Social Security for Freelancers in Portugal, Rates & Rules 2026

How contributions are calculated

As a trabalhador independente, your Social Security contributions are based on your relevant income, which on the simplified regime is a share of your gross self-employment income.

Parameter	Value
Base rate	21.4% of relevant income
Income coefficient (services)	70% of gross income
Income coefficient (goods)	20% of gross income
Monthly cap	12× IAS = €6,445.56/month (2026)

Effective rate on services revenue: 21.4% × 70% = 14.98% of gross income.

Social Security declaration (Declaração Trimestral)

Every quarter you declare your income from the previous quarter to Segurança Social. This determines your monthly contributions for the following quarter.

Quarter's income	Declared in	Contributions paid
Jan–Mar	April	May–Jul
Apr–Jun	July	Aug–Oct
Jul–Sep	October	Nov–Jan
Oct–Dec	January	Feb–Apr

Contributions are paid between the 10th and 20th of each month.

When contributions start in the first year

A first-time trabalhador independente is placed in the regime as soon as activity opens: the tax authority tells Segurança Social, which registers and enrols the worker automatically and notifies them. What is deferred is when contributions start, on the first day of the 12th month after início de atividade, so nothing is owed and no Social Security declaration is due before that date. It runs from the activity start date rather than a calendar year, and income has no effect on it.

This is a deferral, not an exemption, and the difference is not a technicality: you are inside the regime throughout, so the statutory exemptions are a separate thing you might also qualify for. It applies to a first-ever registration only, so a later reinício contributes from the first day of its own month. The one exception: if you close activity inside the window and reopen within 12 months of that closure, the count resumes from the first day of the reopening month, for whatever was left of it.

Once contributions start, your first Social Security declaration covers the income from the quarter in which they began.

Exemptions

The statutory exemptions are a different thing from the deferral above: an exempt worker is enrolled in the regime but does not contribute.

Exemption	Duration
Simultaneous employment	While four cumulative conditions hold (income and pay thresholds apply); partial, reassessed quarterly
Pensioner	Ongoing, where the activity is legally cumulable with the pension
No income, or prior year met at the minimum	Assessed each January

The 15% expense proof connection

Social Security contributions count toward the 15% expense proof requirement under the simplified regime. They're automatically included, no separate documentation needed.