Is my Portuguese job offer a good one?
Portuguese offers quote a gross salary that is paid 14 times a year, not 12, and a meal allowance usually comes on top. Here’s how to read the numbers, what the law requires and what to ask before you sign.
In 30 seconds
- By law you get a holiday payment and a Christmas payment, each worth a month’s pay, so a monthly salary is paid 14 times. Compare offers on the annual gross
- A meal allowance (subsídio de refeição) is common but not required by law. In 2026 it is free of tax up to €6.15 a day in cash or €10.455 a day on a meal card
- New residents in qualifying jobs may get IFICI, a flat 20% income tax rate for 10 years, and people up to 35 may get IRS Jovem. You must apply, and you can’t have both
Salary: why 14 payments?
Offers are usually written as a gross monthly salary (salário base) or a gross annual figure. Under the Labour Code (Código do Trabalho) you are entitled to a holiday payment (subsídio de férias), normally paid before your main holiday, and a Christmas payment (subsídio de Natal) worth a month’s pay, paid by 15 December. In your first and last year these are paid pro rata.
| How it’s written | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| €2,857 a month | 14 payments of €2,857 | €40,000 a year, about £33,900 |
| €40,000 a year | Divide by 14 for the normal monthly salary | €2,857 in a normal month, about £2,420 |
| Base plus bonus (prémio) | The bonus is paid only if the conditions are met | Ask whether it is contractual and how it is worked out |
So always compare the annual gross with your UK salary. A government reform that would have let staff and employers agree to spread the two extra payments over 12 months was rejected by Parliament on 19 June 2026, so the 14-payment rule stands. The pay calculator works out your take-home pay.
What comes off your pay
Your employer deducts income tax (IRS) and your social security contributions every month. The employee rate under the general scheme is 11% of gross pay, and the employer pays 23.75% on top. IRS is charged at progressive rates from 12.5% to 48% in 2026. In Madeira and the Azores each rate is 30% lower. As a rough guide, a single person on €40,000 on the mainland takes home about €27,450 a year (about £23,260); in Madeira about €29,900. How IRS works is in How much tax will I pay in Portugal?
The meal allowance
Most Portuguese employers pay a daily meal allowance (subsídio de refeição or de alimentação) for each day worked. It is not required by the Labour Code, although your collective agreement or contract may require it. It matters because part of it is free of tax and social security:
| Paid as | Free of tax up to | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, with your salary | €6.15 a day | The public sector rate for 2026 |
| Meal card or vouchers | €10.455 a day | 70% above the public sector rate. The card works in supermarkets, restaurants and cafés that take it |
Anything above these limits is taxed as salary. Ask how much the allowance is and how it is paid; a card can add a useful tax-free sum to your pay.
Collective agreements
Many jobs are covered by a collective agreement (convenção coletiva de trabalho), negotiated by unions and employers for a sector or a company and published in the Boletim do Trabalho e Emprego. The government can extend an agreement by ordinance (portaria de extensão) to all employers in that sector. An agreement often sets minimum pay for each job category, the meal allowance, extra holiday and how overtime is paid. Your contract can give you more, but not less. Ask which agreement applies and which category you are in.
The minimum wage
The minimum monthly wage (retribuição mínima mensal garantida) is set each year. For 2026 it is:
| Where | Per month | A year (14 payments) |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland Portugal | €920 (about £780) | €12,880 (about £10,900) |
| Azores | €966 | €13,524 |
| Madeira | €980 | €13,720 |
Contract types
| Contract | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sem termo (permanent) | The normal contract |
| A termo certo (fixed-term) | Only for temporary needs, such as covering an absent worker, a seasonal peak or a defined project. Must be in writing and give the reason. Up to 2 years in total, and it can be renewed up to 3 times |
| A termo incerto (open-ended fixed-term) | Lasts until a defined event, such as a colleague returning. Up to 4 years |
| Comissão de serviço | For management and trust posts. Any trial period must be agreed in writing and can’t exceed 180 days |
| Prestação de serviços (recibos verdes) | You work as self-employed, not as an employee, so you don’t get employee rights. See Can I freelance or start a side business? |
When the employer ends a fixed-term contract at its end date, you get compensation of 24 days’ base pay per year worked. More in What are my rights at work?
