The day your Lda is born, you gain a new title: gerente (director). What nobody explains at the counter is that the title comes with its own Social Security regime, a salary with specific rules and - if things go really wrong - personal liability for the company’s debts.
This guide walks through all three, with the 2026 numbers.
The director’s salary (which you can choose not to have)
The director’s remuneration is decided by the shareholders - in a single-member company, by you. It can be 500 €, 2,000 € or zero: there’s no mandatory minimum salary for the role, but the decision is formalised (in the articles of association or in minutes).
For IRS, a director’s salary counts as dependent work (Category A) - exactly like a job: the company withholds tax monthly according to the tables, and the following year you declare it in Anexo A. No coefficients, no recibos verdes here.
Social Security: 34.75%, with a minimum base
As a remunerated director, you contribute under the statutory body members (MOE) regime: 34.75% in total - 23.75% borne by the company and 11% deducted from your salary. It’s paid between the 10th and the 20th of the following month.
Take Catarina, who pays herself 1,200 € a month as director of her Lda:
And there’s a floor: contributions are calculated on the actual salary, but with a minimum of 1 IAS (537.13 € in 2026). Even if you pay yourself 300 €, you contribute as if it were 537.13 € - around 187 €/month in total.
In return, the protection is complete: sickness, parenthood, invalidity, old age - and, contrary to what many people think, directors have unemployment protection.
One note before taking the 34.75% as a given: the MOE regime has its own exceptions. The ISS guide excludes, for instance, the sócios gerentes of companies formed by professionals of the same profession whose purpose is to exercise it (it gives law firms and medical practices as examples) - those contribute under a different classification. If your company fits that picture, confirm your classification with Social Security before doing the maths.
When you DON’T pay
Here’s the answer to the question that comes up over and over in entrepreneur groups: “I already contribute as a freelancer - do I have to pay again as a director?”
That’s Bruno’s case: a freelancer invoicing 2,500 €/month on recibos verdes, he opened an Lda for a side project and takes no director’s salary. Since he already contributes as a self-employed worker with a base above the IAS, he’s excluded from the MOE regime - no double contributions. The formality matters: the waiver of remuneration goes into the minutes, and the company presents the proof to Social Security.
The reverse doesn’t work: if you pay yourself a director’s salary, you contribute as MOE on it - also having recibos verdes doesn’t exempt the company’s side.
Warning: director’s contributions don’t stop by themselves when the company slows down. You only stop paying upon removal, resignation or the completion of the company’s liquidation - or, exceptionally, by requesting cessation from Social Security when the company has ceased activity for VAT and has no employees. A dormant company doesn’t mean an exempt director by default - sort out the classification, don’t assume it.
The serious part: the company’s debts can reach you
Limited liability shields your personal assets from commercial debts. But tax and Social Security debts have their own regime (article 24 of the General Tax Law, LGT): if the company doesn’t have the assets to pay them, they revert against the director.
And there’s a detail that changes everything: for debts whose payment deadline fell during your directorship (that quarter’s VAT, that month’s TSU), fault is presumed - it’s you who has to prove the non-payment isn’t attributable to you. It’s not the tax authority that must prove mismanagement; it’s you who proves your innocence.
This also applies to whoever runs things without the title: a de facto director answers like a director, appointment on paper or not.
The practical translation: in an Lda, declared-but-unpaid taxes and contributions are the director’s number one personal risk. The company’s tax calendar isn’t bureaucracy - it’s your asset protection.
In summary
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A salaried director contributes 34.75% (23.75% company + 11% own) on the real salary, with a floor of 1 IAS (537.13 € in 2026, ~187 €/month minimum) - in exchange for complete protection, unemployment included.
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You don’t pay twice if you do things properly: an unpaid director who already contributes under another regime with income above 1 IAS is excluded from the MOE regime - but the waiver is formalised (minutes + proof to Social Security), not presumed.
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The company’s tax and Social Security debts can revert against you (LGT art. 24), with presumed fault for those that fell due during your term. If you’re still deciding between recibos verdes and an Lda, weigh this - and while you invoice as a freelancer, FIZ submits your quarterly VAT and Social Security declarations on time, automatically.
