AlexGee

Hi Diddion,

thank you, I know that I only have time until end of March. This is why I want to apply within the next few days. I just want to ensure that the application goes through smoothly and that I avoid silly mistakes.

Can someone confirm, that I have to apply NHR for the year 2019, because I gained residency in 2019, or can I choose between 2019 and 2020?

RichardHenshall

NHR application without accountant

Diddion

You cannot choose.

If you came to Portugal in December 2019 then your first year of residency is 2019.
Your application, for 2019, must be made by that 31 March deadline, and there are 3 simple questions:
Your nationality
The year you came to Portugal to live
Confirmation that you have not been a resident in Portugal during the preceding 5 years.

NB. I am not sure about the cut-off dates for application under the ´old`, existing, rules.

orangeblossom

Just for info, when I clicked this link I got a message saying page not available.

RichardHenshall

It's supposed to link back to post #81 in this thread. It does for me on both my devices.

orangeblossom

Isn't it the case though that if someone came in December 2019 and had therefore spent less than half the year in Portugal they would not technically have been resident in Portugal in 2019? (only declaring intention to reside permanently from Dec 2019 onwards.) Alex Gee was clearly not tax resident in 2019 so I don't understand why he couldn't have his ten years count from the 2020 tax year. I'm not try to dispute what you say just to understand. It all comes back to that vagary in the use of the word 'resident' without being specific about tax residency, actual residency, intention to to remain resident etc. I believe that with respect to NHR declaring that one has not been resident in the past five years should mean not tax-resident.

When I registered as 'resident' in December I was not asked at the Camera if I intended to stay permanently, as far they knew or cared I was declaring that I had been in the country for 90 days and doing as I was supposed to do. There is also a phrase I've seen quoted somewhere about having been present in the country on 31st December of a given year then NHR has to be applied for by March of the following year. In my case, as it happened, between my registering at the Camera and the end of the year my situation changed and I decided I would not be able to settle here from 2020, so I was not actually present in Portugal on 31st December.
Are you saying that your understanding of the NHR rules is that having been resident for 3 months in 1919 (though not tax resident) I would not then be able to appy for NHR or whatever might replace it before 2026?

Diddion

Sorry, I can’t offer a useful opinion, and it would be dangerous for you not to apply if you are in the count-down period, as it might be wasteful if you start the ball rolling too early. Difficult one. But if your NIF is registered to a Portuguese address then my thoughts would be to go ahead. It is all but certain that a later application would be refused, at least initially, as others have found, and there would be no guarantee that an appeal Not a quick process) would be successful.

Another point is that, if your residency status is such that you are not entitled to apply I cannot see that NHR could be available. Have you tried to go to the application page on the Finanças website, to see what happens? You might get a message, before the form fully loads, saying that you cannot apply. This happens to me (I have NHR) if I try to load the form again - the fields I would otherwise have needed to complete do not appear.

AlexGee

Hi Diddion,

I went to the application page at Financas portal and it's clear what to enter - I just thought to get some opinions prior to pressing the "submit" button. I will apply for sure, but a now, or next week does not matter.

Diddion

Alex, I just don’t know when your tax residency started. That is the critical issue, here, as to whether we are talking of 2019 or 2020. Do you know the answer to that? Worth being a tad clearer on this, before going ahead.

AlexGee

Dear Diddion,

effective date displayed at the Financas portal is stated 6th of December 2019

RichardHenshall

http://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt...ges/irs16.aspx covers this matter.

You need to ensure that you do not cross the 183 day threshhold in any 365 day period. If say you spent all of September to December 2019 in Portugal and registered residency at the Camara in December (as required), you need to ensure that you spend no more than 2 months in Portugal before the start of November 2020 or you will have become tax resident, with effect from September 2019.

Diddion

Very good point, Richard. So, Alex, a couple of months total in Portugal before before November?

AlexGee

So complicated...

Officially I entered Portugal beginning of September and registered beginning of December as you stated.

I don't mind to be tax resident from September 2019 in Portugal with NHR as I did not have any regular income since August, despite a one-time payment from my former employer in 2020, which is taxed anyhow in Germany.

Bottom line: I should be fine, if applying NHR now results in tax residency by September 2019 and not for full year 2019

btw: great discussion and support - thank you

Diddion

You are not taxed on income and gains in the period before becoming resident. Your tax residency cannot start before you are resident; before 2015, when the regulations were changed, tax residency did apply for the full year. We arrived here in April 2018, having earned money and made a gain in the UK beforehand. This was declared on our 2018 tax return, and Portugal did not tax it.

The NHR status is used up in chunks of 1 year, so you will have used up your first year and will now be in your second year.

RichardHenshall

Alex, I suspect that the date you mentioned in December may well be the key date for you. The tax code has rules that allow the Portuguese to claim taxation rights on the income of people who are trying to avoid paying. If you are voluntarily declaring yourself (tax-)resident, I think they'll be happy to take what they're offered.