Portugal does not tax capital gains resulting from the disposal of cryptocurrencies held for 365 days or more. This means that investments made in long-term cryptocurrencies will not be subject to any capital gains tax. Only capital gains arising from the disposal of cryptocurrencies held for a period of less than 365 days will be subject to 28% tax.

NFTs have also been excluded from taxation.

Transfers between wallets, addresses or own accounts are a non-taxable event and are therefore not taxed.

From January 2023, a new capital gains and cryptocurrency income tax regime has been established and all forms of remuneration earned from cryptocurrency-related activities are now classified as capital income and are subject to taxation at the standard rate of 28% if held for less than one year.

Included are not only gains obtained from the sale of cryptocurrencies, but also the activity of issuing crypto-assets where mining, staking and any other forms of income derived from cryptocurrency-related activities are included.

Regarding IMT, a tax applicable at the time of purchase of a property, it is established that the value to be considered to determine the IMT rate to be applied must include the value of the cryptocurrencies given in exchange.

The taxation of cryptocurrencies is also provided for at the stamp duty level. In the case of free transfers of cryptocurrencies there is a 10% stamp duty rate. In the case of commissions charged for cryptocurrency intermediation services, there is a 4% stamp duty rate on the value of the commissions.

It should be noted that Portugal has now included in the IRS Code an “exit tax” mechanism, under which taxpayers will be taxed if they wish to change their tax residence to another jurisdiction, as the loss of quality as a resident in national territory, as well as the cessation of activity, are equated to an onerous disposal of cryptocurrencies.

Tax Department

Sofia Quental | Flávia Almeida | Catarina Amaral