Tax residence in Portugal for Indian taxpayers

Portugal treats you as resident if you spend more than 183 days there in any 12-month period beginning or ending in the year (every day with an overnight stay counts), or if you have a home there kept as your habitual residence. India counts days over its tax year (1 April – 31 March). If both countries claim you, Art. 4(2) of the India–Portugal DTAA decides; both countries relieve double tax by credit (Art. 23).

Check your status: India and Portugal

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under Indian income-tax law, compared with the law of Portugal and the tax treaty.

When Portugal treats you as a tax resident

Portugal counts days over any 12-month period that begins or ends in the year concerned — not only the calendar year — and you must exceed 183 days (184 or more). A day counts if it includes an overnight stay in Portugal, even if you were there only part of the day.

With 183 days or fewer you are still resident if, on any day of that 12-month period, you had a home in Portugal in conditions suggesting a current intention to keep and occupy it as your habitual residence. A holiday or second home, or a home you plan to use only after a future return, is not enough; the courts look at where you actually live and have your family, work and economic ties.

You stayed in Portugal more than 183 days (counting every day with an overnight stay) in a 12-month period beginning or ending in this year — you are a Portuguese tax resident (art. 16(1)(a) CIRS) and owe IRS on your worldwide income. In the year you arrive you are resident from the first day of your stay (from 1 January if you were resident on any day of the previous year); in the year you leave, until your last day in Portugal, unless art. 16(14) keeps you resident for the whole year.
You had a home in Portugal in conditions suggesting a current intention to keep and occupy it as your habitual residence — you are a Portuguese tax resident (art. 16(1)(b) CIRS) even with 183 days or fewer, from the first day of your stay. The conclusion depends on the facts: owning or renting a home is not enough without a current intention to live there.
You perform public functions or a public mission abroad in the service of the Portuguese State — you are a Portuguese tax resident (art. 16(1)(d) CIRS) regardless of the days spent in Portugal.
On 31 December you were a crew member of a ship or aircraft serving an entity resident, or with its seat or effective management, in Portugal — you are a Portuguese tax resident for that year (art. 16(1)(c) CIRS).

When you are a nonresident

183 days or fewer in every 12-month period, no home in Portugal kept as habitual residence, and no Portuguese public service or crew position — you are not a Portuguese tax resident. Portugal taxes only your Portuguese-source income, for example pay for work done in Portugal (25% final withholding) or rent from Portuguese property.
You did not exceed 183 days, but it is unclear whether your home in Portugal shows an intention to keep it as your habitual residence. The tax authority and courts decide this on the facts (where you actually live, your family, work and assets); if they find such an intention you are resident. Keep evidence of where you live, and update your address with the tax authority when you leave.

Where the rules of Portugal clash with Indian tax rules

Collision: more than 183 days in Portugal while still resident in India. Portugal treats you as resident because you spent more than 183 days there in a 12-month period beginning or ending in the year; India can treat you as resident for an overlapping Indian tax year — with 182 days in India from 1 April, or 60 days plus 365 days in the four preceding years. Art. 4(2) of the India–Portugal DTAA decides: permanent home; with a home in both countries, centre of vital interests; if that cannot be determined, or you have a permanent home in neither, habitual abode; then nationality; then mutual agreement.
Collision: a home kept in Portugal can make you resident without 183 days. Portugal treats you as resident if you had a Portuguese home in conditions suggesting a current intention to keep and occupy it as your habitual residence, even after a short stay. Under the treaty such a home will usually also be a «permanent home available to you»: if your only permanent home is in Portugal, Art. 4(2)(a) points to Portugal; if you also have a permanent home in India, the centre of vital interests decides — family, work, assets and social ties. A holiday home, or a family home in Portugal that you yourself only visit, does not make you resident in Portugal.

