Anexo J: Declaring Foreign Income

What Anexo J reports

Anexo J is the Modelo 3 schedule for foreign-source income and certain foreign accounts. Those are two separate reporting questions. An account can be reportable even if it earned nothing; receiving money abroad does not by itself make that money foreign-source income.

This guide helps Portuguese tax residents organise the information. If you moved during the year, first establish your resident and non-resident periods. CIRS article 15 applies worldwide-income scope to the resident period and Portuguese-source scope to the non-resident period.

Check the income source before the annex

The payer, account and income source may be in different countries. Start with the legal category and the source rules, then consider the relevant treaty. Do not classify every foreign bank credit as income, or every overseas payment as Anexo J.

Employment performed in Portugal can be Portuguese-source even with a foreign employer. Article 18(1)(a) looks at employment exercised in Portuguese territory and at certain Portuguese payers. Keep a work-location record if you work across borders. Any treaty analysis is an additional step, not a substitute for identifying the facts.

Find the relevant section

Use the official Anexo J form and instructions for the detailed codes. The section numbers below refer to the form available on 15 September 2026.

Anexo J is individual: check the holder identified in Quadro 3A rather than pooling different people’s income into one annex. Follow the specific dependant-allocation instructions where relevant. Read the field instructions for sales, pensions, earlier-year income and special regimes. A broker’s summary is a source document, not a ready-made Portuguese return.

Foreign accounts without income

AT’s foreign-income guidance includes foreign deposit and securities accounts held as owner, beneficiary or authorised operator. It covers accounts at non-resident financial institutions and foreign branches of Portuguese institutions. Quadro 11 can apply even where an account generated no income.

Prepare the account identifiers requested by the current form and verify the legal institution and branch behind the account. Do not decide from an app’s branding alone. For joint accounts, distinguish account identification from each person’s share of reportable income. Keep the ownership evidence.

Account disclosure is not the same as taxing the entire account balance. Nor does listing the account replace reporting interest, dividends or a disposal in its appropriate income section. If an account or arrangement falls outside the ordinary deposit/securities examples, establish its legal nature before choosing a field.

Build a statement-to-return worksheet

1. IncomeGross amount, income category and source country.
2. Foreign taxThe tax paid abroad, recorded separately from the income.
3. AccountsAccount identifiers, including reportable accounts with no income.

AT · Foreign income ↗

Use one row per income item or appropriate reporting group in your own worksheet. Include the recipient, source country, income type, date, gross amount, currency, foreign tax and document reference. Keep distinct income categories separate even if a broker puts them on one statement.

1. Reconstruct gross income. For income reported gross, do not use the amount left after foreign withholding. Record tax in the separate tax field required by the form.
2. Keep contributions separate. Compulsory social-security contributions are not automatically foreign income tax. Use the applicable field and supporting evidence.
3. Convert on the correct basis. CIRS article 23 sets rules linked to payment or availability dates, with specified fallbacks. Do not assume one annual average rate fits every case. Keep dates, original amounts, rates and euro calculations.
4. Reconcile totals. Check that the worksheet, statements and return agree. Explain differences such as fees, withholding, currency conversion or transfers between your own accounts.

How the foreign tax credit is limited

Declaring foreign tax is not a promise that all of it will reduce Portuguese tax. Under CIRS article 81, the ordinary credit is limited by the foreign income tax paid and the Portuguese tax attributable to that income, with treaty limits also relevant. A special regime or treaty may instead require a different method.

Keep evidence showing the taxpayer, income period, gross amount and foreign tax. If withholding exceeds a treaty limit, investigate the source-country relief procedure; entering all the withholding does not make the excess creditable. Use the AT treaty directory to find the agreement and forms relevant to the country.

Before you submit

• Confirm residence period, income owner and source before entering amounts.
• Use the current-year category and country codes; check accounts separately.
• Keep gross amounts and tax distinct, with a documented euro conversion.
• Verify any claimed NHR, IFICI or treaty treatment against your actual eligibility. Exemption and reporting are different questions.
• Save the return and submission receipt, then monitor AT messages and the assessment.

The ordinary return window is 1 April to 30 June. If qualifying foreign tax is not determined by that deadline, article 60(3)–(4) provides a conditional extension to 31 December and requires communication to AT during the ordinary window. A missing document alone is not an extension.

Use the first-filing checklist for the wider records bundle and Modelo 3 guide for the full submission process.

Common questions

General information, not personalised tax advice. Your facts and the rules for the relevant income year govern. Check uncertain classifications before filing.