefit would already apply to the 2025 tax year.
Nevertheless, taxpayers who did not submit their application within that deadline and who became tax residents in 2025 may still apply during the course of 2026. In such cases, the tax incentive will not apply to income earned in 2025, which will be taxed under the standard progressive Personal Income Tax (IRS) rates. The regime will only take effect from 2026 onwards, reducing the maximum benefit period from ten to nine years.
It should also be noted that, regardless of the timing of the initial application, the continued application of the IFICI is always subject to the annual submission of proof of eligibility, to be provided by 15 January of each year.
If you are a landlord are not obliged to issue monthly rental receipts, you have until the 30st of January to declare the yearly rental income for 2025.
If you have a business activity such as sole trader, January is the month when you can choose to change your VAT status and or your taxation regime.
Please note that the VAT rules changed in July 2025, and many taxpayers did not notice this. Since July 2025, is no longer allowed for non-residents to be VAT exempt under article 53, which means that they should always charge VAT irrespective of the level of income. It also means that they should have already files a VAT return for Q3 of 2025 and soon for Q4 of 2025. Check your status, to avoid any fines.
It’s also important to remember that if you are a resident, you can still benefit from the VAT exemption if you are below the annual VAT threshold (currently at 15.000€). However, if you exceed this limit by 25%, you must change your status immediately, not in the following tax year. So, if for instance you are a tax resident and have an AL, if during 2025 you reach 18.500€ of income, you must change your VAT status immediately and not in January. On the other hand if you have an AL and are not resident, then you should have already changed your VAT status in July 2025.
February
Each taxpayer has until the 25th of February to query, report and verify invoices. To do this you should access the e-Factura portal and access to your personal page, where you should verify if all your invoices have been properly communicated. If you find any failure, or any invoice is not recorded, you can add these invoices to your file. It is also important to check in which category your invoices are recorded and move them into the appropriate section (ie health, education, etc) otherwise the deduction will not be accepted. These procedures need to be performed for each household expenditure holder, including dependants.
It is also important to update or register your household for tax purposes, before 15/02. Please note that this can be very important, not only for tax purposes, but for other related matters, such as inscription at schools, kindergarten, etc and or other tax benefits you may be entitled to.
March
During March, you also need to check your e-fatura page at the tax portal and if you feel the information is incorrect, you can challenge the calculations made by the Tax Authorities. In other words, your tax deductions will be summarized here, under family general expenses, healthcare expenses, training and education expenses, charges with property for permanent residence, invoices VAT and costs with foster homes; if your total invoices is not consistent with the one totals shown in the portal, you have this two weeks window to contest it. Please note that it’s necessary to check this for each taxpayer.
April
You can submit your IRS (Personal Income Tax) declaration for 2025 from the 1st of April until the end of June. This means that all declarations can be submitted during these three months, irrespective of your income category (employment income, pension income, self-employment income, rentals, etc.)
Please note that all residents, including Non-Habitual Residents or TISRI beneficiaries, need to submit a tax return, even if they didn’t receive any income or don’t have any tax to pay. If the information on your foreign source income is not yet available before the 30th of June, you can file for an extension and submit the tax return later at no cost.
All non-residents that have income from Portuguese source (ie property rentals, sale of a property, etc) also need to submit the tax return.
May
Payment of the first instalment of the IMI council tax. If in your case, the council tax is lower than 100€, this will be the only payment date you need to remember. If is higher, please look for other instalment dates in August and November.
June
Do not forget to submit the IRS (Personal Income Tax) for 2025 by the end of June. Please remember that if you do not deliver your IRS on time, or if you fail to meet some of the deadlines above, you may lose some or all your tax deductions. Late delivery of your IRS may also cancel your IMI (Council Tax) exemption. If you are waiting for information on your foreign source income, you can file for an extension, but this needs to be requested before the end of June.
July
If you are entitled to a tax refund, following the submission of the IRS tax return, the settlement must be made by 31st of July. This is the deadline for the Tax Authorities to pay you.
August
If you have IRS tax to pay, you should pay no later than the last day of August, provided you have delivered the tax return within the time limits. If the tax return was submitted after the deadline, payment may be made until the 31st of December (fines and interest will apply).
The second instalment of the IMI council tax is due this month. This applies to all those whose yearly IMI payment is higher than 500€ per taxpayer.
September
If you have AIMI (additional council tax) to pay, this must be paid by the end of September. Remember that are liable for AIMI payment all properties owned by companies. Individual owners are only exempt from AIMI, in the first 600 thousand Euros worth of property (based on the tax value and not in the commercial value).
November
Payment of the third and last instalment of the IMI council tax. This applies to all those whose yearly IMI payment is higher than 100€ per taxpayer.
Recurring dates
Please remember that if you have a business activity, you must issue invoices up to five days after providing the service or receiving the funds. And all the monthly invoices need to be reported to the tax authorities (SAFT file) also by the 5th of each month. Please be aware that fines can be applicable for late issuance of invoices or late submission of the monthly invoice file. This deadline also includes the invoices related with your rentals (AL).
Each month you also need to issue your monthly rental receipts in case you have a rental contract registered.
The car tax must be paid by the last day of the month when the car was registered. Important note: the car tax is not posted to your tax address; you must get the payment note from the tax portal. It’s advisable to set up direct debit or electronic notifications, as late payment fines can be high for this tax. The Portuguese Government has announced that the IUC (car tax) will be paid in the same month of the year, irrespective of the date when the car was registered, but this change has not yet approved and will only be effective from 2027.
If you have a business activity, please remember that each quarter you must submit a Social Security declaration to determine the amount of Social Security you will pay each month in the following quarter.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. Tax planning is essential, and it’s crucial for both individuals or companies to avoid any surprises.
Contact us to discuss your personal situation and ensure you stay ahead, minimizing the risk of unnecessary fines. You can reach us at info@afm.tax.