Taxes

Portugal — Tax: Corporate Tax

Corporate Income Tax in Portugal, known as Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Coletivas (IRC), applies to the global profits of resident companies and the Portuguese-sourced profits of non-resident entities. In 2026, the standard corporate tax rate on the Portuguese mainland has been reduced from 20% to 19%. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) benefit from a preferential 15% rate on their first €50,000 of taxable income. Corporate tax liabilities are also influenced by municipal surtaxes (Derrama) and a state surtax (Derrama Estadual) based on profit thresholds. Note: a separate, differently-sourced batch of content gave conflicting figures for this topic (21% standard / 17% SME rather than 19%/15%) — that conflicting content was NOT merged into this document and was instead placed in business/accounting.json with an explicit flag. This entry's 19%/15% figures should be re-verified against the official State Budget before being treated as final.

Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira · Last verified 2026-07-17

Key Facts

  • The standard mainland corporate tax rate is 19% for the 2026 tax year (see note above on a conflicting source).
  • SMEs benefit from a reduced rate of 15% on the first €50,000 of taxable profits.
  • The standard corporate tax rate is lowered to 13% in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (a separate source states 13.3% for Madeira's general rate — treat as approximate pending verification).
  • A municipal surtax (Derrama) of up to 1.5% can be levied by local municipalities.
  • A progressive state surtax (Derrama Estadual) of 3% to 9% applies to corporate profits exceeding €1.5 million.
  • Resident businesses must file their annual corporate tax return (Modelo 22) electronically.
  • Companies must comply with quarterly advanced payments on account (Pagamentos por Conta).

Madeira International Business Centre (MIBC)

Under Regime IV of the Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais (EU State Aid compliant), a reduced 5% IRC rate applies to qualifying international income from transactions with non-resident entities or other MIBC-licensed corporations (domestic mainland-facing income is taxed at Madeira's general ~13% corporate rate instead). Benefits include 0% dividend withholding tax to non-resident shareholders (outside blacklisted jurisdictions) and an 80% exemption on IMI/IMT/Stamp Duty/municipal surtaxes. To activate/maintain the 5% rate, a company must within its first 6 months either create 1-5 jobs plus invest €75,000+ in fixed assets within 2 years, or create 6+ jobs outright (no investment requirement); tax benefits are capped by headcount, from €2.73M (1-2 employees) up to €205.5M (100+ employees). December 31, 2026 is the final statutory deadline to secure a new MIBC operational license under the current regime; benefits are guaranteed stable through December 31, 2033 for validly licensed entities. Source: Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais, Regime IV.

Related Topics

capital-gains
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