# Can your tax representative and your tax preparer be different people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Tax and legal\ **Tags:** portugal\ **Created:** [May 14, 2024, 9:41am UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/can-your-tax-representative-and-your-tax-preparer-be-different-people/64290 "2024-05-14T09:41:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dein355](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@dein355](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/dein355)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 9:41am UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/can-your-tax-representative-and-your-tax-preparer-be-different-people/64290/1 "2024-05-14T09:41:29Z")
For the past year, I’ve used [nifonline](https://nomadgate.com/x/nif-online).pt to register my NIF and use as my tax/fiscal _representative_ while I wasn’t living in Portugal (paid €99). I bought property since then and now need to file taxes (to pay for property tax). The tax _accountant_ that I’m connected with charges €350 to be a tax representative, but charges separately to file taxes. My question is, can I (and should I) continue using [nifonline](https://nomadgate.com/x/nif-online).pt as my tax _representative_ since it is cheaper. And then just pay my tax _accountant_ to prepare and file my taxes for me separately? Can they be different people or do/should they be the same person? ---
**Author:** ![Starts](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Starts](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/Starts)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 9:48am UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/can-your-tax-representative-and-your-tax-preparer-be-different-people/64290/2 "2024-05-14T09:48:30Z")
> [@dein355](#): > > And then just pay my tax _accountant_ to prepare and file my taxes for me separately? Can they be different people or do/should they be the same person? That’s what I do. My accountant prepares & files my PT tax, but my NIF is registered to my address in Portugal. Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/tommigun)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 9:13pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/can-your-tax-representative-and-your-tax-preparer-be-different-people/64290/3 "2024-05-14T21:13:07Z")
To answer your direct question - yes, your tax rep and your tax accountant could be two different unrelated entities. However, there’s two other points you may want to be aware of: - You are not required to maintain a tax rep at all if you register yourself for online notifications in the Portal das Financas, unless you exceed certain conditions on ‘economic activity in Portugal’ (which by the sounds of it you do not exceed) - You do NOT need to “file taxes” in order to pay the property tax, assuming that by the “property tax” you mean IMI = Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis. All you need to do there is to get your IMI bill from the Portal das Financas and pay it on time (or better still just set up a DD once and forget about it 🙂 And just one final observation - if you actually ‘move’ to Portugal and change your tax address in the system (aka your NIF address) to Portugal, then you would be expected to “file taxes” as a PT-taxpayer, however from that moment you’d no longer require a tax rep by definition! ---
**Author:** ![antonanton4](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@antonanton4](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/antonanton4)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/can-your-tax-representative-and-your-tax-preparer-be-different-people/64290/4 "2024-05-19T23:19:50Z")
However, it is my understanding that if you do not live in PT and own a house or car in PT, you still need a fiscal representative. If you live in PT and own a house/car, you do not need a representative. ---
**Author:** ![tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@tommigun](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/tommigun)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2024, 6:38am UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/can-your-tax-representative-and-your-tax-preparer-be-different-people/64290/5 "2024-05-20T06:38:43Z")
That is not a correct understanding. Look up other threads for conclusive discussion on the requirements for tax rep, e.g.: > [@Portuguese tax representation no longer required for non-EU residents](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/portuguese-tax-representation-no-longer-required-for-non-eu-residents/51528/14): > > My point is that none of the official announcements make reference to the nationality of the taxable person, only to their residence. So whatever you received from the [NIFOnline](https://nomadgate.com/x/nif-online) regarding ‘only Portuguese nationals’ must be either incorrect or wrongly attributed in this context. The determining factor for the tax rep obligation is your ‘economic activity’, which is described further in the cryptic language of AT’s official announcement from Jul 20, 2022 (see section 1, paragraph 5): I persona… In short, tax rep is mandatory if you are ‘economically active’ in Portugal while being non-resident. And no, owning a house and/or a car in Portugal does not count as ‘economically active’. Renting out a house does count though obviously. ---
**Author:** ![dein355](https://community.nomadgate.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@dein355](https://community.nomadgate.com/u/dein355)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 10:16pm UTC](https://community.nomadgate.com/t/can-your-tax-representative-and-your-tax-preparer-be-different-people/64290/6 "2024-05-21T22:16:56Z")
Thank you for the reply! This is the clearest explanation I’ve gotten around tax representatives and accountants, and it makes sense. And thanks for the additional clarification that economic activity is the primary determining factor, not ownership of a home (which in my case is not currently rented out).