Imobilizado
Long-term assets (fixed assets)
Last updated:
Portuguese accounting term for long-term business assets: non-current assets that a business keeps and uses rather than sells or uses up, such as computers, equipment, vans, and furniture. Distinguished from inventory (held for resale) and consumables (used up within the year).
Imobilizado is the Portuguese accounting term for long-term assets: non-current assets (ativos não correntes), such as equipment and furniture, that a business keeps and uses rather than sells or uses up. On the periodic VAT declaration (Declaração Periódica de IVA), it names field #20, which the model approved by Portaria 298/2026/1 labels Ativos não correntes (Imobilizado).
The two tests
A purchase qualifies as imobilizado when it satisfies both:
- Used in the business: for business purposes, not personal use
- Kept, not used up: it doesn't get consumed in the normal course of work, and it isn't stock for resale
Qualifying examples: laptop, desktop computer, tablet, external monitor, professional camera, office desk and chair, a goods van.
A passenger car can be imobilizado too, but its VAT is not deductible (Art. 21.º n.º 1 a) CIVA), except in full for an electric or plug-in hybrid car within the cost limit (n.º 2 f)), or 50% for an LPG or natural-gas car within that limit (n.º 2 g)).
Not imobilizado: paper and toner (consumables), monthly software subscriptions, training courses, professional fees, cloud storage plans.
Imobilizado vs inventário
Both are business goods, but they differ by purpose:
- Imobilizado is held to be used in the business: equipment, vans, furniture you operate with.
- Inventário (inventory, existências) is held to be sold: stock awaiting resale.
The distinction matters for the periodic VAT return: imobilizado goes in field #20, inventory in the dedicated fields #21/#22/#23 (one per VAT rate). A reseller's stock and a reseller's own working laptop are tracked separately.
On the periodic VAT return
The filling instructions approved by Portaria 298/2026/1 describe field #20 by the kind of purchase, aquisições de ativos não correntes (acquisitions of non-current assets), not by a price.
For the calculation and worked examples, see the Filing field #20 guide.
Regularization: the multi-year adjustment rule
When you deduct VAT on a long-term asset, you may have to adjust that deduction yourself in later years (Art. 24.º CIVA), in the return for the last period of each year:
- 5-year window for movable assets (the year of first use plus four)
- 20-year window for real estate (the year of first use plus nineteen)
Assets worth less than €2,500 each, or with a useful life under five years, are outside the annual adjustment (Art. 24.º n.º 7 CIVA), which leaves out most laptops. Above those limits, it applies when the share of VAT you may deduct changes, in practice because part of your activity becomes VAT-exempt. Selling an asset inside the window has its own one-off adjustment (n.º 5).
How imobilizado relates to the simplified IRS regime
Under the simplified regime, the coefficient fixes taxable income, but the regime also asks you to show documented expenses worth 15% of services revenue (Art. 31.º n.º 13 CIRS). An asset bought for the activity counts toward it when its invoice carries your NIF, reaches e-Fatura, and you mark it as a business expense there by the end of the following February (at 25% if it is only partly used for the business, n.º 14). In 2026, up to roughly €30,580 of services revenue, the specific deduction of 4587,09 € (2026) already covers it on its own, so for many freelancers the asset changes nothing on the IRS side.
VAT recovery on imobilizado runs separately. Income tax (IRS) and value-added tax (IVA) are two systems:
- On the normal VAT regime (not the Art. 53 exemption), a €1,500 laptop with €345 of mainland VAT recovers €345 on the IVA Periódica, whatever your IRS position.
- The laptop's cost counts only toward the expense proof above.
Recording your assets
What the law asks depends on your accounting:
- With organized accounting, you keep a register of investment goods: for each one, the date of purchase and first use, the VAT paid and the deduction percentages (Art. 51.º CIVA). A contabilista certificado normally keeps it.
