News brief · Taxation

Portugal: taking stock one year after the end of the NHR

One year after the non-habitual resident status was closed, Portugal remains a highly sought-after destination. What has changed is not the country's appeal but the audience it targets.

By Editorial team · on January 6, 2026

View of Porto — Photo: Rititaneves — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)

What was closed, and what replaced it

The non-habitual resident status was open to a very wide range of profiles, retirees included, and it has been closed to new entrants.

The regime that succeeded it is tied to qualified roles — research, higher education, technology, activities recognised as being of economic interest — and not to a level of income or wealth.

It applies a special rate of 20%¹ to category A and B income for 10 years² in a row, provided there has been from 5 years³ of prior non-residence for tax purposes.

A flat final rate of 35%⁴ also applies to income from a low-tax jurisdiction, closing a route that the old regime left open.

Retirees are excluded. This is the change with the heaviest consequences, and it explains why part of this demand has shifted to Greece, whose regime applies 7%⁵ for 15 years⁶.

What has not changed

Portugal remains a member of the European Union: a French national can settle there freely, without a visa or income requirement, with a simple registration.

The cost of housing, a household's main expense, still offers a gap compared with France — but it has narrowed considerably in Lisbon. In the first quarter of 2025, the median rent on new leases there reached €16⁷ per square metre per month, compared with €8.22⁸ nationally.

The Porto metropolitan area stood at €9.12⁹, roughly half the Lisbon level. This is now the main trade-off when settling in Portugal.

The ordinary scale runs from from 12.5%¹⁰ to 48%¹¹, dividends bear a flat final rate of 28%¹², and capital gains on securities receive specific treatment after a holding period of more than 365 days¹³.

Finally, tax residency is acquired through presence of more than more than 183 days¹⁴, or by having a home in circumstances suggesting an intention to keep it as one's habitual residence.

What the first year revealed

The scheme got off to a difficult start: the list of eligible activities and the competent authorities were clarified after the regime came into force, which put the first applicants in an uncomfortable position.

Eligibility is also assessed on the role actually performed and on the entity employing the person. The same profile may be eligible in one organisation and not in another, which makes the employer a parameter of the tax plan.

Finally, the benefit requires registration with the competent authority, within a window that closes shortly after arrival. It is not a declaration but an application, and it is time-barred once the deadline has passed.

We do not publish the list of eligible activities, the filing deadline or the competent authorities by sector: the implementing regulations were published in stages and we have not been able to verify the current version.

The real estate route to residency by investment has also been abolished, as part of the same refocusing — the about €500,000¹⁵ threshold remaining for the other routes, notably subscribing to units in approved funds.

Key points

The new regime targets skills; the old one targeted wealth and pensions.
Retirees are excluded, which has shifted part of the demand to Greece and Cyprus.
Eligibility depends on the role and the employer, not on the applicant's profile.
The application is time-barred after a short window following arrival.
The rent gap between Lisbon and Porto has become the main trade-off when settling.

The general lesson of this reform applies beyond Portugal: an incentive scheme can be closed to new entrants overnight, whereas a rate under the ordinary rules does not lapse. Building a ten-year project on the former means accepting that risk, and putting a figure on it.

Please note

General information, as of the date shown. A draft reform is not a rule in force: check the conditions with the authorities or a professional before deciding. Terms of use and disclaimers

