First thing is to obtain your NIF number

Before you can do any business, sign any contract in Portugal, you will need to get the fiscal Number (Número Identificaçã Fiscal) NIF, without this NIF you cannot do anything in Portugal. It is based on 9 digits and all people living in Portugal, local and foreign, must have it. Without it you will be blocked for all administrative procedures in Portugal, and you cannot obtain the Social Security number and the healtcare number. (read our blog with the steps of immigration to find out more)

What do you need?

To obtain a number you need a person who is a fiscal resident in Portugal as your “representative” because you do not have an address in portugal yet. This person can be anybody who is a resident in Portugal. We do advise you to get a professional to arrange this for you, because the NIF is super important. When you make a mistake in the NIF application you can be blocked for the Social Security and Healtcare system as well.

You will need to provide the following documents to obtain your NIF:

• a valid passport,
• proof of residence from your country of origin (invoices…)
• power of Attorney to your Tax Representative in Portugal.

Your NIF number can make you extra income!

“Quer contribuinte?” – This phrase you will hear every time pay a bill in Portugal, the cashier will ask you this question. But why put the NIF on your invoice / receipt?

Many countries are used to get a fiscal number on a receipt only when you are buying as a business owner, in order to retrieve VAT. Well, in Portugal you can retrieve Vat from your annuak tax declaration when you are a private person! How cool is that.

You can get back up to €250 per category (restaurant, veterinary, gym subscription, car maintenance) of spendings. Knowing that the taxes in Portugal are deducted at source, it is therefore possible that the Portuguese State will give you money back as a result of the expenses you have made throughout the year.

As an extra incentive (to encourage people to ask for a bill and to fight against the black market), the Portuguese government created a lottery with the bill numbers, they call it “fatura da sorte” (the bill of luck). So the bills are monthly drawn and the winners get money or cars up to a value of EUR 50.000!

Ask WESTMARK estate agency in the Algarve for any helps or more info when you need info@westmark.pt