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IFICI ('NHR 2.0') 20% Tax Simulator

IFICI Flat-Rate Tax Simulator — Portugal

On IFICI — the NHR successor — or about to apply, and wondering how much IRS you pay for 2025 and how much comes back at settlement? This simulator runs the regime's maths: the specific deduction, the 20% special rate on net income, withholding at 20% or by the normal tables, and the comparison with aggregation. It follows the tax office's reading on tax credits. All in your browser, no sign-up.

By Elijah · UPDATED JULY 2026 ·5 MIN ·OFFICIAL SOURCES
KEY FACTS
IFICI rate
20% on net eligible cat. A/B income (art. 58-A EBF)
Duration
10 years counted from your residence year — once per lifetime
Registration
Portal das Finanças by 15 January of the next year (2025 residents: 15 Jan 2026)
Foreign pensions
Not exempt — taxed normally (unlike old NHR)
Rendimento da categoria A na função elegível para o IFICI — o total do anexo A, antes de descontos.
A 20% (taxa IFICI) Outro valor
Com a taxa IFICI aplicada, a retenção é 20% do bruto — preenchida automaticamente.
0
0
0
Valores anuais do e-fatura; as despesas gerais familiares entram automaticamente no teto. Na leitura da AT/OCC, tudo isto conta apenas no cenário de englobamento — a coleta dos 20% ignora-o.
ACERTO ESTIMADO
—
Preencha o bruto de 2025 para ver o resultado.
  • − Dedução específica (art. 25.º)—
  • Rendimento líquido — a base dos 20%—
  • Imposto à taxa IFICI (20%)—
  • Deduções à coleta calculadas (só no englobamento)—
  • Opção de englobamento (escalões de 2025 − deduções)—
  • IRS apurado de 2025 (melhor opção)—
  • IRS retido na fonte em 2025—

How this works

An IFICI settlement is the usual subtraction — tax due minus withholding — with a simple tax: 20% of eligible net income, no brackets, no surcharges. The three subtleties worth money: withholding hits the gross (hence the refund), aggregation can beat the 20% at lower incomes, and registration deadlines burn years for latecomers. The simulator handles the first two and reminds you of the third.

  1. 1
    Who fits IFICI
    You became a tax resident, were not resident in Portugal in any of the prior 5 years, never benefited from NHR nor opted for the Return Programme — and you work in one of the activities of art. 58-A(1) EBF: higher-education teaching and scientific research, highly qualified professions at exporting companies or companies with investment tax benefits, R&D staff eligible for SIFIDE, certified startups, among others. Eligibility must hold in every year (a gap of up to 6 months between activities is tolerated).
  2. 2
    The base and the rate: 20% of net
    The rate hits the "net income" of the eligible categories A and B. For employment, net means after the specific deduction: €4,462.15 in 2025 — or your social-security contributions, if higher (11% of gross, above ~€40,565). No brackets, no couple quotient, no solidarity surcharge, no existence minimum: a flat 20%, per income holder.
  3. 3
    Why a refund appears
    Hand your employer proof that you filed the IFICI registration request and they switch to withholding 20% of the monthly gross (art. 99(8) of the tax code). At settlement, the final tax is 20% of the net — the difference, 20% of the specific deduction, comes back to you: €892.43 up to ~€40,565 of gross, 2.2% of gross above that. If the employer applied the normal tables during 2025, it withheld considerably more — and the refund grows by the same amount, because withholding is a mere payment on account.
  4. 4
    The aggregation option
    The 20% is optional: you may prefer the general brackets ("without prejudice to the aggregation option", says the law). It pays off at lower incomes — roughly below €31,000 gross — because the 2025 brackets start at 12.5% and aggregation gives you back the existence minimum and the tax credits. The option is ticked in table 7 of annex L and drags in all income of that category (art. 22(5)). The simulator compares both routes and picks the better one.
  5. 5
    Tax credits sit outside the 20%
    Health, education, rent, general family expenses: per the practical guide of the Order of Chartered Accountants — and in line with the tax office's practice under the predecessor regime — the special rate gives no right to tax credits, because it bypasses the article-68 brackets. They only enter if you opt for aggregation. The regime is young and has no case law of its own yet; the simulator follows the AT's reading, which is what your assessment note will show.
  6. 6
    Deadlines worth money
    You register on the Portal das Finanças by 15 January of the year after you became resident — for 2025 arrivals, that was 15 January 2026 (the first cohort, from 2024, had an exceptional deadline of 31 March 2025). Registering late does not kill the regime, but it burns years: the 20% only applies from the registration year, for whatever remains of the 10. The return is filed 1 April to 30 June 2026; the refund arrives, by law, by 31 August.
NÃO SABE SE É ELEGÍVEL?
Este simulador assume que está (ou vai estar) dentro do regime. Para testar a elegibilidade — regra dos 5 anos, atividade, entidade validadora — corra primeiro o verificador; quem é RNH tem simulador próprio:
Verificador RNH / IFICI → Simulador de IRS para RNH →

