Hi all! I am a US citizen looking to end my fiscal representation in Portugal. I have never made any income there; I owned a property and had a bank account but have sold the property and closed the bank account. So basically, I have severed all ties to Portugal. However, I am being told I will need to have a fiscal reprentative forever. Makes no sense to me. My current fiscal representative is charging 690 Euros annually. I was told I could change to someone else who might charge something less. But even then, any charge at all just doesn’t seem right in my situation. I’ve also thought of simply refusing to pay the fiscal representative. Yet, if I do that, I’m not sure what the repercussions would be. Does anyone have any ideas on how to end fiscal representation without my having to find another representative? Thank you!
I have heard that a fiscal representative can withdraw, leaving you unrepresented, but I do not know the veracity of this claim.
If you want to slow the bleeding while you figure this out, nifonline.pt has very inexpensive fiscal representation, about 60 Euros per year. It took several weeks to get my NIF assigned but their customer service was responsive and apologetic for the government processing delays. Otherwise, so far, so good!
Hi David and thank you for your response. 60 Euros is much better than 690! 
Having looked at the nifonline.pt site per your suggestion, they seem to suggest that a fiscal representative is held responsible for a person who does not pay their taxes, which would make any person reluctant to be one’s reprentative for free. However, I have read that a fiscal representative is not responsible for a person they represent and that they only provide a mailing address to where the tax authorities can send mail. Regardless, it would definitely be preferable for a fiscal representative to simply withdraw and leave me unrepresented! I will ask my realtor who sold my property if he might be able to give me some insight on this. Thanks again!
Hello, NIFonline.pt looks attractive in terms of cost - thanks for posting it, David. I’m interested in hearing if anyone else has used it and what their experience has been, or if anyone can otherwise vouch for it security-wise. Thanks!
So, does this mean it’s not possible to end representation in Portugal even if you close your accounts?
If that means you’ve left Portugal with no intent to return, you need to notify SEF and Finanças.
Quotes from euroFINESCO eBook nÂş30 - Leaving Portugal Moving Back
“Residence Permit”
… “When you decide to leave Portugal for the foreseeable future, you must notify “SEF” (Foreign Service). This can be done by register post or in person at the nearest “SEF” office (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras). If you have a permanent Residence Card (credit-card style photo ID), you should turn in this document in person or via registered post.”
“Transferring Fiscal Residency
You must also inform Finanças that you will no longer be resident for tax purposes. As proof, you must submit 2 utility bills related to your new home. If you do not as yet have new electricity or water statements, your bank statement with a local address will suffice.” …
Yes, but it depends on whether you’re currently a resident of Portugal.
dancebert:
Sorry for the delayed response. I was successful in using the nifonline.pt in transferring my NIF. SEF has already been contacted but I still need to inform Financas and my new fiscal representative will assist me in doing that after I pay last years taxes on the sale of my condo. Afterwards, I would be able to end fiscal representation. Thank you for the confirmation that I am on the right path and thank you for your replys.