NHR is gone, IFICI is here: Portugal's 2026 tax regime for newcomers

For a decade the Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) regime was a big part of why people moved to Portugal: flat rates on local high-value work, generous exemptions on foreign income, and a favourable rate on foreign pensions. That era has ended. NHR is closed to new applicants, and a narrower successor — IFICI — has taken its place. If tax is part of your relocation plan, it pays to understand what changed.

What happened to NHR

NHR was wound down from the 2024 tax year. Anyone already granted NHR keeps it for the remainder of their ten-year term — those benefits were not cancelled. But new arrivals can no longer apply for the old regime. In its place the government created the Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação (IFICI), often nicknamed NHR 2.0.

What IFICI offers

IFICI is built around work, not lifestyle. Its headline benefits are:

• A flat 20% income-tax rate on Portuguese employment and self-employment income earned in a qualifying high-value activity (instead of the progressive scale that rises above 40%).
• Broad exemption on most foreign-source income — including foreign employment, self-employment, dividends, interest and capital gains — subject to the rules of the relevant double-tax treaty.
• A term of ten years, reviewed annually against whether you still work in a qualifying role.

Who qualifies

This is the crucial difference from NHR, which was open to almost any newcomer. IFICI targets specific, high-value activities: scientific research and higher education, qualified roles in innovation and R&D, certain highly-qualified professions, and staff of companies recognised as strategically important or certified startups. Applicants generally must:

• not have been Portuguese tax-resident in the previous five years;
• become tax-resident in Portugal; and
• work in a recognised activity in a recognised sector (typically requiring a degree plus experience, or a doctorate).

The application runs through the Portal das Finanças and must be filed by 15 January of the year after you become tax-resident, so timing matters.

Buying a property does not get you into IFICI

It is worth stating plainly, because buyers often assume the two are linked: purchasing a home in Sintra does not grant IFICI, and it does not grant residency. IFICI is about qualifying work plus tax residency; residency itself comes through a separate immigration route (see our guide on residency and visas). Your property is a place to live and an asset — not a tax status.

What to do

If a favourable tax position is central to your move, get advice before you relocate, not after. IFICI is still bedding in — the authorities issued their first approvals only recently, and the fine detail is being worked through — so a Portuguese tax adviser who is current on the regime is worth far more than any general article, including this one.