IRS 2026 deadlines: calendar to follow until filing the tax return.

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The submission of the IRS tax return for 2025 income begins on April 1st. Until then, there are several deadlines to meet. Find out which dates are most important.

Note in your agenda the most important dates until the submission of the IRS tax return for income earned in 2025 and know what to do on each of them.

Until February 16th

Taxpayers must report the duration or termination of long-term lease agreements by February 16th. This communication allows for tax benefits.

Until March 2nd

This year, taxpayers have until March 2nd to confirm any changes in the family unit that occurred in 2025. This applies to births, marriages, deaths, divorces, or change of residence. You must also report the sharing of expenses for dependents in joint custody.

It is also by this date that you must validate expenses on the e-Fatura portal. You can log in with your Taxpayer Identification Number (NIF) and access password or with your digital mobile key. Pending invoices must be validated one by one. You must repeat the process for each member of the household, including children.

This is also a date to keep in mind if you have a rented house. You must report the rents you received from tenants throughout 2025, using the Model 44 declaration.

You must also report the education expenses of students who are part of the household attending educational establishments located in an inland territory or autonomous region.

Between March 16 and 31

Between March 16 and 31, you should check the amounts calculated for deduction in the IRS on e-Fatura, namely expenses incurred in health and education services, and expenses with housing (rent and interest) and nursing homes.

If you find any omission or inaccuracy, you can claim the general expenses and invoices within this period.

Until March 31st

By March 31st, inform the entity to which you intend to allocate your IRS or VAT, or both. It is possible to donate 1% of the tax you would have to pay to the State to entities of a cultural, youth or sporting nature and interest.

Between April 1st and June 30th

The submission of the IRS declaration for 2025 income begins on April 1st and ends on June 30th, and must be done online.

Some taxpayers can submit the automatic IRS declaration. This is the case for taxpayers with income from dependent work or pensioners.

After submitting the IRS declaration, you can check the status of the declaration on the Finance portal. It is important that you do this check because there may be errors to correct, which may delay a possible refund. If the declaration is considered “Correct” and you are entitled to a refund, the Tax Authority has until August 31st to return the IRS.

TAX INFORMATION 1 2026 – Meal Allowance Update 2026

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Decree No. 51-B/2026/1, of January 30, was published, establishing the updated meal allowance for public administration workers, effective January 1, 2026.

  • The tax-exempt meal allowance amount, paid in cash, for 2026 – €6.15 (€6 in 2025).
  • The tax-exempt meal allowance amount, paid by card, for 2026 – €10.46 (€10.20 in 2025).
Tax Information

VAT exempt under Article 53 of the Portuguese VAT Code (CIVA)

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During the year 2026, only taxable persons with their registered office or domicile in Portugal may benefit from the application of the special exemption regime in Portugal, provided that they:

  • Do not carry out export operations or related activities;
  • In the previous calendar year (2025), had a turnover in national territory equal to or less than €15,000;
  • In the current calendar year (2026), the exemption threshold of €15,000 is not exceeded by more than 25% (€18,750);
  • When starting activity in 2026, the forecast turnover in national territory is equal to or less than €15,000.
  • When the relevant period is shorter than a calendar year, the estimated turnover must correspond to the foreseeable value of the supplies of goods and the provision of services to be carried out from the start date of the activity until the end of the year. As of 01.07.2025, the conversion to an equivalent annual turnover, provided for in the previous wording of Article 53 of the VAT Code, no longer applies.

 
Taxable persons with their registered office or domicile in Portugal, covered by the special exemption regime, cease to be able to benefit from this regime in Portugal (cessation of the regime) when any of the following situations occurs:

 
i) In the previous calendar year, they reached a turnover in national territory exceeding €15,000 (as from 01.01.2026) – Submission of a declaration of changes within 15 working days, counted from the last day of the year in which the threshold was exceeded;

 
ii) In the current calendar year, the exemption threshold of €15,000 is exceeded by more than 25% (from the moment €18,750 is exceeded) – Submission of a declaration of changes within 15 working days, counted from the date of issuance of the invoice that caused this threshold of €18,750 to be exceeded;

 
iii) From the moment they begin carrying out export operations or related activities – Submission of a declaration of changes within 15 working days, counted from the date of issuance of the invoice that evidenced the export operation or related activity;

 
iv) They waive the regime, by submitting a declaration of commencement or changes, as applicable, producing effects from the date of its submission (being required to remain under the standard taxation regime for a period of at least five years).

Invoicing Program Certified by the Portuguese Tax Authority (AT)

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Taxable persons with headquarters, a permanent establishment, or domicile in national territory, as well as other taxable persons who are required to issue invoices under the rules established in the VAT Code, are obliged to exclusively use invoicing software programs that have been previously certified by the Portuguese Tax Authority (AT), whenever:

  1. They had, in the previous calendar year, a turnover exceeding €50,000, or when, in the fiscal year in which activity begins, the relevant period is shorter than a calendar year and the annualized turnover for that period exceeds the aforementioned amount; or
  2. They use invoicing software programs; or
  3. They are required to maintain organized accounting or have opted to do so.

Included under “other taxable persons” are non-residents without a permanent establishment in Portugal, whenever they issue invoices to private individuals or have appointed a tax representative in Portugal.