Trial period (período experimental)
Either side can end the contract during the trial period. On a permanent contract the maximum is:
- 90 days for most workers
- 180 days for jobs of technical complexity, high responsibility or special qualification, posts of trust, and people looking for their first job or long-term unemployed
- 240 days for directors and senior management
- 30 days on a fixed-term contract of 6 months or more, or 15 days if shorter
A collective agreement or a written agreement can shorten the trial period, not lengthen it.
If you need a visa
Since Brexit you need a residence visa that allows you to work, such as a work visa or a highly qualified activity visa, unless you already live in Portugal under the Withdrawal Agreement. Ask the employer who pays for the visa and documents, and how long they expect the process to take. See Which Portuguese visa do I need?
IFICI and IRS Jovem
| Scheme | What it gives | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| IFICI (tax incentive for scientific research and innovation, often called “NHR 2.0”) | A flat 20% IRS rate on employment and self-employment income from the qualifying job, for 10 consecutive years | People who become tax resident and weren’t resident in Portugal in any of the previous 5 years, in qualifying roles: university teaching and research, certified start-ups, R&D staff, highly qualified professions at qualifying exporting or investing companies, and others. Apply by 15 January of the year after you become resident. It can be used once, and not if you ever had NHR |
| IRS Jovem | Part of your employment and self-employment income is tax-free for 10 years: 100% in the first year, 75% in years 2 to 4, 50% in years 5 to 7 and 25% in years 8 to 10, on income up to 55 times the IAS (€29,542.15 in 2026) | People up to 35 who aren’t claimed as a dependant, in their first 10 years of earning. You choose it on your tax return. Not if you have or had NHR or IFICI |
Relocation help
There is no legal rule about relocation help. It is down to what you negotiate. Common items to ask about:
- Flights for you and your family
- Temporary accommodation for the first few weeks
- Shipping your belongings
- Visa fees and documents (police certificate, apostilles, translations) for your family
- Help with your tax number (NIF), social security number (NISS) and residence permit appointments
- A tax adviser to check IFICI or IRS Jovem
- Whether any of it must be repaid if you leave within a year or two
Questions to ask before you sign
- What is the gross annual salary, including the holiday and Christmas payments?
- How much is the meal allowance, and is it paid in cash or on a card?
- Which collective agreement covers the job, and which category am I in?
- Is the contract permanent? If fixed-term, what is the reason and length?
- How long is the trial period?
- What are the hours, and how is overtime paid?
- How many days of holiday, above the legal 22 working days?
- Will you support an IFICI application, if the job qualifies?
- Who handles and pays for my visa?
- What relocation help is there, and is any of it repayable?
What to do next
- Ask for the gross annual figure and the meal allowance in writing
- Run the annual gross through the pay calculator
- Talk to a Portuguese tax adviser about IFICI or IRS Jovem before you start
- Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa: Código do Trabalho (Lei 7/2009), consolidated text
- Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros: Means of subsistence (2026 minimum wage €920, Decree-Law 139/2025)
- Postal do Algarve: The minimum wage is not the same across the country (2026: €920 mainland, €966 Azores, €980 Madeira)
- Garrigues: Madeira minimum wage rises to €980 in 2026 (Regional Legislative Decree 1/2026/M, Feb 2026)
- Portal das Finanças: Código do IRS, article 2 (meal allowance limits)
- DNotícias (Lusa): Tax-free limit for meal allowance paid by card rises to €10.455 (21 Jan 2026)
- Coverflex: Meal allowance, what the law says (secondary)
- PwC Portugal: Tax guide 2026, social security (11% employee, 23.75% employer)
- Portal das Finanças: Código do IRS, article 68 (2026 rates)
- Portal das Finanças: Estatuto dos Benefícios Fiscais, article 58-A (IFICI)
- Sovereign Group: Portugal’s IFICI tax incentive regime for new tax residents (Ordinance 352/2024/1)
- Portal das Finanças: Código do IRS, article 12-B (IRS Jovem)
- RTP: After advances and retreats, what is at stake in the labour law package (May 2026)
- Renascença: Labour package rejected in Parliament (19 Jun 2026)