Can't pay the tax? Payment plans (AT and Social Security)

The IRS bill arrives and it’s bigger than Sofia had set aside. The first instinct is to panic. The second, and right one, is to know that you don’t have to pay it all at once: both the Tax Authority and Social Security let you pay the debt in instalments. What matters is acting early and knowing the rules.

Two fronts

As always, there are two different creditors - each with its own plan:

Tax Authority (AT): IRS debts (and also IRC and IUC). The VAT you self-report doesn’t fall under this plan before enforcement - that route is only for taxes the AT itself assesses; but in fiscal enforcement any debt, VAT included, can be paid in instalments.
Social Security: for overdue contributions.

You request each on its own portal, and they’re separate processes. And mind a deadline: before enforcement, the request to the Tax Authority is made within 15 days of the payment due date on the notice; after that, the plan is only via the fiscal-enforcement route.

When it’s without a guarantee (the common case)

Good news for a freelancer: smaller debts can get a plan without you having to provide a guarantee (surety, mortgage):

Instalment plans - the essentials

Tax Authority (before enforcement)

Only for IRS, IRC and IUC - the VAT you self-report doesn't qualify (only VAT the AT assesses does). Requested within 15 days of the payment due date, up to 36 instalments. No guarantee if the debt is up to €5,000 (an individual) or €10,000 (a company), or up to 12 instalments (DL 125/2021)

Social Security, instalments

There are instalments too (up to 150 in the cases provided for); the number and whether a guarantee is required depend on the amount and type of debtor - for small amounts the guarantee is waived. Check on Segurança Social Direta

Where to request

Tax: Portal das Finanças (before enforcement, under Payments → Instalments; in enforcement, e-balcão → Tax Justice). Social Security: Segurança Social Direta

Above these limits a guarantee is usually needed. In fiscal enforcement, a guarantee (or an approved waiver) is needed to suspend the process - the waiver is granted, as a rule, for debts within those same limits; a bank guarantee covering the debt can also reduce the late interest.

What to avoid

The right path

You request the plan as soon as you know you can't pay
You keep up with the instalments on time
In fiscal enforcement, a bank guarantee can lower the interest

The costly mistake

You ignore the bill and let it go to fiscal enforcement
You miss instalments - without a guarantee, the whole debt falls due at once
You pile up interest and a possible attachment

Careful: the plan carries interest (the instalment is the debt divided up + late interest). It’s not free money - it’s a way not to sink. And the limits and number of instalments depend on the amount and your situation, so check on the portal (or with your accountant) what applies to your case before counting on a set figure. The key thing: don’t ignore the debt - the earlier you act, the less you risk it escalating (interest and attachment).

✅ In summary

You can pay in instalments at both the Tax Authority and Social Security - two separate requests, each on its own portal.
Before enforcement, smaller debts get a plan without a guarantee (at the Tax Authority, up to €5,000 - an individual - or up to 12 instalments; at Social Security, waived for small amounts). In fiscal enforcement a guarantee is needed to suspend, with a waiver for debts within those limits; a bank guarantee can reduce the interest. Missing instalments without a guarantee makes the whole debt fall due.
With FIZ you see what you’ll owe in IRS and Social Security through the year, so you rarely get to the bill by surprise - and if you do, you request the plan early. See the plans.