What else to know

Which treaty applies: the India–Portugal DTAA (1998). The India–Portugal Convention signed at Lisbon on 11 September 1998 is in force since 5 April 2000 (the date used by Portugal; India's MLI position gives 30 April 2000); it applies in Portugal from 1 January 2001 and in India from the fiscal year beginning 1 April 2001. The Protocol of 24 June 2017 replaced only the exchange-of-information article. Residence tie-breaker: Art. 4(2) — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, then mutual agreement; a person liable to tax in a State only on income from sources there is not its resident (Art. 4(1)). Employment: Art. 15 (183 days in any 12-month period); independent services: Art. 14; private pensions: Art. 18 — State of residence only; government service: Art. 19; relief: Art. 23 — credit in both countries.
Different counting periods: India's tax year, a rolling 12 months in Portugal. India counts your days over its tax year (1 April – 31 March): resident with 182 days, or with 60 days plus 365 days in the four preceding years. Portugal makes you resident with more than 183 days in any 12-month period beginning or ending in the calendar year — a stay from July to June can make you resident in both calendar years — and every day that includes an overnight stay in Portugal counts, even if you were there only part of the day. The 183-day limit for salary in Art. 15(2)(a) of the DTAA uses any twelve-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned (for India the «previous year», 1 April – 31 March; for Portugal the calendar year — Art. 3(1)(k)). Keep a day count for each of these periods.
How India and Portugal relieve double taxation. If India is your state of residence, India deducts from Indian tax the income tax paid in Portugal — directly or by withholding — up to the Indian tax attributable to that income (Art. 23(3)); claim it with Form No. 44 and proof of the Portuguese tax (rule 76 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026). If Portugal is your state of residence, Portugal deducts the income tax paid in India on income that India may tax under the treaty, up to the Portuguese tax attributable to that income (Art. 23(2); art. 81 CIRS). Income that one country must exempt under the treaty can still be counted for the rate on your other income (Art. 23(4)).
Working in Portugal while resident in India: the 183-day rule (Art. 15(2)). Pay for work physically done in Portugal is Portuguese-source income, taxed at a 25% final rate for non-residents. If India is your treaty residence, Portugal does not tax it only if all three conditions of Art. 15(2) are met: not more than 183 days in Portugal in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned, an employer that is not resident in Portugal, and pay not borne by a Portuguese permanent establishment or fixed base. Otherwise Portugal taxes the pay for Portuguese work days and India gives credit under Art. 23(3). Self-employed professionals: Portugal may tax only income attributable to a fixed base regularly available in Portugal, or with a stay of more than 183 days in such a 12-month period (Art. 14(1)).
Portuguese State official posted abroad. If you perform public functions or a public mission abroad in the service of the Portuguese State — including as a Member of the European Parliament — Portugal treats you as resident whatever the days spent there (art. 16(1)(d) CIRS). If India also treats you as resident, Art. 4(2) of the treaty decides. Pay from the Portuguese State for services rendered to it is taxable only in Portugal, unless the services are rendered in India and you are an Indian resident who is an Indian national or did not become resident in India solely to render them (Art. 19(1)).
Pensions and government pay between India and Portugal. Pensions for past employment are taxable only in your state of residence (Art. 18): a private Indian pension received while the treaty makes you a resident of Portugal is taxed in Portugal at the progressive IRS rates — the IFICI regime covers only employment and business income. Salaries and pensions paid by the Government of India, a State or a local authority for services rendered to it remain taxable only in India, unless (for pay) the services are rendered in Portugal by a Portuguese resident who is a Portuguese national or did not become resident there solely to render them, or (for pensions) you are both resident in and a national of Portugal (Art. 19).
Year of moving: Portugal splits the year, India does not. In the year you arrive, Portugal treats you as resident from the first day of your stay; in the year you leave, until your last day of presence (art. 16(3)–(4) CIRS), and you file a separate Portuguese return for each period. Two exceptions: if you spent more than 183 days in Portugal in the year of departure, you stay resident for the whole year unless you show that the income you earn after leaving is taxed in your new country of residence at a rate of at least 60% of the Portuguese rate — India is outside the EU/EEA, so this test applies (art. 16(14)–(15)); and if you become resident again the following year, you are resident for the whole year (art. 16(16)). Income that India does not tax at all — for example foreign income while you are not ordinarily resident (s. 5) — cannot meet the 60% test. India decides your status for its whole tax year (1 April – 31 March); where both countries treat you as resident for the same period, the treaty decides.
IFICI («NHR 2.0»): 20% for qualifying newcomers. If you were not resident in Portugal in any of the previous five years and work in a qualifying activity (research and higher education, qualified jobs in companies with investment-incentive contracts, highly qualified professions in qualifying or exporting companies, R&D staff, certified start-ups, etc.), you may pay 20% on net employment and self-employment income from that activity for 10 years; most foreign income is exempt with progression (art. 81(4) CIRS). Register by 15 January of the year after you became resident — later registration works only from that year.
Non-habitual resident (NHR) regime: closed to new entrants. The NHR regime was repealed from 2024. It still applies for the rest of the 10-year period to people already registered and, under transitional rules, to those who became resident by the end of 2024 with qualifying pre-2024 documents. Registration matters: the Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that the NHR registration request is a condition of access to the regime, and that a late request works only from the year of registration.
Former Portuguese residents returning to Portugal (art. 12-A CIRS). If you were a Portuguese resident at some point, were not resident in the previous five years and become resident again by 2026, 50% of your employment and business income is excluded from IRS for 5 years (capped by reference to EUR 250,000 for people who became resident from 2024). «Resident» here means resident under art. 16 CIRS: a stay in Portugal for part of one of those years without meeting any art. 16 criterion does not rule out the regime (STA, uniformisation of case law, 29 April 2026). Taxpayers up to 35 may instead use IRS Jovem (art. 12-B), which cannot be combined with art. 12-A, NHR or IFICI.
Leaving Portugal: no general exit tax, except on crypto-assets. Portugal's IRS code has no general exit tax on shares or other assets of individuals who move abroad; the exception is crypto-assets that are not securities, where losing residence is treated as a disposal (art. 10(1)(k) and (25) CIRS; crypto held 365 days or more is excluded). Report the change of residence within 60 days and appoint a representative or join electronic notifications (art. 19 LGT). As a resident of India — outside the EU/EEA — you need a tax representative in Portugal unless you join electronic notifications.
Certificates of residence and registration. To claim treaty benefits in India as a Portuguese resident — for example the treaty limits on Indian dividends, interest or royalties — request a Portuguese tax residence certificate on the Portal das Finanças (issued online at once) and give it to the Indian payer with the prescribed information (s. 159(8)). To claim them in Portugal as a resident of India, apply for an Indian tax residency certificate in Form No. 42 on the e-filing portal; it is issued in Form No. 43. You need a Portuguese tax number (NIF) to deal with the Portuguese tax authority; keep your address up to date — a change is ineffective until reported, and a change of residence status must be reported within 60 days.
Social security: India–Portugal agreement, posting up to 60 months. India and Portugal have a social security agreement: Portugal is on EPFO's list of India's agreements, and the Portuguese social security institute (ISS) lists India among the countries from which employees can be posted to Portugal for up to 60 months (possibly extended by mutual agreement) on form IN/PT 9, staying in the Indian system. Apply to EPFO for the certificate of coverage before the posting starts. Without it, Portuguese contributions apply: 11% employee and 23.75% employer; self-employed 21.4% on 70% of service income. Social security contributions are not taxes covered by the income tax treaty (Art. 2).

