The State Budget for 2024 reinforced the IRS Jovem scheme, created in 2020 with the aim of easing the tax burden on young people at the start of their professional careers, thus contributing to their integration into adult life and the labour market. At the same time, with the dual aim of rewarding the pursuit of higher education and encouraging the most qualified young people to remain in the country, the new state budget provides for the award, from 2024, of an incentive to young graduates corresponding to one year’s tuition fees for each year of work declared in Portugal.
Young IRS
Beneficiaries
- Young people aged between 18 and 26 with income from dependent or self-employed work, after the year of completion of secondary education, or equivalent cycle of studies; or
- Young people up to the age of 30 with income from dependent or self-employed work who have completed a course of study equivalent to a PhD; and who
- File their tax return separately from their parents.
Conditions
- The benefit is valid for income earned in the year immediately following the completion of studies and during the following four years;
- Cannot be combined with the tax regime for non-habitual residents or the Return Programme.
Benefits
IRS exemption corresponding to:
- 100% in the first year, with a limit of €20,370.40;
- 75% in the second year, with a limit of €15,277.80;
- 50% in the third and fourth year, with a limit of €10,185.20;
- 25% in the fifth year, with a limit of €5,092.60.
Tuition fee refund
Recipients
- Holders of a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree, or a recognised foreign degree, awarded in 2023 or later;
- Who earn income from dependent or self-employed work in Portugal;
- Are up to 35 years old;
- Are resident in Portugal; and
- Have their tax and social security situation regularised.
Requirements
- Submission of an electronic form by the taxpayer after obtaining a bachelor’s or master’s degree, or recognition of a foreign academic degree.
Benefits
- Return of the amount equivalent to the tuition fee paid during the number of years corresponding to the number of years of the bachelor’s degree (up to four years), integrated master’s degree (up to six years) or master’s degree (two years), up to a maximum of 697 euros for each year of work for bachelor’s degrees and up to 1500 euros for master’s degrees.
Transitional regime
- Beneficiaries who have completed an eligible academic degree in a year prior to 2023 can benefit from the wage reward as long as the number of years that have passed since the academic degree was awarded is less than the number of years equivalent to the respective cycle of studies (for example, in the case of undergraduates, the limit will be 4 years).
Tax Department
Sofia Quental | Inês Grácio | Flávia Almeida | Catarina Amaral
