Portugal Recibos Verdes Calculator – Net Income from Green Receipts

Recibos verdes — literally "green receipts" — are the invoices that self-employed workers, freelancers and independent professionals in Portugal issue through the Portal das Finanças of the Autoridade Tributária whenever they sell a service or a product to a client. The name comes from the colour of the old carbon-paper receipt books, but today almost every recibo verde is electronic: you register the document online and the tax authority immediately knows the amount, the client and the activity code. Anyone from a designer, translator or software developer to a tutor, electrician or medical consultant who bills as trabalhador independente rather than as an employee lives on recibos verdes.

The single most misunderstood point of the regime is that the social security contribution and the income tax do not use the same base. Segurança Social charges 21.4% on the rendimento relevante, which under Article 162.º of the Contributory Code is 70% of what you invoice for services plus 20% of what you invoice for goods. The IRS, by contrast, taxes a profit base built with the simplified-regime coefficients of Article 31.º of the CIRS — 75% of services and 15% of goods — and then withholds at source on the gross invoice amount. Mixing the two sets of percentages is the classic error, and it moves the final figure by several hundred euros a year.

On top of the contribution, most recibos verdes also carry an IRS retention (withholding at source) fixed by Article 101.º of the CIRS: 23% for the activities listed in the Art. 151.º table, 11.5% for other own-account service activities, 16.5% for intellectual or industrial property income and 20% for the high value-added activities of a non-habitual resident. Commercial, industrial and agricultural income — the sale of goods — is not on that list and therefore carries no withholding at all. Knowing the true net figure is what lets you price a day rate, budget for the quarterly declarations and avoid a surprise at the annual IRS settlement.

This calculator reproduces the official arithmetic of the green-receipt regime step by step. You supply two monthly figures — the value of recibos verdes issued for services and the value issued for goods — and select the withholding rate that matches your activity. Everything else is derived mechanically, with no hidden assumptions, so you can reproduce any result with a pocket calculator.

Step 1 — two bases, not one

The first thing the tool does is keep the two bases apart. The Segurança Social base is 70% of service income + 20% of goods income (Article 162.º of the Contributory Code). The IRS simplified-regime base — the one that feeds your annual Modelo 3 return — is 75% of service income + 15% of goods income (Article 31.º of the CIRS). A freelancer who invoices €2,000 of services therefore has a social security base of €1,400 but a taxable profit base of €1,500, and neither of those is the €2,000 the client pays.

Step 2 — the Segurança Social contribution

Every enrolled trabalhador independente owes the contribuição independente each month: 21.4% of the relevant income (25.2% for sole traders, EIRL holders and working spouses). In practice you declare the gross income of the previous quarter in Segurança Social Direta by 31 January, 30 April, 31 July and 31 October, and the monthly base is that income after the coefficients divided by three. Two guard rails, both anchored to the IAS (Indexante dos Apoios Sociais, worth €537.13 in 2026), keep the contribution proportionate.

Step 3 — the IRS retention withheld at source

When your client is a company, or a sole trader keeping organised accounting, it must withhold IRS when it pays you and pass the money to the tax authority by the 20th of the following month. The rate is not chosen by you: Article 101.º of the CIRS fixes it by the nature of the income, and it applies to the gross amount, before VAT (n.º 4). The sale of goods sits outside that list, so a retailer who only invoices goods has no retention at all — but still owes the Segurança Social contribution.

Step 4 — from gross receipts to your bank account

The net formula is plain arithmetic: net = services + goods − Segurança Social − retention. The tool multiplies by twelve to show the annual income a stable workload would produce, which is what you need for a mortgage application or to compare freelancing with an employment contract.

Two details deserve attention. The retention is an advance on your annual IRS bill, settled when you file the Modelo 3: it is not necessarily the final tax, so you may pay more or be refunded. And because the contribution is calculated on a different base from your cash flow, a freelancer who invoices €2,000 keeps a different share than an employee earning €2,000.

The table below runs the whole pipeline for five monthly profiles. Rows three and four show the statutory floor and the contribution ceiling at work, and the last row mixes services with goods so you can see that the sale of goods carries no withholdings at source. All figures are monthly unless stated otherwise.

