The Portuguese tax office — the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, usually called Finanças — sends its letters in three ways: by registered post, in the Portal das Finanças, or in an electronic mailbox (ViaCTT, the Morada Única Digital). A notification counts as delivered even if you never open it.
When an electronic letter counts as delivered
- In the Portal das Finanças — on the 5th day after it was made available.
- In the electronic mailbox (ViaCTT, Morada Única Digital) — on the 15th day after it was made available.
- Owners living outside the EU / EEA without a fiscal representative must receive their notifications in the Portal das Finanças; for others it is a choice — and signing up means you no longer need a representative.
A fine (coima)
Most letters foreigners receive are about a late return or a late payment — IRS, a non-resident's rental income, IMI, a stamp duty, or an unpaid toll passed on by the motorway operator.
- Before any procedure: if you file or pay on your own, the tax office offers a reduced fine — 12.5% of the legal minimum — payable within 30 days of its notice.
- Once a procedure has started: you have 30 days to send a defence or to pay; paying within that period costs the legal minimum and half the costs.
- A fine can be waived only when no tax was lost and the omission was put right — a return not filed or a tax not paid on time always counts as a loss.
Other letters
A tax bill (liquidação) says the amount and the date to pay; a request for information (pedido de esclarecimentos) asks for documents by a date. Unpaid, any of them becomes an execução fiscal. A lawyer for fines and administrative penalties can read the letter, check the figures and answer in Portuguese.
Prepared by Legal Help Tool. Last updated . General information, not legal advice.
