Hi all, I am relocating to Portugal in the coming weeks, I would need some clarification about the timing to apply for the Portuguese tax residency / NHR.
My understanding is that once I am in Portugal, I can rent a place for like 6 or 7 months, become a Portuguese tax resident, get a tax ID, then focus on buying a flat before the end of the year, and only then apply for the NHR (with the purchase deed for the proof of address).
From the info I could find online, the NHR will then be active from the time I became a resident. That means that as soon as I have my tax ID, I can then send invoices as a freelancer, and the NHR tax rate will be applied. Could someone confirm that information? So the fact that I don’t need a long term lease / 1 year contract to become a Portuguese tax resident…
You need to be a tax resident in the tax year prior to the year in which you apply for NHR. For this you can stay for 183 days or if you stay less, then have a rental agreement for long enough that would indicate your intention to keep it as a permanent residence (1 year is ok I guess). If you’ll buy a flat then that may also be ok. Apart from that, you need to have some sort of income. Then you are ready to apply before end of march following year. Best is always to confirm with a lawyer.
Thanks a lot Tom. For info, I was able to get my NIF as a resident, and the NHR just by renting an Airbnb for 3 months - happy to help if needed, just PM me!
@jb4422 I have not tried it myself but I believe @seagu77 commented earlier that it’s possible and works OK.
Meaning once you get NHR the 10y clock starts running, but you can go out and in again on your PT-tax residency without failing your NHR status.
But I don’t know if it’s based on a tested case or just theory.
In fact, I would have expected the NHR to be simply lost together with PT-tax residency, and the next “moving in” will not be eligible.
So currently you can definitely deregister as a tax resident and later return and still benefit from the NHR for however many years you’ve got left.
I probably wouldn’t deregister immediately after registering as a tax resident and NHR, however, as in that case it might be hard to justify intent to stay long term. Personally I’d wait about 6 months at the very least before deregistering.
By then you should have been able to submit your 2023 tax return already while still being registered as a resident. While not strictly necessary AFAIK, I feel it’s a safer approach.