Recibo Verde vs Fatura-Recibo: What's the Difference?

Ask any Portuguese freelancer what they do for work and there's a decent chance they'll tell you they "pass recibos verdes." Ask them what a recibo verde actually is, and you might get a confident answer that turns out to be slightly wrong.

The confusion is understandable. The Recibo Verde is simultaneously a cultural shorthand, a historical artifact, and an actual document that behaves differently from what the name implies.

Here's what it actually is, and why the distinction between a Recibo Verde, a Fatura-Recibo, and a plain Fatura matters for how you work with clients.

The name is older than the document

The "green receipt" name comes from the physical booklets freelancers used, actual green paper, filled out by hand, torn off in carbon copies. Doctors, lawyers, architects, and other independent professionals used them to record every payment received for services.

Later, the physical booklets disappeared. Everything moved to the Portal das Finanças. But the name "recibo verde" didn't go anywhere, it's now synonymous with freelancing in Portugal the way "dialing a number" survives in the smartphone era.

When Portuguese people say passar recibos verdes (passing green receipts), they mean working as a freelancer. The document itself is now technically a Fatura-Recibo: an invoice-receipt that does two things at once.

One document, two jobs

The Fatura-Recibo is what you issue on the AT portal when the invoice and the payment coincide.

It's unusual because it combines two steps that are separate in most European countries. In the UK, Sweden, France, or Germany, you'd typically send an invoice when the work is done, then record income when the payment arrives. Two events, two documents, two dates.

Portugal merged them. A Fatura-Recibo simultaneously:

• Documents that you provided the service (the invoice function)
• Confirms that payment was received (the receipt function)

You issue it at the moment of payment. That's when the payment is registered with the tax authority.

For most freelancing with Portuguese clients, this is clean and efficient. One click on the Portal das Finanças and the whole transaction is registered.

What about foreign clients?

Here's where it gets more interesting.

Foreign companies (a Swedish startup, a Dutch agency, a UK consultancy) typically have internal systems that require an invoice before they can authorize payment. They need to log the purchase, get internal approval, then pay on their own timeline. Sometimes that's 30 days, sometimes 60.

You can't issue a Fatura-Recibo in that situation. The document confirms payment received, and if you issue it before you've been paid, you've just recorded a payment that hasn't happened. Any IRS withholding belongs on the receipt you issue when the money actually arrives.

The solution is a Fatura first, then a Recibo (receipt) once the money arrives.

A Fatura on its own is just an invoice, it records what you did and what you're owed, but it does not confirm payment. Then when the payment lands, you issue the Recibo, which completes the transaction.

This two-step process is how invoicing a foreign client who pays later works in practice.

The main document types

Here's what the main ones are. The AT portal issues fatura, recibo, fatura-recibo and credit notes:

Fatura-Recibo (FR): The standard "green receipt." One document, issued at the moment of payment. Use this when the invoice and the payment coincide: a client who pays on the spot, or pays upfront.

Fatura (FT): An invoice without a payment confirmation. Use this when your client needs an invoice before they can pay. You'll follow up with a Recibo once payment arrives.

Recibo (RG): A standalone receipt. Used to close out a Fatura by confirming payment was received. As a freelancer you must issue a fatura, receipt or fatura-recibo for every amount you receive (CIRS Art. 115.º).

Nota de Crédito (NC): A credit note. Used when the amount or the VAT of a document already issued changes, for example after a return or a discount. A wrong NIF or address is not fixed this way: you cancel the document (anulação) and issue a corrected one.

Most service freelancers using the simplified regime end up using Fatura-Recibo for everything Portuguese and the Fatura/Recibo pair for everything foreign. The other document types come up occasionally, a Nota de Crédito when an amount changes.

The practical question: which one should you use?

It depends on your client's payment workflow.

Client pays you directly, same day or immediately after the work? Issue a Fatura-Recibo. One step.

Client needs an invoice to process through their accounting system before they pay? Issue a Fatura. Issue the Recibo when the payment arrives.

The amount changed after you issued (a return or a discount)? Issue a Nota de Crédito referencing the original.

A wrong NIF or address on a document? Cancel it and issue a corrected one.

Why the choice matters

The document you issue is what the tax authority sees. A Fatura-Recibo records the invoice and the payment on the same date. A Fatura followed by a Recibo records them on two dates, one for each document. Use whichever matches how your client pays, and issue the Recibo when the money arrives.