What changed for freelancers filing IRS in Portugal in 2026?

The main changes for the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026) are: IRS Jovem expanded to cover workers up to age 35 with no educational requirement, NHR closed and IFICI is now the only special regime for new arrivals, and IRS Automático now covers some freelancers with simple income profiles. The core simplified regime mechanics (coefficients, SS rate, expense rules, filing dates) are unchanged.

Does IRS Automático work for freelancers on recibos verdes?

IRS Automático was expanded in 2026 to cover some freelancers with simple income profiles (Category B, simplified regime, no foreign income, no NHR/IFICI, no complex deductions). If you qualify, the AT portal will pre-fill your declaration and you can confirm it without entering values manually. Check your Portal das Finanças in April to see whether the pre-filled option is offered for your situation.

What is IRS Jovem and do I qualify in 2026?

IRS Jovem is a Portuguese tax benefit that reduces the effective IRS rate for younger workers during the first years of their careers. From 2025 onward, it covers taxpayers up to age 35 who are not dependents, with no educational requirement (the age cap was previously 26). If you are under 35 and have Category B income, check whether you qualify. The exemption percentage varies by year of application.

What if I was on NHR and it ended?

If you registered for NHR before 2024, nothing changes. You continue under NHR for the duration of your 10-year window and file Anexo L as usual. NHR closed to new applicants at the end of 2023. From 2025, the only available special regime for incoming residents is IFICI, which targets research, technology, and strategic sector professionals.

Are the simplified regime coefficients the same in 2026?

Yes. The income coefficients for 2025 (filed in 2026) are unchanged: 0.75 for services listed under Article 151 (most consultants, IT, architects), 0.35 for other services, 0.15 for goods sales. If your activity code has not changed, your coefficient has not changed.

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April 1, 2026Updated May 5, 2026For freelancers

IRS 2026 Filing Season: What Changed for Freelancers in Portugal

By Mikael

Every year the question goes around: what changed for this year's filing? And every year, most of the answer is: not much, actually.

What's new in this filing season (2026)

Before getting into the 2025 changes that affect your declaration, a few things changed for the 2026 filing season itself worth knowing:

IRS Automático expanded to some freelancers. The pre-filled automatic filing option now covers some Category B taxpayers with simple income profiles. If you're on the simplified regime with straightforward service income, no foreign income, no NHR or IFICI status, and no complex deduction situations, your Portal das Finanças dashboard may offer to pre-fill your Modelo 3 and let you confirm without manually entering values. Check your portal in April. It does not work for everyone, and the system doesn't offer it if your situation has complexity it can't handle automatically.

IRS Jovem expanded significantly. The age ceiling went from 26 to 35, and the educational requirement was dropped entirely. If you're filing under 35 as a freelancer, check your eligibility. The exemption reduces the effective IRS rate during the first years of your career, and the change is worth real money if you now qualify when you didn't before.

IFICI is now fully in production. 2025 was the first full year where IFICI was the only available special regime for new arrivals. If you applied for IFICI in 2024, this is your first year filing Anexo L under it. The 2025 filing season is the first where a meaningful number of people encounter IFICI for real, not in planning mode.

That's mostly true for 2025 as well. If you're a freelancer on the regime simplificado, the mechanics you relied on last year, the coefficients, the expense rules, the Social Security calculation, are the same. The filing process hasn't changed. The dates haven't changed. The annexes haven't changed.

But a few things did shift, and at least one of them is worth knowing about before you file.

What stayed the same in 2025

The core simplified regime mechanics are unchanged for 2025.

Income coefficients: still 0.75 for services listed under Article 151 (most freelance professionals, consultants, IT, architects, lawyers), 0.35 for other services, 0.15 for goods sales. If your activity code hasn't changed, your coefficient hasn't changed.

Social Security rate: 21.4% for independent workers. The income coefficient used for SS calculation (70% of service income) is also unchanged. What changed is the IAS (Social Support Index), which went from €509.26 to €522.50 in 2025. That's the reference value for the SS minimum monthly contribution floor, so your minimums are slightly higher, but the percentage mechanics are the same.

Filing period: April 1 – June 30, same as every year.

