IFICI

IFICI (Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação, the Tax Incentive for Scientific Research and Innovation) is Portugal’s special personal income tax regime for people who become resident to do qualifying work. It is often called NHR 2.0 because it followed the non-habitual resident (RNH) regime for new arrivals, but it is narrower: it rewards eligible work, not wealth.

How IFICI works

• Legal basis: article 58.º-A of the Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais, added by Lei n.º 82/2023 of 29 December, and regulated by Portaria n.º 352/2024/1 of 23 December, as amended by Portaria n.º 52-A/2025/1.
• Rate: a special IRS rate of 20% on category A (employment) and category B (self-employment) income from eligible activities.
• Duration: 10 consecutive years from the year of registration as resident.
• Foreign-source income: generally exempt, with exceptions, including income from listed low-tax jurisdictions.
• Registration: by 15 January of the year after you become tax resident.

Who is eligible for IFICI in Portugal?

You may be eligible if you become tax resident in Portugal, were not tax resident there in any of the previous five years, have never benefited from the non-habitual resident regime, and carry out an activity listed in article 58.º-A, such as research, qualified jobs in certified companies or start-ups, or R&D roles. Confirm eligibility with a Portuguese tax advisor.

A talent regime, not a wealth regime

Read the eligibility list and the design is plain: the special rate attaches to income from eligible employment and self-employment. A founder who lives on dividends and capital gains, or a family whose income comes from investments, is not who it was written for. Passive investors do not qualify by design.

For families in the €2–20M range the useful question comes first: which of your income is work income, from which activity, paid by which entity? The decision also sits inside a larger one, your tax residence, and inside the tax planning your advisors do across every country involved. Our case file on a Portugal UAE double tax treaty question shows how a move looks when the facts are not assembled first.

PWA designs and runs the operating layer around private wealth. In our wealth planning and structuring work we map the family’s income by type, source and entity, so that a Portuguese tax advisor can confirm eligibility on evidence. If a move is on the table, a written second opinion sets out what to check before you commit.

Sources

• Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, IFICI frequently asked questions, accessed 2026-10-04.
• Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais, article 58.º-A (consolidated text), accessed 2026-10-04.
• Diário da República, Portaria n.º 352/2024/1, accessed 2026-10-04.
• AICEP Portugal Global, IFICI, accessed 2026-10-04.

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This entry is part of PWA’s plain-language glossary of terms used in modern family office architecture.