Do I pay social security in Portugal if I work remotely for a foreign employer?

This is the question that catches remote employees out, because the paycheck keeps arriving with deductions from another country while Portugal quietly becomes the place where the work happens.

The default rule

Within the EU, EEA and Switzerland, you are covered by the social security legislation of just one country at a time, and you pay contributions only there. The starting point is the country where you carry out the work, not the country where your employer is registered. Move to Lisbon and work every day from a flat in Arroios, and Portugal is that country.

The exception that buys you time

A posting is the exception. If your employer sends you abroad temporarily and keeps the employment relationship intact, your home institution issues an A1 certificate, the statement of applicable legislation. While it is valid you stay in the sending country's system, and Portuguese social security does not apply. An A1 also covers people who genuinely work in several countries at once, and in that case you apply through the institution of your country of residence. An A1 is not something you print yourself, and it is not a way to stay outside the Portuguese system indefinitely.

What it costs when Portugal applies

As an employee the rate is 11 percent of gross pay from your side and 23.75 percent from the employer, a Taxa Social Unica of 34.75 percent. A foreign company with no Portuguese entity often cannot run that payroll, which is why the two common outcomes are an employer of record or a switch to freelancing on recibos verdes, where you pay 21.4 percent yourself on a base built from 70 percent of your invoicing.

If your employer is outside the EU

Then the answer depends on whether Portugal has a bilateral social security agreement with that country, including the United States, Canada and Brazil. The shape is similar but the detail differs, so check your own case before you assume the deductions on your payslip are enough.

Details on the freelancer route: the freelancer guide.