How dual residence is resolved

If both countries treat you as a resident, Art. 4(2) of the treaty applies: Convention between the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the Republic of India for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, with Protocol, signed at Lisbon on 11 September 1998 (Resolução da Assembleia da República n.º 20/2000, Diário da República I Série-A n.º 55, 6 March 2000; Aviso n.º 123/2000), as amended by the Protocol signed at Lisbon on 24 June 2017 (Resolução da Assembleia da República n.º 133/2018, Diário da República I Série n.º 101, 25 May 2018). The tests are applied in order — permanent home, centre of vital interests, habitual abode, nationality, and finally mutual agreement between the tax authorities.

The treaty in detail: income, rates, the 183-day rule →

Terms you will come across in Portugal

residência fiscal: Portuguese tax residence under art. 16 CIRS
residência habitual: habitual residence — a home kept with a current intention to live in it makes you resident even without 183 days
IRS / CIRS: Portuguese personal income tax / the Personal Income Tax Code
IFICI («NHR 2.0»): 20% on qualifying employment and self-employment income of newcomers for 10 years
NIF: Portuguese tax number
Portal das Finanças: online portal of the Portuguese tax authority, where a tax residence certificate is issued at once

Questions

Which DTAA applies between India and Portugal?

The Convention signed at Lisbon on 11 September 1998, in force since 5 April 2000 (the date used by Portugal; India's MLI position gives 30 April 2000); it applies in India from the fiscal year beginning 1 April 2001. The Protocol of 24 June 2017 replaced only the exchange-of-information article. The tie-breaker is in Art. 4(2).

How is double taxation relieved between India and Portugal?

If India is your state of residence, India deducts the income tax paid in Portugal up to the Indian tax attributable to that income (Art. 23(3)); claim it with Form No. 44 and proof of the Portuguese tax. If Portugal is your state of residence, Portugal deducts the income tax paid in India on income that India may tax under the treaty (Art. 23(2); art. 81 CIRS).

Is there a social security agreement between India and Portugal?

Yes. Employees posted from India to Portugal can stay in the Indian system for up to 60 months on form IN/PT 9; apply to EPFO for the certificate of coverage before the posting starts. Without it, Portuguese contributions apply: 11% employee and 23.75% employer.

