What is the simplified regime for freelancers in Portugal?

Portugal calls it the regime simplificado, and it is the default tax method for almost every freelancer who opens an activity here. The full mechanics, filing and social security calendar are in our freelancer guide: this page is the short version of what the regime actually does to your invoicing.

The coefficient

Instead of deducting your real costs, the law presumes them. Article 31 of the IRS code sets a coefficient of 0.75 for the professions listed in the article 151 table (design, development, translation, consulting, engineering and similar work): invoice 40,000 euros and 30,000 euros becomes taxable Category B income, added to the rest of your income and taxed at the ordinary IRS brackets, 12.5 percent on the first 8,342 euros up to 48 percent above 86,634 euros in 2026. Other services carry a coefficient of 0.35, and sales of goods 0.15.

The first two years cost less

That taxable amount is cut by 50 percent in the tax year you open your activity and by 25 percent in the next one, provided you have no salaried or pension income in those years. On 40,000 euros of invoicing, 30,000 euros becomes 15,000 euros in year one. Social security follows its own calendar: contributions only start on the first day of the twelfth month after you open, so a first year in Portugal runs cheaper on both fronts, which is exactly why you should budget on year three numbers rather than year one ones.

Where the coefficient stops being the whole story

The regime runs up to 200,000 euros of gross income a year. At least 15 percent of your receipts need to be backed by documented expenses, social security from year two is 21.4 percent of a base equal to one third of relevant income, Portuguese business clients withhold 23 percent at source on your invoices (down from 25 percent since the 2025 State Budget, though you can elect to keep the higher rate), and IRS is filed in the annual Modelo 3 between 1 April and 30 June. The freelancer guide walks through all of it, including VAT, the certified accountant question and when organised accounts beat the simplified regime. Compare scenarios in the tax estimator.