The Supreme Administrative Court has recognized taxpayers’ right to benefit from the Non-Habitual Resident Regime (“NHR Regime”), even in cases where the application was not submitted within the stipulated deadline.
According to the IRS Code, taxpayers wishing to benefit from the NHR Regime must become tax residents in Portugal and request the respective registration by March 31 following the year they became tax residents in Portugal.
Although the Administrative and Tax Arbitration Court (“CAAD”) has already ruled that the registration request as an NHR serves primarily as a declaratory process and does not fundamentally grant the right to benefit from the NHR regime, the higher judicial courts had not yet ruled on this matter.
The Supreme Administrative Court recently confirmed the understanding that CAAD had already adopted.
In simpler terms, if taxpayers meet the substantive criteria for the NHR regime, they should be subject to its tax benefits for a full 10-year duration, irrespective of their official NHR registration status, or meeting the deadline to declare their adherence to NHR.
Thus, even if a taxpayer has missed the deadline to request registration as an NHR, they now have a reinforced possibility of benefiting from this regime.
Tax Department
Sofia Quental | Inês Grácio | Flávia Almeida | Catarina Amaral
