A Portuguese Lda's tax and legal calendar (2026)

The four main categories

A Portuguese Lda’s obligations fall into four groups. The first three are external (with the State); the fourth is internal (between the partners).

• Tax. Corporate income tax (IRC), value-added tax (IVA), withholdings at source on certain payments (IRS on salaries, IRC on supplier payments in some cases), and Tributação Autónoma (Autonomous Taxation) on specific expenses (vehicles, entertainment, per diems).
• Social-security contributions. Monthly remuneration declarations and payments to Social Security on company salaries.
• Commercial. Annual filing of accounts via the IES (Informação Empresarial Simplificada).
• Corporate. Annual accounts approval at the general meeting, registry filings for changes to the articles of association, annual confirmation of the RCBE (Registo Central do Beneficiário Efetivo, the Central Registry of Beneficial Ownership).

Each group has its own rhythm (monthly, quarterly, annual) and deadlines. The most useful rule of thumb: most monthly obligations cluster between the 10th and the 25th; most annual ones cluster in March, June, July, and December.

2026 monthly calendar: what’s due each month

The table below lists the main obligations with the actual 2026 dates, assuming a fiscal year matching the calendar year and a company with employees on the quarterly VAT regime. Dates reflect the weekend, holiday, and August-deferral shifts published in the Portuguese Tax Authority’s Agenda Fiscal; companies on the monthly VAT regime file in almost every month (see detail below).

These dates reflect the 2026 Agenda Fiscal published by the Portuguese Tax Authority. Last-minute adjustments (extensions by order, as happened to Modelo 22 this year) can change individual deadlines; it’s worth checking the Agenda Fiscal before each critical date.

IRC: Modelo 22 and instalments

IRC is the corporate income tax. For 2026, the standard rate is 19% on the mainland (reduced rates apply to SMEs on the first tranches of taxable income).

The main obligation is the annual Modelo 22 return, set out in article 120 of the CIRC, with a baseline deadline of 31 May of the year after the fiscal year, even if no tax is due. For the 2025 fiscal year, the Government extended the deadline, first to 19 June and then to 30 June 2026 (Order 68/2026-XXV-SEAF and a subsequent order). 30 June is therefore the date to plan around for the 2026 fiscal calendar.

Beyond Modelo 22, companies make three instalments through the year, prepaying IRC on the current year. The 2026 dates are:

1. 1st instalment: by 31 July 2026.
2. 2nd instalment: by 30 September 2026.
3. 3rd instalment: by 15 December 2026.

The calculation is set in article 105 of the CIRC and is not a simple division of the prior year’s IRC. The three instalments combined are 80% of the prior-year IRC tax assessed, less prior-year withholdings at source, if that year’s turnover was at or below €500,000; or 95% of the same base, if turnover was above €500,000. The result is split into three equal instalments, rounded up to euros. If by the third instalment the first two already cover the estimated IRC for the year, the third can be reduced or skipped.

The Lda also pays Tributação Autónoma on specific expenses (vehicles, entertainment, per diems, undocumented expenses), at rates that depend on the type of expense and the fiscal result. Autonomous Taxation is computed and paid with Modelo 22. For the detail of what is deductible, the article 23-A exclusions, and 2026 Tributação Autónoma rates (vehicles, entertainment, per diems), see the dedicated guide: Deductible vs non-deductible expenses under IRC.

VAT: quarterly vs monthly regime

VAT (IVA) is the consumption tax. The Lda files a periodic return with VAT charged to customers and VAT deducted on supplier purchases, and pays (or receives) the difference.

Article 41 of the VAT Code defines two regimes, based on the prior calendar year’s turnover:

• Quarterly regime: applies to companies with annual turnover below €650,000. The return is filed by the 20th of the second month after the quarter. For 2026, the actual dates are 20 May (Q1), 21 September (Q2, shifted because the 20th is a Sunday), 20 November (Q3), and 22 February 2027 (Q4).
• Monthly regime: mandatory for companies with annual turnover at or above €650,000. The return is filed monthly by the 20th of the second month after the month, with no filing in August (matching the quarterly shift).

Payment of VAT is due by the 25th of the same month the return is filed. The rates in force on the mainland are 23% standard, 13% reduced (intermediate), 6% reduced; Madeira and the Azores have their own rates. For the detail of the €650,000 threshold, exact 2026 deadlines in both regimes, the August rule, and the new regime-change mechanism under DL 49/2025, see the dedicated guide: Portuguese VAT (IVA): monthly vs quarterly, deadlines, and the August rule.

In some periods the company is in credit (VAT paid to suppliers exceeds VAT charged to customers). The credit can be carried forward to the next period or refunded, under its own rules.

