Can you still be considered a Portuguese tax resident if you spend fewer than 183 days in Portugal, maintain a Portuguese tax address, own or use a home in Portugal, and your family continues to live there?
Not necessarily.
A significant 2026 decision from Portugal’s tax arbitration court, the Centro de Arbitragem Administrativa (CAAD), confirms that Portuguese tax residency must be determined by applying the substantive tests contained in Article 16 of the Portuguese Personal Income Tax Code (Código do IRS).
A Portuguese fiscal address, a house in Portugal, or the presence of a spouse and children in Portugal may all be relevant facts. However, none of them automatically creates Portuguese tax residence.
In CAAD Case 420/2025-T, decided on 5 May 2026, the tribunal concluded that a seafarer who maintained his registered fiscal address and family in Portugal was nevertheless not a Portuguese tax resident in 2022 or 2023. CAAD
The decision provides important guidance for internationally mobile workers, seafarers, offshore workers, airline crew, expatriates and other individuals who spend substantial periods working outside Portugal.
The case: a Portuguese taxpayer working as a seafarer in France
The taxpayer worked as a seafarer for a French employer, aboard a French-flagged vessel and in French waters.
During the years under dispute:
- in 2022, he was aboard the vessel for 298 days;
- in 2023, he was aboard for 353 days;
- he spent fewer than 183 days in Portugal in both years;
- he did not earn employment income from activities carried out in Portugal;
- his family continued to live in Portugal;
- he maintained his registered fiscal address in Portugal; and
- his Portuguese income tax returns had been submitted on the basis that he was a Portuguese tax resident.
The French tax authorities had nevertheless treated him as a non-resident of France. CAAD
The Portuguese Tax Authority — Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, or AT — therefore argued that the taxpayer remained resident in Portugal.
Among other factors, the AT relied on his Portuguese fiscal address, the presence of his family in Portugal, his return to Portugal during rest periods and the fact that he had not produced a French tax residence certificate. CAAD
The CAAD disagreed.
What are the Portuguese tax residency rules?
Portuguese tax residency is primarily determined under Article 16 of the Portuguese Personal Income Tax Code (CIRS).
An individual is generally Portuguese tax resident where, among other circumstances, that person:
- spends more than 183 days, consecutive or otherwise, in Portugal during the relevant 12-month period; or
- spends fewer days in Portugal but has a home in Portugal under circumstances showing an actual intention to maintain and occupy it as his or her habitual residence.
The current wording of Article 16 expressly requires, under the second test, a dwelling held in circumstances indicating an “intenção atual de a manter e ocupar como residência habitual” — a current intention to maintain and occupy it as a habitual residence. Portal das Finanças
This second test is frequently overlooked.
Spending fewer than 183 days in Portugal does not automatically make you non-resident
The 183-day test is only one of Portugal’s residence tests.
An individual may spend significantly fewer than 183 days in Portugal and still qualify as Portuguese tax resident if the habitual-home criterion in Article 16(1)(b) is satisfied.
Equally, however, the mere existence of a property in Portugal does not automatically satisfy that criterion.
That distinction was central to the CAAD decision.
Portuguese fiscal address is not the same as Portuguese tax residence
One of the most important conclusions from Case 420/2025-T is the distinction between fiscal domicile and tax residence.
They are related concepts, but they are not legally equivalent.
A taxpayer is required to keep his or her fiscal details updated with the Portuguese Tax Authority. Failing to update a fiscal address may have administrative and procedural consequences.
However, that failure does not, by itself, transform an individual into a Portuguese tax resident for Personal Income Tax purposes.
The tribunal expressly stated that “domicílio fiscal” and “residência fiscal” do not coincide or amount to the same legal concept. CAAD
For taxpayers, this distinction is extremely important.
The address appearing on the Portuguese Tax Authority’s database is therefore relevant evidence, but tax residence remains a question of substantive law and factual circumstances.
Does having a house in Portugal make you Portuguese tax resident?
Again, not automatically.
Under Article 16(1)(b) CIRS, it is not sufficient simply to establish that an individual has access to accommodation in Portugal.
