Part I · General principles

Article 13 Bar to recognition of the right to tax benefits

Artigo 13.º · Impedimento de reconhecimento do direito a benefícios fiscais

Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais · republished by Decree-Law No. 108/2008 · consolidated text checked 26 October 2026

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1. Tax benefits subject to recognition may not be granted where:

1 - Os benefícios fiscais dependentes de reconhecimento não podem ser concedidos quando:

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a) At the end of the calendar year preceding the application, the taxpayer has failed to pay any tax on income, expenditure or property, and that situation persists at the end of the time limit for exercising the right to be heard in the procedure for granting the benefit;

a) No final do ano civil anterior ao pedido, o sujeito passivo tenha deixado de efetuar o pagamento de qualquer imposto sobre o rendimento, a despesa ou o património, e a situação se mantenha no termo do prazo para o exercício do direito de audição no âmbito do procedimento de concessão do benefício;

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b) The taxpayer has failed to pay social security contributions, if the contribution position has not been regularised at the time the check is made.

b) O sujeito passivo tenha deixado de efetuar o pagamento de contribuições relativas ao sistema da segurança social, se, no momento em que ocorre a consulta, a situação contributiva não se encontrar regularizada.

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2. For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, such a situation bars recognition of the tax benefits only if the tax debt concerned, being due, has not been the subject of an administrative complaint, a judicial challenge or an opposition with adequate security provided, where required.

2 - Para efeitos do disposto no número anterior, tal situação só é impeditiva do reconhecimento dos benefícios fiscais se a dívida tributária em causa, sendo exigível, não tenha sido objeto de reclamação, impugnação ou oposição e prestada garantia idónea, quando devida.

What we checked in this article

The two bars (unpaid taxes at the end of the preceding calendar year still outstanding when the time limit for the right to be heard expires; unregularised social security contributions at the time of the check) and the exception for debts under complaint, challenge or opposition with adequate security are retained.

Planning around a Portuguese tax benefit? Article 13 sets the conditions.

We check eligibility for IFICI, the Madeira regime, the start-up and capitalisation incentives and the property benefits, prepare the registrations and claims, and model what the benefit is worth, in English. A written answer and a fixed quote within one working day.

Unofficial English translation prepared by BCA Portugal for reference. Only the Portuguese text published in the Diário da República has legal force. Editorial notes are ours and are not part of the statute.

Applying the law

Portuguese tax benefits, claimed on time and kept

Most benefits in the Statute depend on a registration, a deadline or a condition that has to stay true for years. Tell us what you plan, and we will tell you which benefit applies, what it is worth and what must be filed.

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