Social Security and DMR

If the company has employees (including remunerated managers), there are monthly social-security obligations:

• DMR (Monthly Remuneration Declaration): filed by the 10th of the following month, with the list of remunerations paid to each employee and contributions due.
• Payment of contributions: by the 20th of the following month. The base rates are 23.75% for the employer and 11% for the employee (deducted from gross salary), applied to remunerations.

For managers who do not receive a salary, the social-security situation should be checked (in some cases the Lda is liable for minimum contributions even when no remuneration is paid; worth confirming with the accountant).

Withholdings at source: IRS and IRC

The company withholds part of certain payments and remits them to the State on behalf of the recipients:

• IRS on salaries (employees) and on payments to self-employed professionals where withholding applies.
• IRC on certain supplier payments (in specific cases, like rentals and royalties).

In both cases, withholdings relating to a month are paid by the 20th of the following month, through the Portal das Finanças.

IES and accounts filing: the annual summary

The IES (Informação Empresarial Simplificada) is the annual filing that combines, in a single submission, accounting, tax, and statistical information about the company, and at the same time serves as the legal filing of annual accounts at the Commercial Registry.

For companies with a fiscal year matching the calendar year, the IES for the 2025 fiscal year is filed by 15 July 2026.

IES is mandatory even if the company had no activity in the period (reported with the appropriate indicators, but the filing itself is still required). Filing IES is also an opportunity to confirm RCBE at the same time (see below).

For the detail of both filings, what each covers, who signs, and the late-filing fines, see the dedicated guide: Modelo 22 and IES: what they are, when to file, and late-filing fines.

RCBE: annual confirmation by 31 December

The Central Registry of Beneficial Ownership (RCBE) identifies the natural persons who ultimately control or benefit from the company (typically the partners and managers, with specific rules for more complex structures).

The RCBE confirmation is annual and must be done by 31 December of each year, even if nothing has changed since the previous year. There are two exceptions:

• If the company filed a change to the RCBE during the calendar year (partners joining/leaving, manager changes, etc.), that change replaces the annual confirmation for that year.
• Companies required to file IES can choose to confirm RCBE together with IES, reporting the position from the prior year; in that case, RCBE is confirmed on 15 July and the 31 December obligation does not apply.

RCBE non-compliance has real consequences: in addition to fines, the company may be blocked from performing legal acts (distributing profits, contracting with the State, applying for public funding, etc.).

Annual accounts approval: by 31 March

The annual accounts approval is an internal corporate obligation: partners meet in a general meeting, review the prior year’s accounts, vote on their approval and on profit allocation, and record the decision in minutes.

The general rule, set out in the Commercial Companies Code, is that the ordinary general meeting for accounts approval is held within three months of the end of the fiscal year: by 31 March for companies with a fiscal year matching the calendar year. Exceptions exist (five months for companies required to file consolidated accounts, by 31 May), but for the vast majority of Ldas the deadline is 31 March.

The minutes go into the company’s minutes book, and the approved accounts are then filed at the Commercial Registry through IES in July.

Changes to the articles of association and other registry obligations

Whenever the articles of association change (registered office, management, capital, corporate purpose, quota transfers, etc.), there is also a commercial registry filing obligation, as a rule within 30 days of the partners’ resolution. Changes appear on the Certidão Permanente once registered and may also require an updated RCBE declaration.

Each of these situations will have its own dedicated guide in the The Portuguese Lda section (to be published).

What happens if you miss a deadline?

Non-compliance has three types of consequences, on different scales:

• Fines. Most obligations have an associated fine for non-compliance. Amounts vary with the obligation, the length of the delay, and the regime (negligent vs wilful). For Modelo 22, IES, and VAT, fines typically start in the hundreds of euros and can climb significantly.
• Compensatory and late-payment interest. On payment obligations, interest is added to the amount due, calculated from the date the payment was due.
• Restrictions and blocks. Some obligations (RCBE in particular) trigger blocks on other company acts when not complied with: profit distribution, State contracts, public-funding applications.

Voluntary correction (regularising spontaneously, before any notification) usually reduces fines significantly. Preventing is clearly cheaper and less stressful than fixing.

How to keep everything under control

Three practical pillars to avoid systematically missing deadlines:

Limitada exists for the second and third points: it centralises company deadlines in one place, alerts by email before each one, and keeps documentation (minutes, articles, RCBE, expenses, invoices) organised and shareable with the accountant. See Limitada.

This article is for information only. For concrete decisions about your company’s obligations, always consult a Portuguese certified accountant. The exact dates that apply to each tax period should be confirmed in the Agenda Fiscal published every year by the Tax Authority.