How much Social Security does a self-employed worker pay in Portugal?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Self-employed workers in Portugal pay Social Security at 21.4% on 70% of their service income (20% of income from selling goods), declared every quarter. If you are self-employed for the first time, contributions start only on the first day of the 12th month after you start. The minimum is €20 a month.

Key facts

What	The guidance says	Source
Contribution rate	21.4% for self-employed workers and their spouses; 25.2% for sole traders (empresários em nome individual) and owners of an EIRL	ISS Guia Prático, D “Taxas contributivas”
Income the rate applies to	70% of service income; 20% of income from producing and selling goods, and from hotel, restaurant and similar services declared as such	ISS Guia Prático, D “Determinar o rendimento relevante”
Monthly base	One third of the relevant income of the quarter, applied in that month and the next two	ISS Guia Prático, D “Base de incidência contributiva”
When you start paying (first time)	First day of the 12th month after the month you started the activity	ISS Guia Prático, B and D1
Quarterly declaration	By the last day of January, April, July and October, for the three previous months	ISS Guia Prático, C2
Minimum	€20 a month when there is no income or contributions would be lower	ISS Guia Prático, D “Base de incidência contributiva”
Maximum monthly base	12 times the IAS: €6,270.00 (2025 value)	ISS Guia Prático, D “Base de incidência contributiva”
Payment	Monthly, between the 10th and the 20th of the following month	ISS Guia Prático, D1

How the amount is worked out

The Social Security Institute’s practical guide says you declare your income every quarter. Social Security takes 70% of your service income (or 20% of income from selling goods) from the three previous months, divides it by three, and applies the rate to that monthly base. For most self-employed workers the rate is 21.4%.

You can choose, in the quarterly declaration, to have your relevant income set up to 25% higher or lower, in steps of 5%, within the €20 minimum and the 12 × IAS maximum.

If you use organised accounting (contabilidade organizada), the guide says the base is one twelfth of the previous year’s taxable profit, with a minimum of 1.5 times the IAS (€783.75 in 2025), and you do not file quarterly declarations unless you ask to.

The first 12 months

You don’t register with Social Security separately. The guide says the tax authority tells Social Security when you open your activity, and Social Security registers you and notifies you. The first registration takes effect only on the first day of the 12th month after the month you started, so no contributions are due before then. If you want to start contributing earlier, you can ask in a quarterly declaration (January, April, July or October).

This applies only the first time. If you restart an activity after closing one, the guide says registration takes effect on the first day of the month you restart.

If you also have a job

The guide says self-employed workers who are also employed by a different, unrelated employer are exempt on relevant income below 4 times the IAS a month (€2,090.00 in 2025), provided their salary is at least 1 IAS (€522.50 in 2025). Pensioners whose activity can legally be combined with their pension are also exempt.

Late quarterly declaration: not filing it is a minor administrative offence with a fine of €50 to €250 (ISS Guia Prático, C2, citing art. 233(1) of the Código dos Regimes Contributivos).
The IAS is updated every year; the euro amounts above are the guide’s 2025 values.

Sources

Instituto da Segurança Social, Guia Prático – Novo Regime dos Trabalhadores Independentes (1009 – v1.14, published 16 May 2025) checked 2026-10-25

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

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