Four times a year, the quarterly VAT declaration appears in the calendar as a task you’d rather ignore. When you work as a freelancer in the simplified regime, you need to declare the VAT you’ve charged — or justify why you’re exempt.
With FIZ, that task ceases to exist. The system handles everything.
Who needs to submit the VAT declaration?
There’s an important distinction here.
If you invoiced less than €15,000 per year (the threshold under Article 53 of the VAT Code), you’re VAT-exempt. You don’t charge VAT to clients — but you still have to submit the quarterly declaration confirming your exemption. It’s not optional.
If you invoiced €15,000 or more, you charge VAT at the standard rate of 23% (or a reduced rate for some services) and must declare and remit that amount to the state.
In both cases: mandatory declaration, four times a year.
The deadlines you can’t miss
The quarterly VAT declaration must be submitted by the 20th of the 2nd month following the end of each quarter:
- 20 May — declaration for Q1 (January–March)
- 20 September — declaration for Q2 (April–June)
- 20 November — declaration for Q3 (July–September)
- 20 February — declaration for Q4 (October–December)
Missing a deadline means a fine. And the fines arrive before you realise you forgot.
What happens without FIZ
Without help, the quarterly VAT declaration requires you to:
- Log into the Portal das Finanças
- Gather all invoices for the quarter
- Separate exempt ones from those with VAT
- Total the VAT charged
- Fill in the periodic declaration form
- Submit within the deadline
- Pay (if there’s VAT to remit)
If you’re exempt, the process is simpler — but it’s still a form to fill in manually every quarter.
How FIZ transforms the process
FIZ does everything for you.
If you’re VAT-exempt, the system automatically detects that you’re below the €15,000 threshold, fills in the exemption declaration, and submits it before the deadline. You receive a notification confirming submission. You don’t have to do anything.
If you charge VAT, FIZ:
- Aggregates all invoices for the quarter (because you issue them through FIZ)
- Totals the VAT charged to each client
- Fills in the periodic declaration with the correct figures
- Submits by the 20th
- Generates the payment reference if there’s VAT to remit
With the Auto plan, you don’t even receive a notification asking for confirmation — it happens automatically.
Moving from exempt to VAT-registered
A special case FIZ also handles: when you exceed €15,000 in annual invoicing.
At that point, you need to start charging VAT on subsequent invoices. FIZ detects this moment and alerts you before you reach the threshold — giving you time to inform clients and adjust your quotes, rather than discovering you’ve crossed the limit when it’s already too late.
✅ In summary
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The quarterly VAT declaration is mandatory for everyone — exempt and VAT-registered alike. Deadlines are 20 May, 20 September, 20 November and 20 February.
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Without help, that’s four times a year logging into the Portal das Finanças to fill in forms and verify figures manually.
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With FIZ it’s automatic — the system calculates, fills in, and submits the declaration before the deadline, without you needing to do anything. You receive confirmation that it’s done.