The circumstances must also demonstrate an intention to maintain and occupy that accommodation as a habitual residence.
In Case 420/2025-T, the tribunal expressly found that it had not been established that the taxpayer had a dwelling in Portugal under circumstances showing a current intention to maintain and occupy it as his habitual residence. CAAD
This involves more than simply identifying where a taxpayer sleeps while visiting Portugal.
Portuguese case law has frequently described the test as requiring both:
- a corpus — the existence or availability of a place of residence; and
- an animus — the intention to maintain and occupy it as the individual’s habitual residence.
The CAAD emphasised that “habitual residence” requires an effective and regular connection with Portugal, normally reflecting the place where the person’s life is organised. CAAD
That is a significantly more demanding test than simply asking: “Does this person have somewhere to stay in Portugal?”
Does having a spouse or children in Portugal automatically make you tax resident?
No.
Family connections are clearly relevant when analysing an individual’s overall circumstances.
But the presence of a spouse, partner or children in Portugal does not, by itself, replace the statutory requirements of Article 16 CIRS.
In this case, the taxpayer’s family remained in Portugal and he returned to Portugal during holidays, weekends and periods of rest.
The Portuguese Tax Authority relied heavily on those circumstances.
Nevertheless, the tribunal concluded that the evidence was insufficient to establish that the taxpayer met the habitual-residence test under Article 16(1)(b). CAAD
This does not mean that family connections are irrelevant. In another factual situation, they may strongly support Portuguese residence.
The point is narrower but important:
Family presence in Portugal is evidence. It is not, by itself, a separate statutory test of Portuguese tax residence.
Do you need a foreign tax residence certificate to prove that you are not resident in Portugal?
This is another particularly useful aspect of the decision.
No. A foreign tax residence certificate is not the only acceptable way of proving non-residence in Portugal.
The Portuguese Tax Authority argued that the taxpayer had failed to provide a certificate confirming French tax residence.
The CAAD rejected the proposition that such a certificate was legally indispensable.
The tribunal stated that Portuguese law does not restrict taxpayers to one particular type of evidence when establishing their tax residence status. Other documentary evidence may therefore be used. CAAD
In this case, the taxpayer relied on documents including information from his French employer and the French Ministère de la Mer, which helped demonstrate the extensive periods spent working outside Portugal. CAAD
This distinction is especially relevant for internationally mobile individuals who may not qualify as tax residents of another country.
However, the evidential burden should not be underestimated. A taxpayer who has filed Portuguese returns as a resident or continues to maintain substantial links with Portugal should expect to substantiate a subsequent claim of non-residence carefully.
Can someone be tax resident in neither Portugal nor another country?
Potentially, yes.
This was one of the most interesting aspects of the case.
France had treated the taxpayer as a non-resident. The taxpayer was simultaneously arguing that he was also a non-resident of Portugal.
The Portuguese Tax Authority characterised this as a situation of “double non-residence” and argued that it supported Portuguese residence.
The tribunal rejected that reasoning.
Its task was first to determine whether the taxpayer satisfied the Portuguese domestic-law residence requirements contained in Article 16 CIRS.
The fact that another country did not regard the individual as tax resident could not, by itself, create Portuguese tax residence where the Portuguese statutory conditions were not satisfied.
The tribunal expressly recognised that, in principle, a situation of double non-residence may exist. CAAD
This is conceptually different from double non-taxation.
And it is also different from a situation where two countries simultaneously claim an individual as resident and the residence tie-breaker provisions of a Double Tax Treaty must consequently be applied.
What did the CAAD decide?
The CAAD concluded that the taxpayer was not a Portuguese tax resident for 2022 and 2023.
As a result, the tribunal:
- annulled the disputed Portuguese IRS assessments;
- ordered the Portuguese Tax Authority to refund the tax paid in excess;
- awarded compensatory interest to the taxpayer; and
- ordered the Tax Authority to bear the arbitration costs. CAAD
The amount at issue in the proceedings was €11,684.48. CAAD
Four important lessons from this Portuguese tax residency decision
1. A Portuguese fiscal address does not conclusively determine tax residence
Remaining registered with a Portuguese address on the Tax Authority’s records can create practical problems and should generally be corrected when circumstances change.