However, taxable persons who do not meet any of the exclusion requirements may only issue manual invoices:

  • Printed by legally authorized printing houses, and the inclusion of the ATCUD is mandatory; and
  • Only in the event of the invoicing software being non-operational (including situations where access to the program is rendered unfeasible).

These invoices must be entered into the invoicing program immediately after it becomes operational again, using a specific series designated for this purpose.

Taxes Subject to Tax Crime for Non-Payment

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It constitutes a tax crime of breach of trust to fail to deliver to the tax authorities (AT), in whole or in part, a tax payment exceeding €7,500, either deducted under legal terms or received and legally required to be handed over to the AT. The following taxes deducted or collected from third parties may fall under this crime:

  • IRS (Personal Income Tax) – Through withholding at source;
  • IRC (Corporate Income Tax) – Through withholding at source;
  • VAT (Value Added Tax) – Collected from transactions carried out.

The amount mentioned above applies per declaration submitted to the AT.

Social Security Payments – New Payment Method via Bank Transfer

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From now on, you can make Social Security payments via bank transfer to the virtual IBAN indicated on the Payment Document.

Social Security has introduced a new payment method through bank transfer, making the process simpler and more efficient. Using the virtual IBAN indicated on the Payment Document, citizens and companies can make payments quickly, conveniently, and securely.

For each issued payment document, a unique IBAN reference is generated, which is used only once to pay the specified amount. The IBAN will now appear not only on payment documents issued by citizens but also on those automatically provided by Social Security.

IRC – Autonomous Taxation Applicable in 2025

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The autonomous taxation rates in IRC are reduced, and the acquisition value limits are increased for light commercial vehicles with 4 or 5 seats (N1), passenger vehicles, mixed vehicles, non-Plug-in hybrids, and LPG-powered vehicles, now being as follows:

  • 8% for vehicles with an acquisition cost of less than €37,500;
  • 25% for vehicles with an acquisition cost equal to or greater than €37,500 and less than €45,000;
  • 32% for vehicles with an acquisition cost equal to or greater than €45,000.

Expenses incurred for entertainment events offered to clients, suppliers, or any other persons or entities are no longer subject to autonomous taxation.

CIT – Rates for periods beginning on or after 01.01.2025

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The Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rates applicable to the taxable income of companies headquartered in Mainland Portugal are reduced: It decreases from 21% to 20% for entities with their headquarters or effective management in Portuguese territory, regardless of whether they primarily engage in commercial, industrial, or agricultural activities.

For taxpayers who directly and primarily carry out an economic activity of an agricultural, commercial, or industrial nature and qualify as SMEs or Small Mid Cap enterprises, the CIT rate applicable to the first €50,000 of taxable income decreases from 17% to 16%, with the 20% rate applying to the excess.

Young IRS (IRS Jovem)

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The Young IRS regime now applies to all taxpayers who are not considered dependents, up to the age of 35. It is applicable for the first 10 years—consecutive or non-consecutive—of earning income from category A (employment) or category B (self-employment).

Excluded from this regime are young individuals who:

  • Benefit or have benefited from the Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) regime;
  • Benefit or have benefited from the tax incentive for scientific research and innovation, as provided in Article 58-A of the EBF;
  • Have opted for taxation under the Regressar program (Article 12-A of the IRS Code);
  • Do not have their tax situation regularized.

The exemption on income, up to a limit of €28,737.50 (equivalent to 55 times the value of the IAS: IAS 2025 = €522.5 x 55 = €28,737.50), is as follows:

a) 100% in the 1st year;
b) 75% from the 2nd to the 4th year;
c) 50% from the 5th to the 7th year;
d) 25% from the 8th to the 10th year.

To benefit from this regime, taxpayers must select this option in their IRS declaration for the relevant income year, to be submitted in the following year.

This year, it is possible to benefit from a reduction in withholding tax applied to employment income. To do so, young individuals must request their employer to apply a reduced withholding tax rate under Article 99-F of the IRS Code and indicate the year they started earning income, confirming they are not a dependent.

Validation in E-Fatura of Expenses to Be Considered in IRS

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Throughout 2024, invoices for various goods/services requested by each taxpayer using their tax identification number (NIF) have been or should have been reported to the Tax Authority (AT) based on the CAE (Economic Activity Code) of the entity that issued the invoice. However, their registration is not always properly categorized under the correct deduction item.

According to the legislation in force, these expenses can only be automatically considered deductible in the IRS if they are previously validated in the E-Fatura system, with a deadline of February 25, 2025. Therefore, you should validate and/or register these invoices through the AT portal under “Citizens – E-Fatura: Invoices/Consumer/Complement Invoice Information.” You must check whether the invoices are recorded under the correct activity and categorize those that are not assigned to any category (Other).

If you have an open self-employment activity, expenses related to the activity or those for which VAT has been deducted must be identified as belonging to the activity (selecting “Yes”), and you must also indicate whether they are fully or partially related to the activity. Expenses outside the scope of professional activity should be identified as not belonging to the activity (selecting “No”).

Note: It is possible to manually enter expenses related to professional activity, healthcare, training and education, real estate, and nursing home costs in the IRS Model 3 form to be submitted by taxpayers. This disregards the information communicated through the E-Fatura portal, without prejudice to the obligation to provide proof of these expenses.