Tax residency in Portugal: the 183-day criterion and the housing criterion

In Portugal, two main criteria determine tax residency. The first is physical presence: spending more than 183 days, consecutive or not, within a 12-month period. The second is residency: even with fewer days, you are also considered a resident if you have access to accommodation on any day during that 12-month period, under conditions that suggest an intention to keep and occupy it as your primary residence. These rules are set out in Article 16 of the Personal Income Tax Code (CIRS).

This page reads this article from the Portuguese tax administration's Finance Portal. It does not address the tax scale, registration formalities, dual residency with France, or the tax treaty between the two countries.

The two main criteria

Section 1 of Article 16 lists the situations that make someone a resident for the year in question. The first two apply to most individuals.

Two points to note. The 12-month period does not necessarily coincide with the calendar year. Furthermore, the housing criterion is not measured in days: the text refers to the availability of housing on any given day during the 12-month period and the intention to keep and occupy it as a primary residence. How the administration assesses this intention in practice is not explained here.

How are the days counted?

Article 2 specifies what counts as a day of presence: any day, full or partial, that includes a night in Portugal. The text states: "qualquer dia, completo ou parcial, que inclua dormida no mesmo" (any day, full or partial, that includes a night spent in Portugal). Therefore, a day of arrival or departure can count, provided it includes a night on Portuguese territory.

When the residency begins

According to Article 3, individuals who meet the residency requirement or the housing requirement become residents "desde o primeiro dia do período de permanência em território português," that is, from the first day of their stay. The text makes an exception for individuals who were already residents on one day of the previous year: in this case, residency takes effect on the first day of the year in which one of the conditions in Article 1 is met.

The text therefore sets the starting point at the beginning of the stay period. The exact date for your case will be discussed based on your file.

One household, individual situations

Article 5 states that tax residence is assessed for each taxpayer in the household: "A residência fiscal é aferida em relação a cada sujeito passivo do agregado." The situation may therefore differ from one taxpayer to another within the household.

The other cases in No. 1

The text outlines two other situations:

• crew members of ships or aircraft, as of December 31, when they are in the service of entities which have their residence, headquarters or effective management in Portugal; ;
• Persons who perform public functions or missions abroad in the service of the Portuguese State. Item No. 13 includes Members of the European Parliament.

Rule number 6 applies to Portuguese nationals who transfer their tax residence to a country, territory, or region listed by the Portuguese Ministry for significantly more favorable tax regimes. They remain residents of Portugal for the year of the transfer and the following four years, unless they can prove a legitimate reason. This rule applies to Portuguese nationals.

Leaving Portugal: the loss of residency

According to section 4, the loss of resident status takes effect from the last day of stay (except in the cases of sections 14 and 16): "A perda da qualidade de residente ocorre a partir do último dia de permanência." The text then sets out rules specific to the year of departure and return.

• Year of departure (no. 14). A taxpayer who loses resident status is considered resident for the entire year of the loss if, at the same time, he stays more than 183 days in Portugal that year and receives after his last day of presence income that would have been taxable and not exempt if he had remained a resident.
• Exception to this rule (no. 15). This provision does not apply if the taxpayer proves that this income is taxed abroad by a similar tax. The text specifically targets another Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area, or another State whose tax rate is not less than 60% of the Portuguese rate. The detailed conditions are not included here.
• Return the following year (no. 16). A taxpayer who becomes a resident again in the year following the year of the loss is considered a resident for the entire year.

The Non-Habitual Residents Regime

Paragraphs 8 to 12 of Article 16, which contained the non-habitual resident regime, are listed as repealed by Law No. 82/2023 of December 29. A note on the page indicates that the former provisions continue to apply to certain taxpayers until the end of their respective periods. This page does not examine these transitional provisions.

Tax residency in Portugal: a numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A Frenchman, a fictional profile, stays in Portugal from March 1st to July 31st, 2027, and then from October 1st to November 30th, 2027. It is assumed that each of these days includes one night in Portugal. He has no accommodation booked there.

Issue. He thinks he's just a visitor. Has he exceeded the 183-day threshold?

Strategy. It counts the days of attendance according to No. 2 over the 12-month period from March 1, 2027 to February 29, 2028 (2028 is a leap year), and compares them to the threshold of No. 1 a).

Result.

The threshold of "more than 183 days" is exceeded by 31 days. With only 120 days and no accommodation, the presence criterion would not be met. Accommodation occupied under the conditions of point 1 b) might then suffice, but this calculation does not resolve the issue. The profile is fictitious: it illustrates the mechanism and does not predict the outcome for your specific situation.

Tax residency in Portugal: what changes depending on your situation

• The number of nights spent in Portugal over the 12-month period.
• The availability of accommodation and the intention to occupy it as a permanent residence.
• Your situation in the previous year, which may change the starting point of residence (n.º 3).
• Your nationality, for the purposes of rule no. 6.
• Your income after leaving, for the rules of nos. 14 and 15.
• Your situation in the other country where you could also be considered a resident.

These elements are examined on a case-by-case basis. No tax result can be announced without this examination.