Overview
Portugal gives the self-employed two accounting regimes. The simplified regime taxes a fixed coefficient of your turnover, no expense tracking required. Organized accounting taxes your real profit, with a certified accountant keeping real books. Everyone starts somewhere in this choice, and the default is simplified for turnover up to 200,000 euros.
Coefficients
Under the simplified regime, only a slice of turnover is taxable. The slice depends on what you sell:
| Activity | Taxable share of turnover |
|---|---|
| Professional services (the article 151 list: consulting, design, IT, and similar) | 75% |
| Other services | 35% |
| Sales of goods, hospitality | 15% |
A designer invoicing 60,000 euros is taxed on 45,000. The remaining 25% is deemed to be business costs, no receipts needed. Part of that deemed-cost slice does have to be backed by actual justified expenses above a certain income level, which is where the 15% justification rule enters; most freelancers clear it with ordinary costs like rent, software, and social security itself.
When to use organized accounting
Two ways to examine the same business
Read this comparison alongside the coefficients and worked example. No percentage here determines the best regime for you.
- Simplified regimeStart with activity and turnover, then examine the applicable coefficient and conditions.
- Organized accountingStart with the business accounts and actual income and expenses, with a certified accountant.
- Your real costs run well above the deemed slice for your activity type
- You employ people, carry inventory, or invest in equipment
- You run losses in the startup phase that you want to carry forward
Against that: certified accountant fees, bookkeeping obligations, and less predictability. For a services freelancer with a laptop and few costs, the 75% coefficient usually beats real-cost accounting comfortably.
Worked comparison
| Simplified | Organized | |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | 60,000 | 60,000 |
| Real business costs | ignored (25% deemed) | 22,000 documented |
| Taxable base | 45,000 | 38,000 |
| Overhead | none required | accountant + books |
Here organized wins on the base but pays for an accountant to get there. At 8,000 euros of real costs the simplified regime wins outright. The crossover is personal, and worth an hour with a spreadsheet before you commit.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the 75% coefficient is yours. The activity code decides it; the article 151 list carries 75% and other services 35%. Check the code before modeling anything.
- Missing the March switch window. Regime changes happen only at year boundaries, through a declaration of alterations filed by the end of March; miss it and you live with the current regime for another year.
- Ignoring the 15% justification rule. Above a certain income level, part of the deemed-cost slice must be backed by justified expenses; most freelancers clear it with rent, software, and social security, but not by accident.
- Choosing organized without pricing the overhead. A lower taxable base can cost more than it saves once the certified accountant and bookkeeping obligations are added in.
- Forgetting the 200,000 euro ceiling. Above it the simplified regime closes and organized accounting becomes mandatory the following year, whether you planned for it or not.
Common questions
Which coefficient is mine?
Your activity code decides it. The article 151 professional list carries 75%; check your code before assuming.
Does the coefficient cover social security too?
No. Social security uses its own relevant-income calculation, covered in the social security guide.
What happens above 200,000 euros?
The simplified regime closes and organized accounting becomes mandatory the following year.
Sources
- CIRS, simplified regime coefficients and the 200,000 euro threshold
- CIRS article 151 activity list
- Portutax and Taxpert 2026 freelancer guides (checked August 2026)
This guide is general information, not personalised tax advice. Rules and rates change, and your facts can move you off the defaults described here. Confirm your position with a qualified professional before acting on it.