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Leave Portugal for Cyprus, cleanly.

A Cyprus company pays 15%, and with non-dom status you pay no tax on dividends. Portugal takes 28%. It has no general exit tax, but an old share swap can trigger a charge, so have a Portuguese tax adviser check that first.

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What's left after tax.

Portugal takes 19% of the company's profit, then 28% of the dividend. Move the slider to your own profit.

€200,000
In Portugal
Corporate tax
−€38,000
Tax on dividends
−€45,360
You keep
€116,640
In Cyprus
Corporate tax
−€30,000
Health contribution (GeSY)
−€4,505
You keep
€165,495

More in your pocket+€48,855every year

More in your pocket +€48,855 every year

Portugal: 19% corporate tax for 2026, then the 28% flat rate on dividends. A municipal surcharge of up to 1.5% of profit comes on top and isn't counted here. The corporate rate falls to 18% in 2027 and 17% in 2028.

Headline rates for a founder who takes the profit out as dividends and has become Cyprus tax resident with non-dom status. Your own figures will differ. This is an illustration, not tax advice.

What leaving Portugal involves.

Portugal is easier to leave than most of its neighbours. The costs sit in your share history and your paperwork. Settle these with a Portuguese adviser before anything is filed.

  • No exit tax on shares you've kept

    On leaving, Portugal only taxes gains that escaped tax at an earlier share swap, merger or demerger, or when a sole-trader business went into a company. If you formed the company and kept the same shares, there's nothing to tax. After a swap, the old gain falls due.

  • Moving the company itself costs tax

    If your Portuguese company moves abroad itself, it pays tax on the market value of all its assets above their tax value, even goodwill and software that were never on the books. It can pay over five years. A new Cyprus company alongside avoids this.

  • Low tax needs real substance

    While you're still Portuguese resident, Portugal can tax you on a Cyprus company's profit if it pays under 9.5% tax and you own 25% or more. The 15% rate is above that line. The IP Box's 3% is below it, so real premises and people in Cyprus matter.

  • The year splits when you leave

    Your Portuguese residence ends on your last day in Portugal, not on 31 December. Income after that date is outside the Portuguese tax base, so time a large dividend or share sale with your adviser.

  • Change your tax address within 60 days

    Until you update your tax address (domicílio fiscal) on the Portal das Finanças, the tax office treats you as resident at the old one, and its letters there count as delivered. You need no tax representative for a move within the EU.

  • Property keeps its taxes

    Keep the Lisbon flat and you keep its property tax, the extra property tax (AIMI) above €600,000 of rateable value, and Portuguese tax on the rent. Leaving Portugal sheds none of it.

What Cyprus adds.

One 15% rate with no municipal surcharge and no schedule to track, and dividends free of tax for 17 years with non-dom status.

Corporate tax
15%
One flat rate, with no local surcharges.
Tax on dividends
0%
As a non-dom, for up to 17 years.
Days a year for tax residency
60
Under the 60-day rule, with a home and a business here.
Wealth or inheritance tax
0
Cyprus has neither.
  • As a Portuguese citizen you're an EU citizen, so you register with the Yellow Slip, which we file with you. No visa, no permit.
  • Running your own Cyprus company counts towards the 60-day rule, and a director who really works here is part of the substance Portugal looks for.
  • The tax treaty between Portugal and Cyprus settles competing residence claims. Your Cyprus tax residence certificate is the document Portugal's tax office will ask for.
  • Qualifying income from intellectual property, such as your own software, is taxed at an effective 3% under the IP Box, once you've really moved.

Step by step, in order.

Every move runs at its own speed. Read it as an order, not as dates.

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  1. First

    Check your share history

    A Portuguese tax adviser checks whether your shares carry an old untaxed gain from a swap, and whether you're moving yourself or the company. Those two answers shape the whole exit. We can recommend an adviser if you need one.

  2. Month 1We do this

    Form the Cyprus company

    We register it with tax, VAT and VIES. Your books open the day you order.

  3. Month 1 to 3We do this

    Yellow Slip and a home

    We apply for your Yellow Slip with you. You rent or buy the Cyprus home the 60-day rule needs and become a director of your Cyprus company.

  4. Around departure

    Fix your last day in Portugal

    Choose the date with your adviser, because it closes the Portuguese tax base. Then change your tax address on the Portal das Finanças within 60 days and keep the confirmation.

  5. First filing season

    File the split-year return

    Your Portuguese accountant files the income tax return for the part of the year you were resident, and deals with the Portuguese company.

  6. First filing seasonWe do this

    Tax residency and non-dom

    We register your Cyprus tax residency and non-dom status, then keep your day counts and Cyprus filings in order.

  7. Every year afterWe do this

    Keep both sides in order

    We get your Cyprus tax residence certificate for each year Portugal might ask about. If you kept property in Portugal, your adviser keeps filing for it.

The Cyprus side, done for you.

Fixed prices, excl. VAT, agreed before you start. Government fees are charged at cost, on top of our fee, once your application is approved.

What Portuguese founders want to know.

Still unsure? Talk to a person on WhatsApp, or book a free call below.

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Usually not. Portugal has no general exit tax. It only taxes a gain that escaped tax at an earlier share swap, merger or demerger, or when a sole-trader business went into a company. If you formed your company and kept the same shares, or bought them for cash, there's nothing to tax. If a holding company was put above yours through a swap, the untaxed part falls due in the year you leave.

On your last day in Portugal. Portugal splits the year, so income after that date is outside its tax base. Portugal's 183-day test counts any 12 months, not just a calendar year, so days from the previous winter still count. A home kept ready for your own use in Portugal can also keep you resident on few days.

Most founders keep it for its existing business or wind it down, and open a new Cyprus company alongside. That route costs no exit tax. Moving the Portuguese company itself abroad is different. It pays tax on the market value of all its assets, including goodwill and software never on its books, though it can spread the payment over five years. Decide this before forming anything.

Then Portugal taxes you as a resident. Cyprus dividends meet the 28% flat rate, or you can add half of them to your income tax return instead, which helps on moderate income but not at the top rate. If the company pays under 9.5% tax, as with the IP Box, Portugal can also tax its profit in your hands, unless it has real staff, equipment and premises in Cyprus.

Yes, but its taxes stay with it. You keep paying property tax, the extra property tax (AIMI) above €600,000 of rateable value, and Portuguese tax on any rent. A home kept ready for your own use can also keep you Portuguese resident on few days, so decide what the flat is for before you leave.

Almost certainly not. IFICI requires that you weren't Portuguese tax resident in any of the previous five years, so a founder living in Portugal today can't get it. It's for people arriving, and only for income from eligible activities such as research, innovative companies and startups. A consultancy or a holding company doesn't qualify.

EU rules decide which country's system you belong to, and you're in one at a time. Your Portuguese contributions still count when your pension is worked out, so they aren't lost. If you're self-employed and really move your work, you leave the Portuguese system and join Cyprus's. Ask Segurança Social in writing before you go, while you still have a Portuguese address.

No. Under the 60-day rule you can be Cyprus tax resident with 60 days a year here, a home you rent or own, a business or job in Cyprus, and no more than 183 days in any other country. Running your own Cyprus company can count as the business. You can visit Portugal, as long as you stay under 183 days there in any 12 months and don't keep a home there as your usual one.

No. We build and run the Cyprus side. For your share history, your departure date and anything else in Portugal, work with a Portuguese tax adviser. We can recommend one if you need it.

Plan your move with us.

Tell us what you own and when you'd like to move. We'll tell you what applies, what it costs, and what to do first.

  • Which rules at home affect you
  • The order to do things in
  • A fixed price for the Cyprus side

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