Notice how the two rows keep different bases: the Segurança Social column is built on 70% of services and 20% of goods, while the taxable base used for the annual IRS settlement is built on 75% and 15%. The retention, in turn, is charged on the gross service invoice at the rate you select, which is why the mixed row shows a lower deduction than its services alone would suggest.

Four different sets of numbers drive a recibo verde. Keeping them separate is the whole exercise: the two coefficient pairs belong to two different taxes, the ceiling decides which regime you are in, and the exemption decides whether your invoices carry a retention at all.

1. Enter the total value of the recibos verdes you issue per month for services, before any deduction and before VAT.
2. Enter the monthly value of goods sold as an independent seller (use 0 if you only provide services).
3. Select the withholding rate that matches your activity: 23% for Art. 151.º professions, 11.5% for other services, 16.5% for royalties and 20% for NHR activities.
4. Click Calculate to see the Segurança Social base, the contribution after the floor and ceiling, the simplified-regime base, the retention and your net monthly income.
5. Review the annual projection, compare it with the worked examples and check the sources for the official references.

What exactly is a recibo verde?

It is the electronic invoice-receipt that self-employed workers and freelancers in Portugal issue through the Portal das Finanças of the Autoridade Tributária whenever they provide a service or sell goods. The name, literally green receipt, comes from the colour of the old paper books; today the document is created online, is visible to the tax authority immediately, and is the base for both social security and IRS.

Why do social security and IRS use different percentages?

Because they are different taxes with different bases. Segurança Social applies 70% to service income and 20% to goods income (Article 162.º of the Contributory Code) and charges 21.4% on the result. The IRS simplified regime applies 75% to services and 15% to goods (Article 31.º of the CIRS) to find your taxable profit, and its withholding is charged separately on the gross invoice at 23%, 11.5%, 16.5% or 20%.

Why do I owe €20 to Segurança Social in a month with little or no income?

Because the contribution has a statutory monthly floor of €20, due even when 21.4% of your relevant income comes out lower. The symmetric ceiling is €1,379.35 — 21.4% of twelve times the IAS of €537.13 — so very high earners stop contributing above that amount. Both limits follow the IAS and are revised every January.

How do I know which IRS withholding rate applies to me?

Article 101.º of the CIRS fixes the rate by the nature of the income: 23% for the professional activities listed in the Art. 151.º table, 11.5% for other activities of own-account service provision, 16.5% for intellectual or industrial property income, and 20% for the high value-added activities of a non-habitual resident. Commercial, industrial and agricultural income carries no withholding, and your activity code in the Portal das Finanças tells you which line you fall under.

Can I be exempt from withholding?

Yes. Under Article 101.º-B of the CIRS an independent whose prior-year Category B income did not exceed €15,000, who has no employees and whose activity is in the Art. 151.º table may be dispensed from withholding. The exemption must be requested in the Portal das Finanças, and afterwards your invoices must state that they are issued without retention under Article 101.º-B(1).

Is the withholding the final amount of tax I will pay?

No. The retention is a monthly advance collected through the recibos verdes. Your definitive IRS is calculated when you file the annual Modelo 3, taking into account deductions, household context and other income; depending on those factors you may pay more or receive a refund of what was withheld.

This tool is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Consult a qualified financial professional for advice specific to your situation.

Treat the two deductions as a pricing input rather than a surprise: if you need €1,500 of net monthly income and you sit at 23% with a full social security contribution, quote around €2,300 of services so that the coefficients and both deductions still leave your target intact. Move the withheld amounts to a separate account on the day the recibo is issued — the retention is only an advance and will be settled when you file. Watch the floor and the ceiling: low or irregular billing still triggers the €20 monthly minimum once you are obliged to contribute, and the €1,379.35 ceiling moves every January with the IAS. Declare the previous quarter's income in Segurança Social Direta on time — a missed declaration is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes — and remember that you may adjust the relevant income by −25% to +25% in steps of 5% when your billing is uneven. If your prior-year Category B income did not exceed €15,000, request the dispensa de retenção under Article 101.º-B and state the exemption on your invoices. Finally, keep the 0.75 and 0.15 coefficients in mind only while turnover stays under the €200,000 ceiling of the simplified regime; plan the transition to organised accounting before you cross it, not after.