When do you become a tax resident in Portugal?

Checked on 2026-10-25

Portugal's income tax code makes you a tax resident for a year if you spend more than 183 days there in any 12-month period starting or ending in that year, or, with fewer days, if you have a home there you appear to intend to keep and use as your habitual residence.

Key facts

What	The law says	Source
Day test	More than 183 days in Portugal, consecutive or not, in any 12-month period starting or ending in the tax year	Código do IRS, art. 16.1(a)
Home test	Fewer days, but on any day of that period a home in Portugal in conditions suggesting you intend to keep and occupy it as your habitual residence	Código do IRS, art. 16.1(b)
What counts as a day	Any day, complete or partial, that includes an overnight stay in Portugal	Código do IRS, art. 16.2
From when you are resident	From the first day of your stay in Portugal; if you were resident on any day of the previous year, from 1 January	Código do IRS, art. 16.3
When residence ends	From your last day of presence in Portugal, with exceptions	Código do IRS, art. 16.4, 16.14–16.16
Couples and families	Residence is assessed for each taxpayer in the household separately	Código do IRS, art. 16.5
Telling the tax authority	Once you meet the conditions, change your address from abroad to Portugal	AT leaflet, sections 2 and 7

Two tests, either is enough

The day test. The law counts more than 183 days in Portugal, consecutive or not, in any 12-month period that starts or ends in the tax year. A day counts if it includes a night spent in Portugal, even if it is only part of the day.

The home test. If you were in Portugal for fewer days, you are still resident if, on any day of that 12-month period, you have a home in Portugal in conditions that suggest you intend to keep and occupy it as your habitual residence.

When residency starts and ends

The law makes you resident from the first day of your stay in Portugal, not from 1 January. The exception: if you were already resident on any day of the previous year, you are resident from the first day of the year in which you again meet a test.

Residence ends from your last day of presence in Portugal. Two exceptions treat you as resident for the whole year:

you leave after spending more than 183 days in Portugal that year and, after leaving, earn income that would have been taxable in Portugal had you stayed resident, unless you show that income is taxed by a similar income tax in another EU or EEA state (with tax information exchange) or, elsewhere, at a rate of at least 60% of the Portuguese one (art. 16.14–16.15);
you become resident again in the year after the one in which you lost residence (art. 16.16).

Each person counts separately

The law assesses tax residence for each taxpayer in a household on their own (art. 16.5). One spouse can be resident while the other is not.

Updating your address

The tax authority’s guidance says that a foreign citizen given a NIF as a non-resident must change their address once they meet the conditions to be a tax resident. You can do it on Portal das Finanças through e-balcão, or by appointment at a tax office (Serviço de Finanças) or Loja do Cidadão. A citizen of a non-EU/EEA country presents a passport and, as proof of the address, a valid residence permit or proof of a pending residence permit application (AT leaflet, sections 7 and 7.2).

Portuguese nationals who move their tax residence to a jurisdiction on the government’s list of clearly more favourable tax regimes stay resident in Portugal in the year of the move and the four following years, unless they show acceptable reasons (art. 16.6–16.7).

Sources

Change history

2026-10-25: Page created

This is general information, not legal advice, and Lumen is not a law firm. Rules change and offices differ: check the official sources above before you act. Found something wrong or out of date? Write to support@lumen.observer.