Sources and verification dates

1.
Portugal, IFICI: special IRS rate on category A and B income : 20%
« Taxa especial de 20%, desde que cumpridos os requisitos do regime »
info.portaldasfinancas.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
2.
Portugal, IFICI: duration of the benefit, in consecutive years : 10 years
« O período é de 10 anos consecutivos, podendo ser retomado, em caso de interrupção, pelos anos remanescentes »
info.portaldasfinancas.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
3.
Portugal, IFICI: years of non-tax-residency required before arrival : 5 years
« Não tenham residido, para efeitos fiscais, em Portugal nos cinco anos anteriores e se tornem fiscalmente residentes em Portugal »
info.portaldasfinancas.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
4.
Portugal, IFICI: flat final rate on income from a preferential tax jurisdiction : 35%
« são tributados nos seguintes termos: a) Por retenção na fonte, à taxa liberatória de 35%, quando sejam pagos por ou através de entidades com sede, direção efetiva ou estabelecimento estável em território português [...] b) Por retenção na fonte, à taxa liberatória de 35%, no caso de rendimentos pagos por intermédio de entidades que estejam mandatadas para tal pagamento [...] c) Autonomamente, à taxa de 35% nos restantes casos. »
info.portaldasfinancas.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
5.
Greece, regime for foreign retirees: flat rate on foreign-source income : 7%
« Annual flat tax rate of 7% on total foreign source income. »
enterprisegreece.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
6.
Greece, regime for foreign retirees: period of application : 15 years
« Duration of regime's applicability • Fifteen (15) tax years. »
enterprisegreece.grVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
7.
Lisbon: median rent for new leases, per square metre per month (1st quarter 2025) : €16
« Lisboa com a maior renda mediana (16,00 €/m2) — Instituto Nacional de Estatística, « Estatísticas de Rendas da Habitação ao nível local », 1.º Trimestre de 2025. Valeur du município de Lisboa, la plus élevée du pays. »
ine.ptHistorical value, applicable until March 31, 2025
8.
Portugal: median rent for new leases, per square metre per month (1st quarter 2025) : €8.22
« a renda mediana dos 23 417 novos contratos de arrendamento em Portugal atingiu 8,22 €/m2 — Instituto Nacional de Estatística, « Estatísticas de Rendas da Habitação ao nível local », 1.º Trimestre de 2025. »
ine.ptHistorical value, applicable until March 31, 2025
9.
Porto Metropolitan Area: median rent for new leases, per square metre per month (1st quarter 2025) : €9.12
« Área Metropolitana do Porto (9,12 €/m2) — Instituto Nacional de Estatística, « Estatísticas de Rendas da Habitação ao nível local », 1.º Trimestre de 2025. »
ine.ptHistorical value, applicable until March 31, 2025
10.
Portugal: rate of the first IRS bracket : 12.5%
« Artigo 68.º Taxas gerais — Rendimento coletável (euros) / Taxas (percentagem) Normal (A) : Até 8 342 — 12,50 ; De mais de 8 342 até 12 587 — 15,70 ; […] De mais de 46 566 até 86 634 — 44,60 ; Superior a 86 634 — 48,00 (Redação da Lei n.º 73-A/2025, de 30/12). — Código do IRS, art. 68.º (Autoridade Tributária). »
info.portaldasfinancas.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
11.
Portugal: top marginal IRS rate : 48%
« Artigo 68.º Taxas gerais — […] De mais de 46 566 até 86 634 — 44,60 ; Superior a 86 634 — 48,00 (Redação da Lei n.º 73-A/2025, de 30/12). — Código do IRS, art. 68.º (Autoridade Tributária). »
info.portaldasfinancas.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
12.
Portugal: flat final rate on dividends : 28%
« Estão sujeitos a retenção na fonte a título definitivo, à taxa liberatória de 28 %: a) Os rendimentos de capitais obtidos em território português, por residentes ou não residentes, pagos por ou através de entidades que aqui tenham sede, direção efetiva ou estabelecimento estável »
info.portaldasfinancas.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
13.
Portugal: holding period beyond which the capital gains regime for movable assets changes : 365 days
« São excluídos os ganhos obtidos, bem como as perdas incorridas, resultantes das operações previstas na alínea k) do n.º 1 relativas a criptoativos detidos por um período igual ou superior a 365 dias. »
info.portaldasfinancas.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
14.
Portugal: annual presence beyond which tax residency is acquired : 183 days
« Hajam nele permanecido mais de 183 dias, seguidos ou interpolados, em qualquer período de 12 meses com início ou fim no ano em causa »
info.portaldasfinancas.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source
15.
Portugal: investment threshold granting the residence permit for investment : €500,000
« Subalínea vii) Transferência de capitais no montante igual ou superior a € 500 000, destinados à aquisição de partes de organismos de investimento coletivo não imobiliários, que sejam constituídos ao abrigo da legislação portuguesa, cuja maturidade, no momento do investimento, seja de, pelo menos, cinco anos e, pelo menos, 60% do valor dos investimentos seja concretizado em sociedades comerciais sediadas em Portugal […] A atividade de investimento não se pode destinar, direta ou indiretamente, ao investimento imobiliário. — AIMA (Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo), « Autorização de Residência para Investimento – Art. 90.º-A » (Lei n.º 23/2007). »
aima.gov.ptVerified on Nov 2, 2026Verified source