IFICI, the Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação, is Portugal's tax regime for new residents in scientific research, innovation and a defined list of qualified professions. It was created by the 2024 State Budget and detailed in Portaria 352/2024/1, later amended by Portaria 52-A/2025/1. It taxes qualifying Portuguese employment and self-employment income at a flat 20 percent for ten consecutive years and exempts most foreign-source income. It replaced the non-habitual resident regime, which closed to new entrants after the 2024 transitional rules.
The five conditions
The Tax and Customs Authority's published guidance sets out five cumulative conditions. You become tax resident in Portugal under the general rules in Article 16 of the IRS Code. You were not tax resident in Portugal in any of the five years before. You have not benefited from the non-habitual resident regime or the former resident regime. You carry out one of the listed activities. You register with the competent body by the deadline.
Residence under Article 16 usually means more than 183 days in Portugal in any twelve-month period, or a home on 31 December that you intend to keep as your habitual residence.
Eligible activities
The activity list is where most applications succeed or fail. The categories in Portaria 352/2024/1 as amended include teaching in higher education and scientific research, including posts in institutions integrated into the national science and technology system. Qualified jobs and board positions in companies benefiting from Portugal's contractual investment tax regime or recognised as relevant to the national economy. Highly qualified professions listed in the regulation, performed in companies that meet defined export or investment criteria, including companies certified as start-ups under the Start-up Law. Research and development roles where the costs are eligible for the SIFIDE tax credit.
The professional list is defined by classification code and covers, among others, directors and executive managers, specialists in physics, mathematics, engineering, information technology, medicine, and university teaching. The employer's status matters as much as the job title.
The rate and the exemption
Qualifying employment income and business or professional income from the eligible activity are taxed at 20 percent. Other Portuguese income, such as rental income or Portuguese dividends, follows the normal rules. Foreign-source employment, business, investment, rental and capital gains income is exempt in Portugal, subject to a rule that it is not sourced in a listed tax haven.
Foreign pensions are not exempt. They are taxed at the ordinary progressive rates, which reach 48 percent plus the solidarity surcharge. Retirees who relied on the old ten percent pension rate under the non-habitual resident regime should not assume IFICI replaces it.
Registration and the deadline
The application goes to the body responsible for the activity: the Tax and Customs Authority for most professional categories, the Foundation for Science and Technology for research posts, the investment agency for contractual investment companies, and Startup Portugal for certified start-ups. The deadline is 15 January of the year after the year you became resident. For someone who became resident during 2026, the deadline is 15 January 2027.
The Tax and Customs Authority's own FAQ confirms that a late application does not disqualify you, but the regime then starts from the year the application is made and the remaining years are lost from the ten.