- Without organized accounting, since 1 July 2025 you meet the obligation by classifying the invoice on the Portal das Finanças as an operation linked to investment goods (Art. 50.º n.º 1 c) CIVA, applied to self-employed income by Art. 116.º n.º 1 a) CIRS).
A simple table of what you bought, when and for how much, kept alongside the invoices, is still a sensible habit (a Ficha de Imobilizado). For a handful of assets it can live in a spreadsheet.
Perguntas frequentes
What counts as imobilizado (a fixed asset)?
A non-current asset (ativo não corrente), such as equipment or furniture, that the business keeps and uses rather than sells or uses up. The two tests: it's used in the business (not personal), and it isn't consumed in normal use or held for resale. Classic examples: laptop, desktop computer, professional camera equipment, office furniture, a goods van. A passenger car's VAT is not deductible (Art. 21.º n.º 1 a) CIVA), except in full for an electric or plug-in hybrid car within the cost limit (n.º 2 f)), or 50% for an LPG or natural-gas car within that limit (n.º 2 g)). Consumables (paper, ink, subscriptions) and services (training, professional fees) are not imobilizado.
How is imobilizado different from inventário (inventory)?
Imobilizado is held to be used in the business; inventário is held to be sold. A reseller's stock of laptops awaiting sale is inventário. A laptop the reseller uses internally for bookkeeping is imobilizado. On the IVA Periódica form they sit in different fields, imobilizado in #20, inventory in #21/#22/#23.
What is the regularization rule for imobilizado?
When you deduct VAT on a long-term asset, you may have to adjust that deduction yourself in later years (Art. 24.º CIVA): over 5 years for movable assets and 20 years for real estate, in the return for the last period of each year. Assets worth less than €2,500 each, or with a useful life under five years, are outside the annual adjustment (Art. 24.º n.º 7 CIVA), which leaves out most laptops. Above those limits, it applies when the share of VAT you may deduct changes, in practice because part of your activity becomes VAT-exempt. Selling an asset inside the window has its own one-off adjustment (n.º 5).
Does the asset cost reduce my IRS taxable income under the simplified regime?
Not directly. The coefficient fixes taxable income, but the regime also asks you to show documented expenses worth 15% of services revenue (Art. 31.º n.º 13 CIRS). An asset bought for the activity counts toward it when its invoice carries your NIF, reaches e-Fatura, and you mark it as a business expense there by the end of the following February (at 25% if it is only partly used for the business, n.º 14). In 2026, up to roughly €30,580 of services revenue, the specific deduction of 4587,09 € (2026) already covers it on its own, so for many freelancers the asset changes nothing. The VAT element is separate: on the normal VAT regime (not the Art. 53 exemption), VAT paid on qualifying assets is recoverable through the IVA Periódica declaration.
Do I need a Ficha de Imobilizado (asset register)?
It depends on your accounting. With organized accounting, you keep a register of investment goods: for each one, the date of purchase and first use, the VAT paid and the deduction percentages (Art. 51.º CIVA). Without organized accounting, since 1 July 2025 you meet the obligation by classifying the invoice on the Portal das Finanças as an operation linked to investment goods (Art. 50.º n.º 1 c) CIVA, applied to self-employed income by Art. 116.º n.º 1 a) CIRS). A simple table of what you bought, when and for how much is still a sensible habit.
Guias relacionados
Tutoriais passo a passo que aplicam este termo.
Termos relacionados
Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado, Portugal's value-added tax, charged on most goods and services. The standard rate on the mainland is 23%.
VATIVAValue-Added Tax, a consumption tax on goods and services used across the EU. In Portugal it's called IVA and charged at 23% (standard rate) on the mainland.
Regime SimplificadoRegime Simplificado de Tributação · Simplified Tax RegimePortugal's simplified IRS regime for self-employed individuals, where taxable income is calculated using fixed coefficients applied to gross revenue. Companies have a separate simplified regime under IRC.
Trabalhador IndependenteSelf-Employed WorkerThe Portuguese term for an independent worker or sole entrepreneur, the equivalent of a freelancer or sole trader in other countries.