People who obtained residence in Portugal in 2024 will be able to register for the tax regime that replaced that of non-habitual residents, IFICI+, and will be able to do so until March 15, 2025, according to the Government.

The Minister of Economy, Pedro Reis, was speaking at the parliamentary committee on Economy, Public Works and Housing, as part of a regulatory hearing, and said that the ordinance regulating the tax incentive for scientific research, innovation and human capital (IFICI+) is about to be published.

The objective, stated the minister in response to questions posed by CDS-PP deputy Paulo Núncio, is for this new instrument to be operational from January 1, 2025, with the ordinance providing for a retroactive effect in order to cover those who became resident in Portugal in 2024.

In this first year of IFICI+ operation, interested parties will be able to register until March 15th, but in the future the deadline for registration will be January 15th (for those who became residents in the immediately previous year).

At issue is a new tax regime for attracting qualified workers, particularly in the areas of scientific research, to whom an IRS rate of 20% will be applied to income from dependent and independent work (categories A and B).

People who benefit or have benefited from the status of non-habitual resident or Return (aimed at former residents) are left out of IFICI+.

IFICI+ is also not accessible to people who have resided in Portugal in the last five years, a rule the same as that already existed for the Non-Habitual Resident Status (NHR).