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

art. 16(1)–(2) Código do IRS (CIRS) — You are a Portuguese resident for a year if in that year you (a) stayed in Portugal more than 183 days, consecutive or not, in any 12-month period beginning or ending in that year; (b) having stayed less, had in Portugal on any day of that period a dwelling in conditions suggesting a current intention to keep and occupy it as your habitual residence; (c) were on 31 December a crew member of a ship or aircraft serving an entity resident, or with its seat or effective management, in Portugal; or (d) performed public functions or missions abroad in the service of the Portuguese State (including as a Member of the European Parliament, art. 16(13)). A day of presence is any day, whole or partial, that includes an overnight stay in Portugal.
art. 16(3)–(5) CIRS (partial-year residence) — If you meet criterion (a) or (b), you are resident from the first day of your stay in Portugal — unless you were resident on any day of the previous year, in which case from 1 January. Residence ends on the last day of presence in Portugal, subject to art. 16(14) and (16). Residence is assessed separately for each member of a household.
art. 16(14)–(16) CIRS (year of departure) — You stay resident for the whole year of departure if you spent more than 183 days in Portugal that year and, after leaving, earn income that would have been taxable and not exempt had you remained resident — unless you show that the income is taxed, because of your residence, by a similar income tax in another EU/EEA State or, elsewhere, at a rate of at least 60% of the Portuguese rate. You are also resident for the whole year if you become resident again in the year after the one in which you lost residence.
art. 15 CIRS — Residents are taxed on all their income, including income obtained abroad; non-residents only on income obtained in Portugal. In a year of partial residence each status applies to its own period.
art. 18(1)(a), (h), (l) CIRS — Portuguese-source income includes employment income from work performed in Portugal or paid by an entity resident or with a permanent establishment in Portugal, income from and gains on Portuguese real estate, and pensions paid by Portuguese entities.
art. 71(1), (4), (17) CIRS — Final withholding: 25% on employment income, business and professional income and pensions obtained in Portugal by non-residents; 28% on most capital income paid by Portuguese entities; 35% where income is paid to accounts for unidentified third parties or involves listed low-tax jurisdictions.
art. 19(1), (3)–(8), (15) Lei Geral Tributária (LGT) — Your tax domicile is the place of your habitual residence; it must be communicated to the tax authority and a change is ineffective until communicated. A change of residence status must be reported within 60 days. Residents abroad (and residents absent for more than six months) must appoint a tax representative resident in Portugal — optional for EU/EEA cases, and not required if you join the electronic notification service (Morada Única Digital / Portal das Finanças notifications).
Convention between the Government of the Portuguese Republic and the Government of the Republic of India, signed at Lisbon on 11 Sep 1998 (Resolução da Assembleia da República n.º 20/2000, Diário da República I Série-A n.º 55, 6 Mar 2000), Art. 29; Protocol of 24 Jun 2017 (Resolução AR n.º 133/2018) — The Convention enters into force on the thirtieth day after the exchange of diplomatic notes and applies in Portugal to withholding taxes and other taxes from 1 January of the year following entry into force, and in India to income of fiscal years beginning on or after 1 April following the calendar year of entry into force. The Protocol of 24 Jun 2017 replaced Art. 26 (exchange of information) only.
Art. 4(2) India–Portugal DTAA (1998) — Dual-resident individual: (a) resident only of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, resident only of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests); (b) if the State of the centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home available to him in either State — the State in which he has an habitual abode; (c) habitual abode in both States or in neither — the State of which he is a national; (d) national of both States or of neither — the competent authorities settle the question by mutual agreement.
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 159 — The Central Government may enter into agreements for relief from double taxation and avoidance of double taxation; where an agreement applies, the Act applies only to the extent more beneficial to the assessee (s. 159(4)). A non-resident may claim treaty relief only with a certificate of residence from the other country's government and the prescribed documents and information (s. 159(8)).
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 6(1)–(2) — Residential status is determined for each tax year. An individual is resident in India in a tax year if in India for 182 days or more in that year, or for 60 days or more in that year and 365 days or more in the four years preceding it.
