When is the Portuguese tax return due and how do I file Modelo 3?

The Portuguese return is short by European standards, and most of the work is making sure the right annexes are attached.

The calendar

1. 1 April to 30 June: file the return for the previous calendar year.
2. By 31 July: the Autoridade Tributaria issues the assessment for returns filed electronically.
3. By 31 August: pay whatever the assessment says you owe. A refund normally follows the same timetable in reverse.

Filing it

Modelo 3 is submitted in the reserved area of Portal das Financas with your NIF and password or Chave Movel Digital. The main form carries your household details, and the income goes into annexes.

The three that matter most to people who moved here: Anexo J for income obtained outside Portugal, which is where foreign salary, dividends, interest, rent and pensions go, Anexo G for capital gains, and Anexo B for self employment income under the simplified regime. Foreign income is declared even when a treaty or a regime leaves it untaxed in Portugal, which is the step newcomers miss most often.

Your first year

If you were resident for any part of the year, you file for that part year. An autumn arrival does not push the return into the following cycle.

Late filing

Late returns attract penalties, and a residency position that turns out to be wrong brings back tax and interest on top. We do not publish a penalty table here, because the amounts come from the general tax infringement rules rather than from a single figure we can date and source. Ask your accountant or check the current schedule with the Autoridade Tributaria before you assume a late filing is cheap.

Work out what the assessment is likely to say with the Portugal tax estimator, and check whether a September arrival puts the whole year in scope.