Minimum Subsistence Allowance
Up to what income is no IRS due in Portugal? Enter your gross annual income to see the Article 70 allowance, the taxable income left, and the tax it saves.
Enter ONE taxpayer's gross annual income. Household income is optional and only tests the Article 70(4) brake; leave it at zero to skip it.
Below €10,880.00 of gross income the taxable income is zero. The allowance reaches zero from €15,910.25.
The allowance only applies to taxpayers whose income comes predominantly from employment, pensions, or the professions in annex i to Portaria 1011/2001 (except code 15). This calculator does not verify that condition.
What the minimum subsistence rule is now (and no longer is)
For years the mínimo de existência was a floor: nobody was left, after IRS, below a certain net income. Since 2024 it is something different, an ALLOWANCE subtracted from taxable income before the brackets apply. That is why the question people now ask is "how much is the minimum subsistence allowance", not "what is the minimum subsistence". The change came with Law 24-D/2022 and took effect on 1 January 2024.
The reference value is 14 × the minimum wage
Article 70(1) sets the reference value as the greater of a fixed amount and 1.5 × 14 × IAS. In 2026 the fixed amount is €12,880 and the IAS side gives €11,279.73, so the fixed amount applies. And €12,880 is exactly 14 × €920, the 2026 minimum wage, the same identity held in 2025 (14 × 870 = €12,180) and 2024 (14 × 820 = €11,480). The reference value is not an arbitrary number: it is the annualised minimum wage.
Minimum-wage earners pay no IRS, and the arithmetic shows why
On €12,880 of gross income the allowance is €6,292.91 and the taxable income comes to €2,000. The first-bracket rate of 12.5% applies to that, producing tax of exactly €250, the same figure as the cap on general family invoices, the receipts you ask for with your tax number. That deduction cancels the tax and the IRS comes to zero. This is not a coincidence: it is why the formula subtracts the general-expenses cap divided by the first-bracket rate.
Three bands, and the allowance runs out at €15,910
Article 70(2) has three paragraphs. Up to the reference value the allowance is the difference between that value and the sum of the specific deduction and the converted general-expenses cap. Above the reference value and up to €14,641.67 the allowance falls by €2.60 for each extra euro of income. Above that threshold it falls by €1.35 per euro, reaching zero at around €15,910 of gross income. Beyond that, IRS is computed with no allowance at all.
Who qualifies, and when the household takes it away
The allowance goes to taxpayers whose gross income comes predominantly from employment, from pensions, or from the professions listed in annex i to Portaria 1011/2001 (except code 15, "other service providers"). But Article 70(4) has a brake that catches the whole household: if the combined gross income of all taxpayers exceeds 2.2 × 14 × IAS per taxpayer, €16,543.60 in 2026, or €33,087.20 for a couple, none of them gets the allowance, however low each individual income is.
What this calculator does not do
It computes ONE taxpayer’s allowance, on the mainland, with the 2026 tables. It does not decide whether your income comes "predominantly" from an eligible category (that is flagged, never enforced), it does not assemble the full definition of "gross income" in Article 70(5) (capital gains enter as the positive balance, rental income as the positive result), it does not compute tax credits (that is the IRS deductions calculator) or the final tax, and it does not cover the Azores and Madeira. Under joint taxation the allowance is worked out per taxpayer and then added up.
Worked example
Take €12,880 of gross annual employment income, the €920 minimum wage paid fourteen times. The specific deduction is €4,587.09 (8.54 × IAS, higher than the 11% social-security contributions) and the converted general-expenses cap is €2,000. The allowance is 12,880 − (4,587.09 + 2,000) = €6,292.91. Taxable income comes to 12,880 − 4,587.09 − 6,292.91 = €2,000, on which the tax is €250.00, cancelled by the general invoices. Without the allowance the tax would be €1,036.61.
Frequently asked questions
Up to what income is no IRS due in Portugal in 2026?
What is the minimum subsistence value in Portugal for 2026?
How is the minimum subsistence allowance calculated?
At what income does the allowance disappear?
Who is entitled to the minimum subsistence allowance?
Is the minimum subsistence still a guaranteed net income?
Does this replace the IRS calculator?
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Sources
- Código do IRS, art. 70.º (mínimo de existência) · Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira
- Lei n.º 73-A/2025 (Orçamento do Estado para 2026), alteração ao art. 70.º do CIRS · Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira
- Código do IRS, art. 68.º (escalões e taxa do 1.º escalão em 2026) · Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira
- Código do IRS, art. 78.º-B (limite das despesas gerais familiares: 250 € por sujeito passivo) · Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira
- Código do IRS, art. 25.º (dedução específica do trabalho dependente) · Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira
Author: Thorben Rasmus Idel · Reviewed by: Nahar Geva · Last reviewed: 2026-09-18