Art. 15(2) and Art. 3(1)(k) India–Portugal DTAA (1998) — Pay of a resident of one State for employment exercised in the other State is taxable only in the residence State if (a) the employee is present in the other State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any twelve-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned, (b) the pay is paid by or on behalf of an employer who is not a resident of the other State, and (c) it is not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base of the employer in the other State. «Fiscal year» means, for Portugal, the civil year; for India, the «previous year» as defined in s. 3 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (Art. 3(1)(k)).
Art. 23(2)–(4) India–Portugal DTAA (1998) — (2) Portugal deducts from the tax of a Portuguese resident an amount equal to the income tax paid in India on income that India may tax under the Convention, up to the part of the Portuguese tax attributable to that income. (3) India deducts from the tax of an Indian resident an amount equal to the income tax paid in Portugal, directly or by deduction at source, up to the part of the Indian tax attributable to the income that Portugal may tax. (4) Income exempt in the State of residence under the Convention may be taken into account in calculating the tax on the remaining income.
Income-tax Rules, 2026, rule 76; Forms No. 44 and 45 — A resident gets credit for foreign tax in the tax year in which the income is taxed in India; credit is the lower of the Indian tax on that income and the foreign tax, per source and per country; not against interest, fees or penalties; disputed foreign tax only after settlement (Form No. 45, within 6 months of the month of settlement). Form No. 44 with a certificate of income and tax and proof of payment, within 12 months from the end of the tax year if the return was filed on time; accountant verification if foreign tax is ₹1,00,000 or more. Conversion at the TT buying rate.
art. 81(1)–(2), (4) CIRS — Foreign tax credit limited to the lower of the foreign income tax paid and the Portuguese tax on that income; under a tax treaty, not more than the tax the treaty allows the source State to levy. IFICI beneficiaries: foreign employment, business, capital, rental and capital-gains income is exempt but counts for the rate.
Art. 14(1) India–Portugal DTAA (1998) — Income from professional services or other independent activities is taxable only in the residence State, unless the person has a fixed base regularly available in the other State (income attributable to it may be taxed there) or stays in the other State for a period or periods exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any twelve-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned (income from the activities performed there may be taxed there).
Arts. 18 and 19 India–Portugal DTAA (1998) — Pensions and similar remuneration paid to a resident of a State in consideration of past employment are taxable only in that State (Art. 18, subject to Art. 19(2)). Salaries paid by a State, its political or administrative subdivision or local authority for services rendered to it are taxable only in that State, but only in the other State if the services are rendered there and the individual is a resident of that other State who is its national or did not become resident there solely to render the services (Art. 19(1)). Pensions paid by or out of funds of a State for such services are taxable only in that State, but only in the other State if the individual is a resident and national of that other State (Art. 19(2)). Pay and pensions for services in connection with a government business fall under Arts. 15–18 (Art. 19(3)).
art. 58-A Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais (IFICI), added by Lei n.º 82/2023 — New residents who were not resident in Portugal in any of the previous five years and work in listed qualifying activities (higher education and research, qualified jobs in companies with contractual investment benefits, highly qualified professions in qualifying or exporting companies, R&D staff, certified start-ups, and others) may be taxed at 20% on net category A and B income from those activities for 10 consecutive years from the year of registration as resident. Not available to former NHR beneficiaries or ex-resident regime users; usable only once.
arts. 57(1), (6) and 60(1) CIRS; art. 143 CIRS — IRS is assessed on the calendar year (art. 143). The annual return (Modelo 3) for the previous year's income is filed electronically from 1 April to 30 June (art. 60(1)); if you had two residence statuses in the same year you file one return for each (art. 57(6)).
Income-tax Act, 2025, s. 5 — A resident is taxed on income received or deemed received in India, accruing or arising (or deemed to) in India, and accruing or arising outside India; for a not ordinarily resident, income accruing outside India is included only if it is from a business controlled in or a profession set up in India. A non-resident is taxed only on income received or deemed received in India, or accruing or arising (or deemed to) in India.
Portaria n.º 352/2024/1 of 23 Dec 2024, art. 2(1) — The IFICI registration request must be filed by 15 January of the year after the one in which you became resident; a late request takes effect from the year of registration for the remainder of the period (art. 58-A(7) EBF).
