IAS

The IAS (Indexante dos Apoios Sociais) is a reference value Portuguese law uses to set Social Security thresholds and several tax limits. Instead of writing each rule as a fixed euro figure, the law often expresses it as a multiple of the IAS, so the amounts move when the index is revised.

In 2026 the IAS is 537,13 € a month.

Where it shows up for the self-employed

• Contribution cap. A trabalhador independente's monthly Social Security contribution base is capped at 12 times the IAS. If you file the quarterly declaration, the monthly base is worked out from your relevant income (a coefficient-adjusted share of your income for the quarter), so contributions stop rising once that monthly base reaches the cap, not once your gross income does.
• Minimum base for a gerente. A sócio-gerente is charged Social Security on a minimum base of one IAS per month, even with no salary. There are exceptions. A gerente who receives no pay of any kind is excluded altogether if they also have another activity under a mandatory Social Security regime earning more than one IAS, or are an invalidity or old-age pensioner. And a paid gerente who also has another mandatory-regime activity or a pension, with a base of at least one IAS, is no longer held to the one-IAS minimum. Check with your accountant before relying on either.

Because these limits are multiples of the IAS rather than fixed euros, the actual amounts move every year the index is updated, even when the underlying rules stay the same.