If you live and work as a freelancer in Portugal then the question of VAT collection or not is an important topic. It is essential for the success of your freelance activity to know the particularities of the VAT declaration in Portugal. Indeed in case of bad information transmission you expose yourself to sometimes heavy fines which can mean the end of your activity. Working as a freelancer in Portugal is not easy but thanks to Lisbob digital nomads have all cards in hand in order to know how to fill and send periodic VAT declaration in Portugal. What is periodic VAT return declaration ? How to fill it correctly ? Lisbob, the expatriate assistant in Portugal tells you all about the periodic VAT return in Portugal for the self-employed.
VAT return declaration is mandatory in Portugal
What is periodic VAT return in Portugal
Periodic VAT reporting is a monthly or quarterly report sent to the tax authorities concerning transactions carried out by the self-employed person in the course of his activity. It must indicate the tax due or the existing tax, as well as the elements which served as a basis for its calculation.
How to complete the periodic VAT return in Portugal
To complete the periodic return, you must:
Access the finanças portal and select "Empresas / Cidadãos" / "Entregar" / "IVA" / "Declaração Periódica / Recapitulativa" ("Companies / Citizens" / "Deliver" / "VAT" / "Recurring / recurring statement").
Then you can fill out the declaration directly or download the file, then follow the steps and indications until the submission of the declaration.
The periodic VAT return made available by the Finance Portal includes a comprehensive guide to complete, but you should pay particular attention to the following:
- On the first page (box 01 to 05) you must fill in all the information that characterizes the taxable person and the declaration;
- In Box 4, whenever a service has been sold or carried out outside Portugal you must indicate one or two fields relating to these operations and complete the corresponding annexes (Annex R);
- In box 05, if there are no taxable transactions (active and passive) and there has been no adjustment or income tax return, you must submit the return. In the case of a chartered accountant, you must go to Box 20.
- In box 06, after having completed the fields referring to the taxable bases (1, 5 and 3), the fields "Imposto a favor do Estado" (2, 6 and 4) must be indicated;
- Box 20 is only required for self-employed persons who have opted for the organized accounting system.
Once fully completed, you must print the periodic VAT return and keep it.
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Time limits for completing and issuing the periodic VAT return in Portugal
Periodic VAT returns must be made online either by yourself or by a certified public accountant (TOC) until the tenth day of the second month following the month to which the transactions relate (in the case of a monthly periodicity ), or until the fifteenth day of the second month following the quarter to which the transactions (in the case of quarterly periods) relate to self-employed persons whose turnover is less than € 650 000 during the preceding calendar year.
VAT returns that are issued outside the above deadlines continue to be accepted, but the taxable person will have to pay a fine. Lisbob does not doubt that with this information you will see more clearly and so you can focus on your success.
