Frequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions about Portuguese net-pay calculations, the IRS withheld at source and social security. The content here is still being written.
Questions & answers
- What is the difference between gross and net pay?
- Gross pay (bruto) is the figure on your contract, before anything is taken off. Net pay (líquido) is what actually reaches your account, after two deductions: your social-security contribution of 11% of gross, and the IRS withheld at source, which depends on your household situation and dependents. The calculator starts from the gross and subtracts both to show the net, plus the total cost to your employer.
- Why does the monthly figure differ from the annual IRS?
- Because they are two different calculations. What comes off each payslip is the monthly withholding, an advance on the tax read from the official Mainland tables. The IRS you truly owe is settled the following year, when the annual brackets are applied to your whole-year income after deductions. That settlement can refund you, if you withheld too much, or charge extra, if you withheld too little. This tool models the monthly withholding, not the annual settlement.
- Does this work for Madeira and the Azores?
- No — the calculator uses the Mainland (Continente) withholding tables. Madeira and the Azores enact their own tables, with reduced values, so the IRS withheld there is lower than the figure shown here. Social security is the same nationwide, but the income-tax side differs, so treat this as a Mainland calculation until a regional option is added.
- How do dependents change the result?
- Dependents lower the IRS withheld. Which table applies depends on your situation — unmarried with no dependents, unmarried with dependents, or a married single earner — and each dependent then reduces the tax through an additional amount to deduct. With three or more dependents there is a further relief: the top marginal rate of your bracket is cut by one percentage point. Choosing the situation and the number of dependents in the calculator walks the correct table.
- Why is pay quoted over fourteen payments?
- Portuguese salaries usually come in fourteen instalments a year: twelve monthly salaries plus a holiday allowance and a Christmas allowance, each about a month’s pay. The extra payments do not change your ordinary monthly net, because each allowance is withheld on its own at the regular monthly rate rather than stacked on a normal salary. So an annual figure is worth checking: it may be stated over twelve months or fourteen.
- What is the take-home pay at the minimum wage?
- At the minimum wage of 920,00 € a month, the IRS withheld is zero — the minimum sits in the 0% band, protected by the minimum-of-existence rule. So the only deduction is the employee’s social-security share of 11%, and the net is simply the gross minus that single slice. Across fourteen payments the annual minimum comes to 12 880,00 €.
- Does the calculator apply IRS Jovem?
- No. IRS Jovem is a tapering exemption for young workers, and whether it applies depends on conditions the tool cannot check — your age, how many years of income you have had, and whether you have used it before. So the default calculation leaves it off, and your real tax could be lower if you qualify. The IRS Jovem page explains the tapering percentages and the annual cap as an explainer, not a personalised result.
The full content of this page is still being written.