Frequently asked

How do I know whether I qualify for IFICI?
The base conditions: fresh tax residency (no Portuguese residency in the prior 5 years), never having been NHR, no Return Programme option — and an eligible activity: research and higher-education teaching (vetted by FCT), highly qualified professions at companies with investment tax benefits or exporters (AICEP/AT), companies relevant to the national economy (AICEP/IAPMEI), R&D staff under SIFIDE (ANI), certified startups (Startup Portugal). Each route has its own vetting body and its own letter in the law; our NHR/IFICI checker walks the questions one by one.
I missed the registration deadline. Did I lose the regime?
You do not lose the regime — you lose the years gone by. The law (art. 58-A(7)) says the 20% taxation takes effect from the registration year, for the remainder of the 10 years counted from your residence year. The tax office's own example: a 2025 resident who only registers in January 2029 benefits from 2029 to 2034 — six years instead of ten. Moral: register now.
My employer withheld by the normal tables through 2025. Now what?
You recover it all at settlement: withholding is a mere payment on account, and the assessment applies the 20% to the eligible net income and refunds the excess. On a €60,000 salary, the normal tables withhold around €14,000 while the final tax is about €10,700. Going forward, hand your employer the proof of submission of your IFICI registration request — from then on withholding drops to 20% of gross.
What if my registration request is refused?
The income is taxed under the general rules at assessment — brackets, existence minimum and tax credits included — and whatever was withheld (at 20% or by the tables) is credited in full. In tax terms, asking costs nothing; at worst you pay what you would have paid without the regime. The AT publishes registration outcomes on the Portal by 31 March.
Do health and education expenses reduce the 20%?
No, under the reading of the tax office and the Order of Chartered Accountants: tax credits presuppose the bracket-based tax, and the IFICI special rate bypasses it. They only count if you opt for aggregation — which only pays at lower incomes. Under the predecessor regime (NHR) this reading was challenged in arbitration; for IFICI there is no case law yet.
Can I stack IFICI with IRS Jovem — or use it again later?
Neither. Anyone benefiting — or who ever benefited — from IFICI is out of IRS Jovem (art. 12-B(9) of the tax code), and there is no way back: IFICI can be used once in a lifetime (art. 58-A(12)). You also cannot come from NHR — anyone who ever held it is excluded. If you interrupt your residency, you may resume the benefit within the original 10-year window, for the years that remain.
Is my foreign income exempt?
As a rule, yes: foreign-source employment, self-employment, capital income, rents and capital gains are exempt (exemption method, art. 81(4)), though they count when setting the rate on your remaining aggregated income. The exceptions sting: foreign pensions pay the normal progressive rates — the big difference from old NHR — and income from blacklisted tax havens pays 35%. Cases with foreign income deserve an accountant.
How is IFICI declared in the IRS return?
The salary goes in annex A (and foreign income in annex J), like everyone's. The regime goes in annex L — now titled "Non-habitual resident / IFICI": in table 4 you identify the activity code from Ordinance 352/2024/1 and/or the body that vetted it; in table 7 you choose between the 20% rate and aggregation. Filing window: 1 April to 30 June 2026.
I changed jobs mid-year. Does the regime survive?
It survives, as long as the new role remains eligible and you report the change: a fresh request on the Portal das Finanças by 15 January of the following year. The law tolerates up to 6 months between eligible activities within the year. The 10-year clock does not restart — it keeps counting from your residence year.
OFFICIAL SOURCES
DISCLAIMER
An estimate for orientation, not tax advice. It simulates the 2025 IRS settlement of one IFICI holder with eligible employment income (category A), mainland Portugal. It follows the AT/OCC reading: tax credits do not reduce the 20% tax and only enter the aggregation scenario. It does not cover category B, foreign income, pensions, other aggregated income, two-earner households or regional rules. It does not assess your eligibility — the registration decision is the tax authority's. The real number is the one on the assessment note — confirm on the Portal das Finanças.