Annexes: Rosto + Anexo B + Anexo SS + Anexo H covers most simplified regime freelancers, same as last year. If you have foreign income, Anexo J. If you're on IFICI, Anexo L. See the IRS annexes guide for a full breakdown of what each annex covers. For a campo-by-campo walkthrough of every field in Anexo B, the Anexo B field guide covers the whole thing.

The 15% documented expenses rule: You still need to prove expenses equivalent to at least 15% of gross income. The automatic specific deduction (~€4,462.15 (2025)) applies, or your SS contributions up to a cap of 10% of your gross, whichever is larger. Nothing new here for most income levels.

What changed

IRS Jovem got a significant expansion. This one's worth reading carefully if you're under 35.

Previously, IRS Jovem was available to young workers up to age 26, or up to 30 for those completing doctorates, and required completing a specific educational level to qualify. The 2025 State Budget expanded this substantially: IRS Jovem now covers any taxpayer up to age 35 who is not a dependent, with no educational requirement.

What this means in practice: if you're a freelancer under 35 and you didn't qualify for IRS Jovem before because of the age cap or educational criteria, you may qualify now. The regime provides progressive income exemptions that reduce your effective tax rate during the first years of your career, significant savings if you're eligible. Check with a certified accountant or review the AT portal for the current rates and eligibility conditions specific to your situation.

NHR officially ended. IFICI is the only path now.

If you were on Non-Habitual Resident status (registered before 2024), nothing changes for your 2025 filing. You continue under NHR for the duration of your 10-year window and file Anexo L as usual.

But NHR closed to new applicants at the end of 2023. From January 1, 2025, the only available special regime for incoming residents is IFICI (Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação). IFICI targets qualifying professionals in research, science, technology, and strategic sectors. It's more narrowly scoped than NHR was. If you became a Portuguese tax resident in 2025 and thought you were applying for NHR: you weren't. You were applying for IFICI, or you applied for nothing.

2025 is the first full year where IFICI is the only option, and the first IRS cycle where a meaningful number of people will be filing under it for year one. If you applied for IFICI in 2024 (for 2025 tax residence), you file Anexo L for the first time this year. The application deadline for 2025 residency was January 15, 2026. If you missed it, you're filing standard rates.

For a detailed breakdown of how each regime affects your 2025 filing (and how to check which one you're actually on) see NHR vs IFICI: what expat freelancers need to know.

A VAT change worth knowing about, even though it's not IRS.

From July 1, 2025, the Article 53 VAT exemption (under €15,000.00 revenue, no VAT charged) is no longer available to non-resident individuals, even those with a Portuguese VAT number. This doesn't affect IRS, but it does affect freelancers who were operating as non-residents under the exemption. If that's your situation, your 2025 income may include VAT obligations that didn't exist in the first half of the year. Something to verify before you finalize your numbers.

Also new in July 2025: there's now a two-tier tolerance mechanism in how the exemption threshold works, crossing it doesn't automatically mean immediate VAT registration. The details matter if you're anywhere near that ceiling. See what happens when you cross the threshold mid-year for the full picture.

What to check before you file

If you're under 35: Look into IRS Jovem eligibility for 2025. The rules changed and you may now qualify when you didn't before.

If you applied for IFICI: You're filing Anexo L this year. Make sure your IFICI registration is confirmed in AT and that you understand what income falls under the regime before you start the declaration.

If you have NHR: Confirm your registration is still active and your year count. Your 10-year window started when your residency was registered, not when you first filed.

If you're a new freelancer in 2025: The first-year discount still applies, 37.5% of your gross is taxable instead of the standard 75% for Art. 151 services, provided you had no employment or pension income alongside your freelance work and haven't had similar registered activity in the last five years.

For everyone: The IAS increase to €522.50 affects SS minimum contribution calculations. If you were near the minimum floor last year, your 2025 SS contributions will be slightly higher. Verify this reconciles correctly in Anexo SS before submitting. The tax calculator can give you a quick estimate of your overall liability with 2025 figures before you start the formal declaration.

If you want to compare your 2025 situation against last year's declaration before you file, the IRS declaration reader translates the previous year's comprovativo into plain language, useful for spotting what's different.

For the step-by-step filing process itself, the complete IRS filing guide covers annexes, Portal das Finanças navigation, and common mistakes. If you'd rather have a guided experience through every campo, the IRS filing feature walks you through the full declaration. And if you're still deciding whether to file yourself or hand it off to someone, here's the decision guide.

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