Anexo H
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The IRS annex for tax benefits and personal deductions: health expenses, education, housing, and e-fatura credits. Pre-filled from e-fatura data and AT records. Every filer with deductible personal expenses completes Anexo H.
When you simulate your IRS in Portal das Finanças, Anexo H is where your personal spending history feeds into the calculation.
AT pre-fills Anexo H from the e-fatura system, the network of invoices registered to your NIF throughout the year. Every receipt you got with your NIF, every medical appointment, every pharmacy purchase, every gym membership, if it was invoiced to your NIF and the business reported it to e-fatura, it appears here.
What Anexo H covers
Health expenses. Doctor visits, dentist, hospital, pharmacy, physiotherapy, glasses, hearing aids. AT applies a 15% deduction rate on qualifying amounts. The ceiling varies by household composition.
Education. School fees, university tuition, student accommodation, academic transport. 30% deduction rate, up to annual ceiling.
Housing. Interest on mortgage loans signed before 2011 (newer mortgages don't qualify). Rent, in limited cases.
E-fatura category credits. A credit (not a deduction from income, but a direct credit against tax owed) calculated as a percentage of your household spending on restaurants, accommodation, hairdressers, car workshops, shoe repair, veterinary services, and a few other service categories. This credit rewards putting your NIF on receipts throughout the year.
Other. Nursing home fees, alimony payments, professional fees (like union memberships), donations to registered charities.
Why you need to review it, not just accept it
The pre-fill comes from e-fatura. It's only as good as what's in e-fatura.
If a business didn't include your NIF when issuing a receipt, the expense isn't there. Pharmacies often skip the NIF question at smaller locations. Some health professionals bill outside the NIF system. And anything you bought from businesses that don't report to e-fatura (some small traders, some professionals) won't appear.
Before filing, AT gives you a window (typically from late January through late March) to log into e-fatura and review your categorized expenses. During this window you can add invoices you received without NIF, categorize any that are pending, and correct any that were mis-categorized.
If you miss that window, you can still add expenses manually in Anexo H during filing, but only for items that have supporting documentation (receipt or invoice).
The e-fatura credit calculation
One part of Anexo H that surprises people: the e-fatura credit is tied to how well you "NIF'd" your household spending throughout the year. AT calculates a credit based on a percentage of your total registered spending in eligible categories, typically around 15% of restaurant bills registered to your NIF, 15% of accommodation, etc. This credit comes off your tax bill directly.
If you consistently add your NIF to receipts throughout the year, this credit can amount to a few hundred euros. If you rarely did, it'll be near zero.
For freelancers specifically
You're filing Anexo B for your professional income. Anexo H handles your personal deductions, they're separate. The professional income calculation (coefficient, Social Security deductions) happens in Anexo B. Anexo H covers your personal spending deductions.
Both matter. A freelancer who earned €40,000 and has €2,000 in health expenses and €1,500 in e-fatura credits has a meaningfully different tax bill than one who skips Anexo H review.
Frequently asked questions
What is Anexo H?
Anexo H is the annex in the Modelo 3 IRS return where personal deductions and tax benefits are declared. It covers health expenses, education costs, housing loan interest, professional membership fees, alimony, donations, retirement savings, and the e-fatura deduction credits from household spending. AT pre-fills most of it from e-fatura data, but you need to review and add anything missing.
Do freelancers need to complete Anexo H?
Yes, if you have deductible personal expenses, which most people do. Health spending, pharmacy receipts, gym memberships, dentist visits, children's school fees, energy and telecom bills registered to your NIF, all of these can appear in Anexo H and reduce your final tax bill. Even if you have no specific deductions to add, reviewing the pre-filled data is worth the few minutes it takes.
Why might my Anexo H be missing some expenses?
Anexo H is populated from e-fatura, the AT system that tracks invoices issued with your NIF. If a business didn't add your NIF to a receipt, that expense isn't in the e-fatura system and won't appear in Anexo H. You can add missing invoices directly to e-fatura (Fatura do Contribuinte) before you file, or declare them manually in Anexo H if they qualify.
What's the deduction limit for health expenses in Anexo H?
For health expenses, AT applies a 15% deduction rate on qualifying amounts, up to a ceiling (the ceiling varies by household composition and income). The pre-filled data usually captures most of this automatically from invoices registered to your NIF in e-fatura. Invoices not registered to your NIF won't appear, which is why adding your NIF to medical receipts matters.
What are e-fatura credits vs expense deductions?
e-fatura credits are a percentage of your household spending in certain categories, restaurants, hairdressers, car repairs, accommodation, veterinary services, registered to your NIF throughout the year. These appear as a credit (directly reducing tax owed) rather than a deduction from income. They're separate from the standard expense deductions for health, education, and housing.
Related terms
The official Portuguese personal income tax return form. Filed annually between April and June for the previous year's income. Consists of a cover page (Rosto) plus annexes based on your income sources.
e-FaturaElectronic Invoice SystemPortugal's electronic invoice system that automatically tracks purchases linked to your NIF. Used for tax deductions: if your NIF isn't on the receipt, the expense doesn't exist for tax purposes.
IRSImposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Singulares · Personal Income TaxPortugal's personal income tax: the annual tax that solo entrepreneurs pay on their individual income, declared each spring for the previous year's earnings.
Anexo BAnnex B: Self-Employment Income (Simplified Regime)The IRS annex where solo entrepreneurs on the simplified regime declare their self-employment income (Category B). Contains your gross revenue, withholding tax, and activity codes.
Deduções EspecíficasSpecific DeductionsIRS deductions applied to each income category before tax rates are calculated. For Category B (self-employment), the simplified regime's deemed cost coefficient acts as the specific deduction. For Category A employees, there's a fixed deduction of €4,462 or actual mandatory contributions if higher.
Personal Income TaxIRSThe English name for IRS (Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Singulares): the annual tax on individual income in Portugal, including freelance and self-employment earnings.