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IFICI (Portugal's tax incentive for scientific research and innovation)

Glossary term

Short answer

IFICI is the Portuguese regime in article 58.º-A of the Tax Benefits Statute that taxes net employment and business income from listed research, innovation and qualified activities at a special 20% rate for 10 consecutive years, for new residents who were not resident in Portugal in the five prior years.

IFICI stands for Incentivo Fiscal à Investigação Científica e Inovação. It was created by Lei n.º 82/2023, the State Budget Law for 2024, which also revoked the non-habitual resident (NHR) regime from 1 January 2024. It is often called NHR 2.0, but it depends on the person carrying out one of the activities listed in article 58.º-A(1), such as higher-education teaching and research, highly qualified professions in certain companies, research and development roles and jobs in certified startups.

Article 81.º(4) of the IRS Code applies the exemption method to foreign-source employment, business, capital, rental and capital gains income of people in the regime, with that income still counted for setting the rate on other income. The Tax Authority says pensions are the exception, and that income paid from listed low-tax jurisdictions is taxed at 35%.

Portaria n.º 352/2024/1 says the registration request is due by 15 January of the year after the person becomes resident. A late registration takes effect from the year it is made, only for the rest of the 10 years. People who have had NHR are excluded.

Not to be confused with

  • Tax residence. IFICI applies only once a person is resident under article 16.º of the IRS Code. It does not decide residence.
  • Non-dom. IFICI is not based on domicile. It depends on prior non-residence and on the activity the person carries out.

Sources

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Sources checked November 9, 2026