Letting your Portuguese home from abroad, step by step

You can let a Portuguese home long-term from abroad, and almost every step is done online once you can log in to the Portal das Finanças. The order matters: sort out your tax access first, then the home's documents, then the written contract. After the tenant moves in, you register the contract and pay stamp duty by the end of the following month, issue an electronic receipt for every rent payment, and declare the income each spring.

Step 1: get your tax number and portal access working

Everything runs through the tax authority (Autoridade Tributária, AT) and the Portal das Finanças. Before you advertise, check that you have:

• A NIF (número de identificação fiscal, tax number). You will have one from buying the home; check that your tax address is your current foreign address. If you moved abroad after buying, you must tell AT about the change of residence within 60 days (Lei Geral Tributária, art. 19(5)).
• A portal password. You request it online and it is posted to your registered tax address; it cannot be emailed, so request it early.
• Or a Chave Móvel Digital (CMD). This is the state's digital login, linked to your mobile phone. Foreign citizens can activate it with a passport and a NIF, but without a Portuguese Citizen Card this has to be done in person, at a service desk in Portugal or at some Portuguese consulates.

Fiscal representative or electronic notifications

As a resident outside Portugal you must, as a rule, appoint a fiscal representative (representante fiscal) living in Portugal (LGT art. 19(6)). There are two ways out:

• If you live in the EU or the EEA, the appointment is optional.
• If you live elsewhere (for example the UK, the US or Brazil), you can avoid it by signing up for electronic notifications on the Portal das Finanças (LGT art. 19(14)–(15)). AT's letters then arrive in your portal inbox, so check it regularly. Our guide on fiscal representatives covers this in depth.

Step 2: gather the documents the home needs

The energy certificate is mandatory before you put the home on the market for rent. Adverts must show its energy class, and the tenant receives a copy. A residential certificate is valid for 10 years. Fines for individuals run from €250 to €3,740 (Decreto-Lei 101-D/2020, arts. 18, 23 and 35).

The licence of use still matters for leases. The 2024 Simplex reform (DL 10/2024) stopped requiring the licence at the sale deed, but it did not change the letting rules. A home may only be let for housing if a licence of use confirms it is fit for that purpose. The exception is a building constructed before the 1951 building regulations; in that case you attach an official document proving the construction date (DL 160/2006, art. 5). If the licence is missing through your fault:

• you face a municipal fine of at least one year's rent;
• the tenant may end the contract and claim damages.

Step 3: insurance, condominium and utilities

• Insurance. In a building of separately owned flats (propriedade horizontal), fire insurance covering your flat and the common parts is compulsory (Código Civil, art. 1429). Check your policy allows letting; liability and rent-default cover are optional.
• Condominium. You remain liable to the owners' association. Unless the contract says otherwise, condominium charges for the common parts are the landlord's cost (Código Civil, art. 1078(3)). Give the administrator your contact details abroad.
• Utilities. Unless agreed otherwise, the tenant pays for electricity, water, gas and internet, and contracts should be in the name of whoever pays (art. 1078(2) and (4)). Simplest: the tenant takes over the contracts at move-in, using the meter readings in your inventory.

Step 4: put the contract in writing

A residential lease must be in writing (Código Civil, art. 1069). The contract must state (DL 160/2006, art. 2):

1. Both parties' names, ID numbers and NIFs (and, where applicable, place of birth, date of birth and marital status).
2. The landlord's address. For you, this is your address abroad.
3. The address and description of the home.
4. That it is for housing. If it is not permanent housing, the reason why.
5. The licence of use's number, date and issuing municipality, or a statement that none is required.
6. The rent.
7. The date the contract is signed.

Where relevant it should also state the artigo matricial, the duration, how the rent is updated, the building regulations and an agreed address for notices (art. 3). Attach a signed record of the home's condition; an inventory with dated photos is the practical way to do this.

