What is autonomous taxation (IRC)?
Autonomous taxation is a tax that falls on certain company expenses at a fixed rate, due even in a loss-making year.
TL;DR
Autonomous taxation is a tax that falls on certain company expenses at a fixed rate, regardless of profit, and is therefore due even in a loss-making year (article 88 of the Corporate Income Tax Code, CIRC). Light passenger vehicles are taxed by acquisition cost: for combustion cars at 8% (up to €37,500), 25% (€37,500 to €45,000) or 32% (from €45,000); for eligible plug-in hybrids at 2.5%, 7.5% or 15%; electric vehicles are not taxed up to the legal cost limit. Entertainment expenses are taxed at 10%, undocumented expenses at 50% and travel allowances not invoiced at 5%. With a tax loss, every rate rises by 10 percentage points.
What is autonomous taxation?
Autonomous taxation (tributação autónoma) is a tax that falls on certain expenses at a fixed rate, regardless of profit1. It is "autonomous" precisely because it runs separately from the IRC calculation: it does not depend on the company having taxable income.
The most important consequence is this: unlike IRC, which only exists if there is a profit, autonomous taxation is due even in a loss-making year. That is why a company with no profit can still have tax to pay. You can estimate how much in our autonomous taxation calculator.
The rates on the most common expenses
The rate depends on the type of expense. The most frequent cases are1:
| Expense | Rate |
|---|---|
| Entertainment expenses | 10% |
| Undocumented expenses | 50% |
| Travel allowances not invoiced to clients | 5% |
The rule to remember is that the rate falls on the expense, not on the profit: 50% of €1,000 of undocumented expenses is €500 of tax, whether or not there was a profit that year.
Light passenger vehicles
Vehicles are the case that weighs most for the majority of companies. The rate varies with the acquisition cost of the vehicle and its powertrain2:
| Acquisition cost | Combustion | Plug-in hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| Up to €37,500 | 8% | 2.5% |
| €37,500 to €45,000 | 25% | 7.5% |
| From €45,000 | 32% | 15% |
Fully electric vehicles are not taxed autonomously up to the acquisition-cost limit set in law; above that limit they become taxable.
There is a detail many people get wrong here: the rate applies to the annual costs of the car (depreciation, leases, insurance, fuel, maintenance), not to the price of the car. The acquisition cost is used only to pick the rate band.
The tax-loss surcharge
When the company reports a tax loss in the period, every autonomous-taxation rate rises by 10 percentage points1. So:
- a car at 25% becomes 35%;
- entertainment at 10% becomes 20%;
- undocumented expenses at 50% become 60%.
There are exceptions to this surcharge (for example the first and second year of activity), which the calculator does not model.
Worked example
A profitable company with a combustion car that cost €40,000 and €6,000 of annual costs, €2,000 of entertainment expenses and €1,000 of travel allowances not invoiced:
- vehicle: €40,000 falls in the €37,500 to €45,000 band, so 25% × €6,000 = €1,500;
- entertainment: 10% × €2,000 = €200;
- travel allowances: 5% × €1,000 = €50.
Autonomous taxation for the year is €1,750. If the same company had a tax loss, the rates would rise by 10 percentage points (35%, 20% and 15%) and the total would become €2,650.
Test your case in the autonomous taxation calculator.
How it relates to IRC
Autonomous taxation is added to the year's IRC, but it is a separate calculation from the IRC calculator, which works out the coleta on the taxable income. It is also worth knowing that autonomous taxation itself is not deductible from IRC: it does not reduce the taxable income. For the advance payments of the tax during the year, see the payment-on-account calculator.
What this calculation does not include
The calculator estimates only the most common items of autonomous taxation. It does not cover the 70% rate on undocumented expenses of exempt entities, payments to tax havens (35% or 55%), manager bonuses and severance (35%), LPG/CNG vehicles, the case of an electric vehicle above the cost limit, the exceptions to the tax-loss surcharge, or the specific rules of the autonomous regions (Madeira and the Azores). Use the estimate to get a sense of the order of magnitude and confirm the figures with your accountant.
Common mistakes
Thinking there is no tax to pay without a profit
Autonomous taxation is due even in a loss-making year. That is why many companies pay tax on these expenses despite having no profit.
Applying the car rate to the price of the car
The rate falls on the annual costs of the car (depreciation, leases, insurance, fuel, maintenance). The acquisition cost is used only to pick the rate band.
Forgetting the tax-loss surcharge
When the company has a tax loss, every rate rises by 10 percentage points (article 88 n.14): for example, a car at 25% becomes 35%.
Frequently asked questions
What is autonomous taxation in IRC?
How is autonomous taxation on company cars calculated?
What are the autonomous taxation rates?
Do electric vehicles pay autonomous taxation?
What happens to autonomous taxation with a tax loss?
Is autonomous taxation deductible from IRC?
Related reading & calculators
Sources
- 1.Corporate Income Tax Code (CIRC): art. 88 (autonomous taxation rates) — Diário da República · retrieved 14 Jun 2026
- 2.CIRC: art. 88 (consolidated text, vehicle rates) — Portal das Finanças (AT) · retrieved 14 Jun 2026
Author / Reviewed by
Author
Thorben Rasmus Idel
Co-founder & writer
Co-founder of Calculadora Capital and the writer behind the methodology on every calculator and article. An entrepreneur and active investor, Thorben founded Idel Versandhandel GmbH, an international trading company operating across 16 countries, and invests across stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrency. He writes the methodology and verifies the math behind each page, drawing on hands-on business and investing experience to keep the tools and explanations grounded in how money, markets and taxes actually work for everyday people in Portugal.
Reviewed by
Nahar Geva
Co-founder & reviewer
Co-founder of Calculadora Capital and the independent reviewer behind every calculator and article. An entrepreneur and active investor, Nahar brings a data- and product-driven mindset together with hands-on experience in the markets — investing across stocks and ETFs as well as cryptocurrency and other digital assets, alongside broader personal finance and real estate. On each page Nahar reviews the methodology and double-checks the math and figures, pressure-testing how the tools and explanations hold up against the way money, markets and taxes actually work for everyday investors.
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