Short answer. Portugal's NHR regime (non-habitual resident) closed to new applicants on 1 January 2024. If you already have it, nothing changes: you keep it for the rest of your 10-year period. If you are moving to Portugal now, the regime to look at is IFICI, often called NHR 2.0.

• New arrivals: NHR is no longer available; IFICI is.
• Current NHR holders: keep the old rules until their period ends, and cannot switch to IFICI.
• IFICI in brief: a flat 20% on income from qualifying work, for 10 years, with most foreign income exempt.
• Pensioners: IFICI does not exempt foreign pensions, which was the main attraction of NHR for retirees.

What happened to NHR?

The 2024 State Budget (Lei n.º 82/2023) revoked the provisions that created the regime, so no new registrations have been possible from 1 January 2024. For more than a decade NHR was the reason many people chose Portugal over its neighbours; like most good parties, it ended with an announcement rather than a fade.

The law did keep two doors open. People who were already NHR holders continue under the old rules until their period runs out (article 236.º, n.º 3, of Lei n.º 82/2023). And a transitional route existed for people who became resident by 31 December 2024 and could show certain commitments made by 31 December 2023, such as a promise or contract of employment. If you think that route applied to you, ask us before assuming anything: it turns on dates and documents.

I already have NHR. Do I need to do anything?

No change is needed. You keep NHR for the remainder of your period, on the rules that applied when you registered. Two points are worth knowing. First, you cannot move from NHR to IFICI later: anyone who has benefited from NHR is excluded from IFICI (article 58.º-A, n.º 10, of the Tax Benefits Statute, EBF). Second, the end of your NHR period is worth planning for a year or two ahead, because your foreign income will then be taxed under the normal resident rules.

What replaced NHR?

IFICI, the Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação, set out in article 58.º-A of the EBF. It applies to people who became tax resident from 1 January 2024. The press called it NHR 2.0, which is fair as far as it goes: it is the successor, but it is aimed at people who come to work, not at everyone who moves.

In outline, if you qualify:

• You pay a flat 20% on the net income from your qualifying work, for 10 consecutive years.
• Most foreign-source income is exempt, but it is still counted when setting the rate on your other income.
• You must not have been a Portuguese tax resident in any of the previous five years, and you can use IFICI only once.
• There are seven routes in, from research and university teaching to highly qualified roles in qualifying companies and certified startups.

Our IFICI guide sets out who qualifies, route by route, and how to apply.

What about retirees?

This is where the change bites hardest. NHR was attractive to many retirees because of how it treated foreign pensions. IFICI does not exempt foreign pensions (AT Ofício-Circulado n.º 20276/2025, question 2), and it is built around qualifying work, which most retirees no longer do. A retiree moving to Portugal now should plan on the normal resident rules for pension income, and look at the double tax treaty with the country paying the pension.

What should I do now?

If you are planning a move, check the IFICI routes against your job before you arrive, because timing matters. If you already hold NHR, diarise the end of your period. In either case we are happy to look at your situation; we send a written proposal by email after the first assessment.

Tax reviewed by Luiz Augusto Teixeira de Freitas, Director. Applies to Portugal, tax year 2026. AI tools assisted with research organisation; the OnCorporate team checked sources and wording.