To have the right to work in Portugal, you need to have a Personal Number for Taxation (Número de Contribuinte). The employer must ask you for your number, and register it on your employee dossier.

If an employer offers a job without asking for this number, there is a strong possibility that your wages will not be paid, and that the Social Security Tax, drawn from the wages, will not be handed over to the Social Security System.

In principle, all income earned in Portugal is taxable. The rate of tax depends on marital status, the number of persons working in the family, and on the size of the family.

For income tax, you are strongly recommended to have a Consultant or an Accountant because so many pieces of legislation are applicable in each case.

The fees are not expensive, and apart from your need to ensure that you are paying the right amount of tax, you are also required to nominate a representative to the income tax services.

More information on the Portuguese tax system can be found at the site of the Portuguese Ministry of Finance.