However, registration is not the substantive legal test contained in Article 16 CIRS.
Actual tax residence must be determined based on the applicable statutory criteria.
2. A spouse, children or family home in Portugal do not automatically make someone resident
Those factors are relevant and may be important evidence.
But they must be considered together with physical presence, employment, accommodation, personal circumstances and the taxpayer’s actual use of any Portuguese dwelling.
3. Portuguese non-residence does not necessarily require tax residence somewhere else
The domestic question is initially whether the individual satisfies the Portuguese residence rules.
Failing to qualify as resident of another country does not automatically make that person Portuguese tax resident.
4. The Portuguese habitual-home test requires more than simply having a property available
Article 16(1)(b) requires evidence of a current intention to maintain and occupy the dwelling as a habitual residence.
This requires an effective factual connection with Portugal rather than the mere availability of accommodation.
Why this matters for remote workers, seafarers and internationally mobile individuals
The decision is particularly relevant to people whose working arrangements do not fit neatly within traditional concepts of residence.
Examples include:
- seafarers and maritime workers;
- offshore workers;
- airline crew;
- employees working on international rotations;
- consultants spending substantial periods abroad;
- expatriates who have left Portugal but retain property here;
- individuals whose spouse or children remain temporarily in Portugal; and
- people whose fiscal address was never updated after moving abroad.
In these situations, simply counting days may not provide the full answer.
The correct analysis generally requires reviewing:
physical presence + availability of accommodation + actual use of the accommodation + professional activity + family circumstances + documentary evidence + applicable tax treaty provisions.
What evidence can help establish non-residence in Portugal?
There is no universal checklist because tax residence is highly fact-dependent.
Depending on the circumstances, useful evidence may include employment agreements, employer declarations, travel records, maritime or aviation records, accommodation records, immigration documentation, foreign tax filings, foreign tax assessments, utility records and evidence showing where professional and personal activities were actually carried out.
The strength of the evidence is particularly important when the taxpayer’s Portuguese records still identify him or her as resident.
A word of caution: the 183-day rule is not a safe harbour
One of the most common misconceptions in Portuguese international taxation is:
“I spend fewer than 183 days in Portugal, so I cannot be Portuguese tax resident.”
That statement is incorrect.
Article 16 expressly contains an alternative habitual-residence test. Portal das Finanças
The opposite misconception is also incorrect:
“My spouse and home are in Portugal, so I must be Portuguese tax resident.”
Residence requires a factual and legal assessment under Article 16.
The CAAD decision demonstrates precisely why both overly simplified approaches can produce the wrong result.
This decision should not be treated as a universal rule
Case 420/2025-T is highly relevant, but CAAD decisions are fact-specific and should not be read as creating an automatic exemption for people working abroad.
Indeed, Portuguese tax-residency disputes can produce different outcomes where the evidence differs.
A later 2026 CAAD decision concerning another seafarer working for a French employer reached the opposite conclusion, treating the individual as Portuguese tax resident based on the factual connections established in that case. CAAD
That contrast makes the central lesson even stronger:
Portuguese tax residence is determined by the facts and the statutory criteria — not merely by the number of days abroad, the address registered with the Tax Authority, or a single family connection.
Need to determine your Portuguese tax residency status?
For internationally mobile individuals, incorrectly determining Portuguese tax residence can have significant consequences.
Portuguese tax residents are generally subject to IRS on their worldwide income, whereas non-residents are generally taxable only on Portuguese-source income, subject to the applicable domestic rules and Double Tax Treaties.
At GoalSeek, we advise expatriates, remote workers, freelancers and internationally mobile professionals on Portuguese tax residency, foreign income and cross-border taxation.
If you have left Portugal, work mainly abroad, maintain property or family in Portugal, or are uncertain about the residence status appearing on your Portuguese tax records, the position should be reviewed based on your actual circumstances before filing or amending a tax return.
Contact GoalSeek for a Portuguese tax residency assessment tailored to your situation.
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