art. 236(3)–(5) Lei n.º 82/2023 (State Budget 2024) — transitional NHR rules, reproduced under art. 16 CIRS — The NHR regime (former art. 16(8)–(12) CIRS) was repealed from 2024. It continues to apply for the remainder of the 10-year period to those already registered, to those who met the residence conditions by 31 Dec 2023, and to those who became resident by 31 Dec 2024 holding one of the listed pre-2024 documents (work contract, lease, school enrolment, residence visa, etc.) and who applied for NHR registration; a late registration takes effect only from the year in which it is made.
art. 12-A CIRS (regime for former residents) — 50% of employment and business income is excluded from tax for 5 years, within a cap set by the upper limit of the first bracket of art. 68-A CIRS (EUR 250,000; the cap applies to people who became resident from 2024), for people who become resident under art. 16(1)–(2) by 2026, were not resident in any of the previous five years but were resident at some earlier time, and have their tax affairs in order. Not combinable with NHR.
art. 12-B CIRS (IRS Jovem) — Taxpayers up to 35 who are not dependants may elect a partial exemption of category A and B income for 10 years of earning income: 100% in year 1, 75% in years 2–4, 50% in years 5–7, 25% in years 8–10, capped at 55 × IAS. Not available to NHR or IFICI beneficiaries or users of art. 12-A.
art. 10(1)(k) and (25) CIRS — For crypto-assets that are not securities, losing Portuguese residence is treated as a disposal for consideration (deemed sale on exit). Crypto-assets held for 365 days or more are excluded from the gains rules (art. 10(22)). No comparable exit charge on shares or other assets of individuals appears in art. 10.
Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (DSRI), note of 14 Dec 2021 on certification of tax residence — Since 1 Jan 2022 a Portuguese tax residence certificate for treaty purposes is requested online on the Portal das Finanças («Pedir Certidão» → «Residência Fiscal») and issued immediately; the AT says it is the only document attesting Portuguese residence for treaty benefits, and it is attached to the foreign form instead of having the form stamped.
Income-tax Rules, 2026, rule 75(3); Form No. 42 (application) and Form No. 43 (certificate) — Application for a certificate of residence for the purposes of an agreement under s. 159(1)–(2), filed on the e-filing portal (replaces Form 10FA): period for which the certificate is needed, basis of the residential status claimed, address in that period, supporting documents; the certificate is issued in Form No. 43.
EPFO — International Workers: Social Security Agreements — India's social security agreements operate with Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Korea, the Netherlands, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Norway, Austria, Canada, Australia, Japan, Portugal, Brazil and Quebec. EPFO issues a certificate of coverage to employees posted to those countries, so they avoid contributing in the host country; periods count toward pension eligibility.
Instituto da Segurança Social — Guia Prático «Destacamento de trabalhadores de outros países para Portugal» (published 15 Nov 2021), section E3 — Table of countries with bilateral and multilateral social security conventions: India — employees (trabalhadores por conta de outrem) may be posted to Portugal for up to 60 months, possibly extended by mutual agreement, on form IN/PT 9 issued by the social security institution of the country of origin.
gov.pt — Social Security contributions paid by employers — Employees in the general scheme: employer 23.75%, employee 11%, total 34.75%.
Instituto da Segurança Social — Guia Prático «Trabalhador Independente» (published 16 May 2025) — Self-employed workers: 21.4% (25.2% for sole traders/ENI) on relevant income, which is 70% of income from services (20% of income from sales of goods).
Art. 2(3) India–Portugal DTAA (1998) — The Convention applies, in Portugal, to IRS, IRC and the derrama; in India, to the income tax including any surcharge thereon. Social security contributions are not among the taxes covered.
art. 68 CIRS (general rates) — Progressive IRS scale; the current text was last amended by Decreto-Lei n.º 212/2026 of 4 Nov 2026 (rates from 12.2% to 48%); a solidarity surcharge of 2.5% (EUR 80,000–250,000) and 5% (above EUR 250,000) applies on top (art. 68-A).
art. 72(1)(b)–(c), (2), (6) CIRS — Special flat rates: 28% on other income of non-residents not subject to withholding and on net gains on securities; 25% on residential rental income; 25% on income of non-residents attributable to a Portuguese permanent establishment and on their employment income and pensions not subject to withholding. Residents may opt to aggregate most of these items with their other income.
Art. 4(2)(a) India–Portugal DTAA (1998) — A dual-resident individual is deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, a resident only of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests).
Art. 4(2)(b) India–Portugal DTAA (1998) — If the State of the centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has no permanent home available to him in either State, he is deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he has an habitual abode.
Art. 4(2)(c), (d) India–Portugal DTAA (1998) — If he has an habitual abode in both States or in neither of them, he is deemed to be a resident only of the State of which he is a national (c); if he is a national of both States or of neither of them, the competent authorities settle the question by mutual agreement (d).

