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Special Tax Regime for non-habitual residents in Portugal

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Portugal created a special regime for new residents (also applicable to Portuguese out bounds living abroad for many years) designed to promote the transfer of residence of skillful professionals, entrepreneurs and investors, by offering attractive tax opportunities at the individual level. This summary provides a brief overview and explains the main guidelines and potential implications of this new regime for foreigners and for Portuguese individuals settling in Portugal after an extended period of living abroad.

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OUR COMPANYOur mission has always been to develop an effective improvement of the

competitive edge and efficiency of our clients, meeting all our clients’ demands

and anticipating their needs.

In all areas of activity, we work to a set of values, and which are:

. Honesty

. Competence

. Demand

. Efficiency and Effectiveness

. Guidance for the client

. Innovation

. Availability

. Cooperation

OUR SERVICES

Tax Consulting

Given the increasing importance of taxes on business decisions, UWU Solutions

has been making an effort to bring the tax law closer to companies and investors,

making it more clear and accessible.

Our objective is to provide the most relevant information for all economic

agents to understand the basic concepts of the Portuguese tax system, helping

them to correctly understand and apply the majority of its rules.

UWU’s professionals are completely available to advice you and analyse each

situation on a case-by-case basis, always seeking the best solution.

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The service we provide includes:

. Give you complete information about different types of Portuguese taxes

(Income Tax, Council Tax, VAT, Stamp Duty, etc.)

. Fill and submit all tax returns

. Fulfil all fiscal obligations

. Receive all fiscal correspondence and deal with fiscal matters

. “Fiscal Representative” in Portugal

. Advise you in both personal and company best tax solutions

Accounting/Bookkeeping and Business Consulting

In UWU Solutions we offer our clients a wide range of services which go far

beyond the fulfilment of the law obligations, because we consider the accounting

and financial information a very important tool for business management.

Our goal is to provide relevant information to our clients, in the right time, so

they can make the best decisions in their companies.

The service we provide includes:

. Finance Accounting

. Analytical Accounting

. Responsibility of certified accountants, enrolled in the “Portuguese

Chamber of Chartered Accountants”

. New companies start up

. Company’s financial performance analysis

UWU ACCOUNTING - SPECIAL REGIME FOR NON-HABITUAL RESIDENTS IN PORTUGAL 4

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Human Resources Management

. Employees’ salaries

. Personal Income Tax

. Social Security issues

. Advice on Portuguese labour legislation

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NON-HABITUAL RESIDENTS IN PORTUGALIntroduction

Portugal created a special regime for new residents (also applicable to

Portuguese out bounds living abroad for many years) designed to promote the

transfer of residence of skillful professionals, entrepreneurs and investors, by

offering attractive tax opportunities at the individual level.

This summary provides a brief overview and explains the main guidelines and

potential implications of this new regime for foreigners and for Portuguese

individuals settling in Portugal after an extended period of living abroad.

Overview of the regime

Non-habitual resident (“NHR”) individuals shall benefit from the special tax

Personal Income Tax (“PIT”) regime for a ten year period. Under this regime,

individuals qualifying as non-habitual residents are eligible for special income tax

rates applicable to Portuguese sourced income and may benefit from potential

tax exemptions on foreign sourced income, as explained below.

Portuguese source income

Portuguese sourced employment and self-employment income shall be liable

to a special 20% flat rate if derived from high value added activities of scientific,

artistic or technical character performed in Portugal, as listed in a Ministerial

Order.

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Examples: Architects, doctors, university teachers, designers, IT technicians,

engineers, researchers, liberal professions, investors and managers under certain

conditions.

Other types of domestic income received by NHRs are liable to tax according to

the rules applicable to ordinary tax residents.

Foreign source income

Employment Income

High value added activity employment income received by a NHR shall be tax

exempt from PIT provided that it is either:

• Taxed in the source State according to the applicable Tax Treaty; or,

• If no treaty is applicable, the income is effectively taxed in the source State

and not deemed as derived in Portugal in accordance with Portuguese sourcing

rules.

Other income

Foreign source capital gains, investment and rental income, together with self-

employment and professional income derived from high value added activities,

shall be tax exempt from PIT if:

• the income can be liable to tax in the country of source, according to

the applicable Tax Treaty or according to the OECD Model Tax Convention, as

interpreted according to the Portuguese comments and reservations made to

its articles; and

• it is not deemed derived in Portugal in accordance with Portuguese sourcing

rules nor deemed obtained in a tax haven.

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Foreign source pensions

Foreign sourced occupational pensions shall benefit from a tax exemption if

they are liable to tax in the source country in accordance with the provisions of

a tax treaty or are deemed not to be derived in Portugal in accordance with the

Portuguese sourcing rules, i.e., not paid by a Portuguese tax resident entity nor

attributable to a Portuguese permanent establishment of a non-resident entity.

Foreign source occupational pensions may also benefit from a potential double

non-taxation should the applicable tax treaty preclude the source country from

taxing the pension.

(Note that taxing rights in relation

to pensions of retired civil servants

and other government employees

generally are allocated by tax

treaties to the paying country,

regardless of the

residence status of the

recipient).

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Qualifying for the status

To qualify as a NHR, an individual must meet the following requirements:

• Be tax resident under Portuguese domestic legislation; and

• Not have been taxed as a Portuguese resident in the five years prior to

taking up residence in Portugal.

An individual is tax resident in Portugal for any year in which:

• He is physically present in Portugal for more than 183 days in a calendar

year; or

• On December 31 of the relevant tax year, he has available accommodation

in Portugal as an habitual abode.

Necessary documents and requirements

Recognition of this status is not automatic, and requires activation by attending

to the following formalities:

• Application for a Portuguese taxpayer number, for which a copy of the

individual’s passport and an address in Portugal is required;

• Application for the NHR status, including a written affidavit stating that

the individual was not resident, for tax purposes, in Portugal, in the five years

preceding the request.

Nevertheless, in case the Portuguese Tax Authorities have any evidence

or doubts about the lack of veracity of any of the elements included in the

written affidavit, additional documents can be required, such as tax residency

certificate(s) and any other document(s) able to prove that the personal and

economic interests of the individual were located in another State in the five

years preceding the arrival in Portugal.

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Other documents will be required if the individual is an employee or is self-

employed rendering services eligible as derived from a high value added activity.

Copies of original documents must be notarized before being submitted.

The NHR status has to be requested until March 31 of the year after taking up

residency in Portugal.

Legal notice - Please note that this document is a brief introduction to possible tax consequences associated

with a move to Portugal. It is intended only to be summary and simplifications have therefore been made. We

strongly advise that individual advice be obtained before acting on any of the matters covered herein.

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UWU Solutions, [email protected]+351 213 030 920

Lisbon (Portugal)Centro de Escritórios das LaranjeirasPraça Nuno Rodrigues dos Santos, Nº71000-132 Lisboa

+351 213 030 920

Caldas da Rainha (Portugal)Rua Professor António Maria RodriguesNº 52500-884 Caldas da Rainha

+351 262 833 952

Rio Maior (Portugal)Rua Cidade de Santarém, nº18 R/c2040 -238 Rio Maior

+351 243 996 862

Antwerp (Belgium)

Koningin Astridlaan 1 bus 32550 Kontich

+32 485 54 44 47