utomatic personal income tax (IRS), or "IRS Automático" in Portuguese, is a process through which the Portuguese tax authorities use the individual's data made available on the tax office portal and fill in their taxpayers' IRS returns automatically, so that each person doesn't have to formally and manually fill in all their information.
In 2024, the Automatic IRS works in a very similar way to previous years.
IRS calendar 2024
For 2024, we highlight the following important time frames:
- March 15 - 31 - possibility of claiming expenses: general family expenses and invoice requirement.
- April 1 to June 30 - period for submitting personal income tax (IRS form).
3 highlights for 2024
This year there are 3 important updates in the field of IRS in Portugal:
Increased benefit limits for the youth IRS ("IRS Jovem")
The change in the IRS for young people will have a very significant impact, as tax authorities updated the benefits. As a result, according to each year, the IRS exemption benefit limits will be:
- 1st year - 100%;
- 2nd year - up to 75%;
- 3rd and 4th years - up to 50%;
- 5th year - 25%.
This means that a person who has started working and who is entitled to the youth IRS will receive a full refund (if they withhold tax throughout the year).
Union contributions
This year, union contributions have increased. Up until now, they were deducted from your tax bill; this year, however, you can deduct 1.50 euros from each euro.
In fact, if the contributions don't exceed 1% of your gross income, you can deduct them in full. You can also enjoy this additional benefit of 50% of the amount as a tax advantage.
Update to the limits on tax deductions
This major update stands out in the area of housing costs. Previously, you could deduct 502 euros from your personal income tax on rent. As of this year, you can deduct 600 euros, an increase of almost 20%.
How to file the IRS form in 9 simple steps
Although filing the Automatic IRS may seem complicated at first glance, it's actually an intuitive process that can be summed up in nine simple steps:
Step 1: Tax office portal
To start filing this automatic tax return, log in to the tax office portal - "IRS consulta" - with your username and password.
Step 2: Confirm declaration
Once you've located the IRS section, click on the "Confirm Declaration" button to access the IRS Automático.
Step 3: Household
Check your household details. If you see any errors, go back and file a declaration again.
Step 4: Income, withholdings and expenses
After all household members have been digitally authenticated on the tax office portal, the income, withholdings and expenses data will be displayed for deductions. Check that all the information displayed on the portal is correct. If you want more detailed information, you can click on "see details".
Step 5: Tax regime
On the tax portal you can choose between joint or separate taxation for each member of your household. If you want to access the calculations made to determine the amount of the respective tax, click on "Settlement Statement" ("Demonstração de Liquidação"). If you want to get a simplified idea of the general calculation of your personal income tax, Coverflex's 2024 IRS Calculator can help you!
Step 6: Consigning personal income tax and/or VAT
Before you finish submitting your tax return, you'll find the option to consign 0.5% of your personal income tax to a charity (this won't affect the amount of your personal income tax refund) or 15% of your VAT (in this case, you can't take advantage of the tax benefit applied to the amount of your personal income tax refund).
Step 7: Confirming the terms and conditions
Make sure you read the terms and conditions of the IRS carefully before finalising the submission.
Step 8: Finalising the submission
Click on "Confirm" to finalise the submission of your Automatic IRS declaration.
Step 9: Requesting a receipt
Once you have finished submitting your tax return, you can request a receipt from the tax office. Simply click on the button designated for this purpose.
In conclusion, the automatic IRS in 2024 remains a simple and intuitive process. In any case, it's very important that you keep up to date with news and updates on this tax return, for example, the IRS 2024 brackets, the benefit for young people's IRS, etc., so that, if necessary, you can make any changes or complaints in good time.