Case law

Tribunal Central Administrativo Norte (TCAN), Tax Litigation Section, 01219/21.6BEPRT, 30/01/2025 — Tax domicile (art. 19 LGT) and tax residence for IRS are different concepts. A taxpayer who by mistake filed her 2019 return as a Portuguese resident could rebut her own return: Brazilian tax documents showed that she and her husband lived in Brazil, so the 183-day and dwelling criteria were not met and the assessment of her Brazilian income was annulled.
Tribunal Central Administrativo Sul (TCAS), Tax Litigation Section, 443/20.3BELRA, 27/11/2025 — Art. 16(1)(b) CIRS requires, besides a dwelling, a current intention to keep it as habitual residence — the place where a person normally lives and has the centre of family, social, professional and economic interests. A taxpayer who kept the same flat in Portugal and returned to it after each short absence abroad was resident; a foreign residence certificate issued later proved nothing about the earlier years, and the burden of proving non-residence was on the taxpayer.
Centro de Arbitragem Administrativa (CAAD), tax arbitration, 226/2023-T, 02/01/2024 — A football coach whose contract in China began on 1 August 2016, after 213 days in Portugal (no earlier departure was proven), stayed resident for all of 2016 under art. 16(14)–(15) CIRS because the Chinese tax on his later income was below 60% of the Portuguese tax. For 2017, owning a home in Portugal where his family lived did not make him resident without a current intention to occupy it as habitual residence (residence is assessed per person, art. 16(5)); the 2017 assessment was annulled.
Supremo Tribunal Administrativo (STA), Plenary of the Tax Litigation Section, 084/25.9BALSB (uniformisation of case law), 28/01/2026 — Filing the request for registration as a non-habitual resident under art. 16(10) CIRS (wording in force in 2023) is a condition of access to the NHR regime; meeting the substantive conditions is not enough without the request.
Supremo Tribunal Administrativo (STA), Tax Litigation Section, 0842/23.9BESNT, 29/05/2024 — NHR registration is declaratory, not a grant by the tax authority: if the conditions of art. 16(8) are met (assessed for the year of becoming resident), a request filed after the 31 March deadline is still possible, but the regime then applies only from the year of the NHR registration onwards.
Supremo Tribunal Administrativo (STA), Plenary of the Tax Litigation Section, 0214/25.0BALSB (uniformisation of case law), 29/04/2026 — For the former-resident regime (art. 12-A CIRS; here in the wording then in force, «three previous years» — now five), the condition of not having been resident refers to tax residence as defined in art. 16 CIRS. The tax authority may refuse the regime only if it shows that one of the art. 16 criteria was met in one of those years; it is not enough that the taxpayer stayed in Portugal for part of that year, for less than 183 days. The arbitral decision that had refused the regime was annulled.

Updated 10/11/2026. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. Tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law changes. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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