How to Open Your Freelance Activity in Portugal: Step by Step in 20 Minutes

Most people who put off opening their activity are imagining a morning lost at a tax office with queue tickets and paper forms. That ended years ago.

Today you open your activity online, in 20 minutes, without leaving the sofa. Here is the complete process.

First: do you even need to open activity?

Not always. If you are going to invoice a one-off service you do not expect to repeat, you can issue an ato isolado (isolated act) instead of opening activity — no registration, no monthly contributions.

The deciding factor is not the amount, it is regularity. The law (Article 3(3) of the CIRS) defines an ato isolado as one that “does not result from a predictable or repeated practice”. In other words: there is no maximum value for an ato isolado — what matters is that it is a sporadic, one-off operation.

If your income is (or will be) regular, even if small, you must open activity. That is the rest of this guide.

(And if your plan is to set up a company - an Lda - that’s a different process: see how to open an Lda step by step.)

What you need before you start

Just three things:

• NIF — your tax identification number (9 digits)
• Finance Portal password — the same one you use to check invoices in e-fatura
• CAE — your activity code (explained below)

If you do not yet have a Finance Portal password, request one at a Loja do Cidadão (citizen services office) or through the Chave Móvel Digital (Digital Mobile Key).

Step 1 — Log in to the Finance Portal

Go to www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt and click Iniciar Sessão (top right corner).

You can log in three ways: NIF + password, Citizen Card (with reader), or Digital Mobile Key. Use whichever you prefer.

Step 2 — Navigate to activity registration

In the portal menu, look for:

Serviços → Atividade → Início de Atividade

A form appears. Do not worry — most fields are pre-filled with your data.

Step 3 — Choose your activity type

The form asks whether you are a Trabalhador Independente (Independent Worker) or Empresário em Nome Individual (Sole Trader/ENI).

The difference is not in the legal structure (in both cases you and the “business” are the same person), but in the nature of the activity:

• Trabalhador Independente (TI) — you sell your knowledge, time, or skill: professional, technical, or artistic services. This is the typical regime for freelancers and liberal professionals.
• Empresário em Nome Individual (ENI) — the activity revolves around selling products or a more commercial operation.

For the vast majority of freelancers — designers, programmers, consultants, translators, photographers, content creators — the right answer is Trabalhador Independente. Simpler, fewer obligations, no mandatory accountant.

Step 4 — Choose your CAE (activity code)

The CAE identifies what you do professionally. Some common examples:

Activity	CAE
Graphic design	74120
Programming	62100
Business consulting	70200
Photography	74200
Artistic creation	90110
Sports training	85510

In the form, type keywords describing your activity and suggestions appear. Choose the one that best describes what you do.

If yours is a liberal profession (designer, lawyer, doctor…), there is also the Article 151 code that sets your income-tax coefficient — we explain the difference and list the codes by profession in the CAE and CIRS guide.

The form will ask you for this code right away — look it up here without leaving the page:

If you choose the wrong one: it is not a disaster. You can change your CAE later under Serviços → Atividade → Alterar Atividade. It takes 5 minutes.

Step 5 — Choose the simplified regime

When the form asks for your taxation regime, choose Regime Simplificado (Simplified Regime).

Why? Because the simplified regime automatically applies a deduction coefficient (0.75 for services — the state assumes 25% of what you invoice represents costs). You do not need to keep expense receipts or hire an accountant.

Switching to organised accounting (contabilidade organizada) only makes sense if you have very high professional expenses or very high invoicing.

Step 6 — The VAT regime (and the trap to avoid)

This is where most people slip up. If your forecast annual invoicing stays below €15,000 (the threshold for 2025 and 2026), you are entitled to the Article 53 VAT exemption — you do not charge VAT or file quarterly VAT returns. This is one of the thresholds that change everything.

The form decides your VAT regime from two answers:

1. The annual invoicing forecast you enter. If it exceeds €15,000 (on an annualised basis), activity opens straight onto Regime Normal, with no exemption.
2. The questions about clients and operations with other countries.

⚠️ The trap: if you indicate that you have clients outside the EU and the form asks about importing/exporting goods, answering “yes” to a goods operation can make you lose the Article 53 exemption — even if you only provide services. Read each question carefully: most freelancers provide services, not goods. If in doubt, confirm before submitting.

The invoicing forecast you enter here can be changed later — but it is simpler to get it right now than to fix it afterwards.

Step 7 — Set your start date

You can choose:

• Today — the most common choice
• A future date — if you want to start invoicing in a few days
• A past date — if you have recently done some work that needs to be formalised

Step 8 — Fill in additional details

The form asks for your fiscal address (pre-filled), your place of work (you can write “At home” if you work from home), and your contact details.

Step 9 — Submit and save the confirmation

Click Submeter. The system processes the request and generates a PDF confirmation. Save that PDF — it is proof that your activity is open.

That is it. You can now issue your first recibo verde.

After opening activity: two important steps

Register on Segurança Social Direta Open segurancasocial.pt and register as an independent worker. Do this promptly after opening your activity — it is a separate obligation from the tax authority and does not happen automatically. See when and how much you pay to Social Security.

Choose certified invoicing software By law, you must issue invoices using software certified by the AT. The Finance Portal has this functionality, but dedicated software is faster and keeps everything organised.

What if your NIF has a foreign address?

It depends where:

• An address in an EU country — you can open activity yourself, online and for free. You do not need a Portuguese address or a representative.
• An address outside the EU — for VAT purposes you are a non-resident taxable person and must appoint a fiscal representative in Portugal (Article 30(2) of the CIVA). The representative must themselves be a VAT taxable person.

If you have recently moved to Portugal, see our dedicated guide: how to open an atividade as a foreigner.

Frequently asked questions

Can I have an employment contract and open freelance activity at the same time? Yes. It is perfectly legal to combine employed work with freelance activity. Many people start this way.

Do I need to go to the tax office in person? No. The entire process is online. Opening, changing, and closing your activity — all done on the Portal.

When do I start paying taxes? IRS for your first year is paid in the annual declaration of the following year (April to June). For Social Security, there is a 12-month period with no obligation to contribute, counted from the date you open activity (technically a deferral of the framework, not an exemption).

I chose the wrong code. Can I change it? Yes, at any time, under Serviços → Atividade → Alterar Atividade. There is no fine for having a code that is not ideal — and it takes 5 minutes.

Do I have to charge VAT from the start? No, if your forecast annual invoicing stays below €15,000 (the 2025 and 2026 threshold). You are exempt under Article 53. Above that, you enter Regime Normal and start charging and declaring VAT.

Can I provide services to clients outside the EU while on the Article 53 exemption? Yes. Providing services to foreign clients does not, by itself, push you out of Article 53 — what removes the exemption is exceeding the annual invoicing threshold. Just watch out for the form trap (Step 6) when declaring operations involving goods.

✅ In summary

• The process is online and takes 20 minutes — Finance Portal → Serviços → Atividade → Início de Atividade. Choose Trabalhador Independente, correct CAE, simplified regime.

• After opening, register on Segurança Social Direta — they are separate systems; one does not automatically feed the other.

• With FIZ certified invoicing is ready as soon as you open your activity — issue your first recibo verde in minutes.