• Duration. A fixed term must be at least one year, unless the stay is temporary (Código Civil, art. 1095). The lease renews automatically unless the contract provides otherwise. Your objection to the first renewal cannot take effect before three years from the start (art. 1097(3)).
• Upfront money. As the law stands, you can ask for no more than two months' rent in advance and a deposit of no more than two months' rent (art. 1076, as amended by the 2023 State Budget).
• Starting rent. If a lease on the home was signed in the five years before October 2023, the 2023 Mais Habitação law (Lei 56/2023) caps the new rent at the last rent plus 2%, plus any annual updates you could have applied but did not. A rental-law reform passed its first parliamentary vote on 30 September 2026. It would end this cap and loosen the deposit limits, but it is not yet law, so check its status before you sign.

Step 5: register the contract and pay stamp duty

You must report the contract to AT on the Modelo 2 declaration, filed online on the Portal das Finanças. You will need:

• the tenant's NIF;
• the property's artigo matricial;
• the start date and the rent;
• a PDF copy of the signed contract.

Deadline: the end of the month after the month the lease starts. For a lease starting on 15 March, file by 30 April.

On submission, AT charges imposto do selo (stamp duty) of 10% of one month's rent (Tabela Geral do Imposto do Selo, verba 2). The landlord pays it, and the payment slip must be paid by the same end-of-following-month deadline. On a €1,000 rent, that is €100, paid once per contract.

Use Modelo 2 again, by the same kind of deadline, to report changes to the contract and its end. Filing late can bring a fine of €150 to €3,750 (RGIT art. 117(1)).

Step 6: issue an electronic receipt for every rent payment

Each time you receive rent, you issue a recibo de renda eletrónico (electronic rent receipt) on the Portal das Finanças. It records a payment actually received, so issue it after the money arrives, never in advance and never as one annual receipt. It shows the period the rent covers and the date you received it. Not issuing receipts, or issuing them late, can be fined €150 to €3,750 (RGIT art. 123).

You are exempt if either of these applies:

• You were 65 or older on 31 December of the previous year.
• You have no electronic mailbox with AT and your rental income in the previous year was no more than twice the IAS (indexante dos apoios sociais, the state benchmark figure). Few landlords meet this.

If you are exempt, you must instead file the annual Modelo 44, listing the rents you received, by the end of February.

Step 7: declare the income, in Portugal and at home

In Portugal, you file the IRS return (Modelo 3) with Anexo F (rental income) between 1 April and 30 June of the following year (CIRS art. 60). Non-residents file the same way, reporting rents received and deductible expenses such as IMI (the annual property tax), condominium fees, repairs and insurance.

The rate depends on the contract:

• 10% from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2029, for contracts exclusively for housing with a monthly rent of no more than €2,300 in 2026 (DL 97/2026, adding art. 45-C to the Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais).
• 25% otherwise (CIRS art. 72), with lower rates for leases of five years or more.
• Residents of the EU or EEA may choose to be taxed at the progressive resident rates instead (art. 72(15)).

The 10% rule sets no condition on where the landlord lives, but 2026 is its first year, so confirm your case with a tax adviser. A company tenant with organised accounts withholds the tax from the rent; you credit it on your return. Our tax guide covers the rates in detail.

At home, you will almost certainly have to declare the rent too. Under Portugal's tax treaties, Portugal may tax income from property located there, and your country of residence then exempts it or credits the Portuguese tax; the mechanics vary (Box 3 in the Netherlands, Schedule E with a foreign tax credit in the US). Keep your Portuguese assessment (nota de liquidação) as proof.

Key deadlines

Checklist

• NIF with current foreign address
• Portal das Finanças password or Chave Móvel Digital working
• Fiscal representative or electronic notifications (outside the EU/EEA)
• Energy certificate valid; class in every advert
• Licence of use, caderneta predial and certidão permanente on file
• Insurance confirmed; condominium informed
• Written contract with required details and inventory
• Deposit, advance rent and starting rent within limits
• Modelo 2 filed and stamp duty paid
• Electronic receipt issued for every payment
• Rent update notified 30 days ahead
• Modelo 3 with Anexo F filed by 30 June
• Rent declared in your home country