From April 1st to June 30th, 2024, there was a deadline in Portugal for individuals to confirm their automatic income declaration or submit their income declaration, i.e. the model 3 IRS declaration for 2023.

The declaration submitted results in an assessment note issued by the Portuguese tax office, which is the calculation of the tax you must pay or receive.

If you believe that the tax authorities have made a mistake in this assessment note, for example by not recognizing a tax deduction from some tax you have already paid abroad, or the exemption of some income, or even, for example, by applying a higher rate than is due, charging you too much tax, or refunding you less tax than estimated, you can complain about this assessment note.

You can do this by submitting an administrative complaint to the Tax Administration itself, asking it to review your declaration and the tax calculation, and providing the necessary proof to show that the assessment note is wrong.

The deadline for this is 120 days from the date on which the deadline for voluntary payment expires. In other words, if you had until August 31, 2024, to pay the tax, you have until December 30, 2024, to complain.

Even if you believe that the tax assessed by the tax authority is wrong, you must pay it, otherwise an enforcement procedure will be launched. Alternatively, if you meet the legal requirements, you can also request a payment plan in installments.

If the tax office doesn’t agree with you, you can always file a hierarchical appeal, asking the hierarchical superior of the body that issued the decision to look into the matter again.

As a last resort, and if justified, you can also go to court to make your case. In this scenario, you can appeal to the Administrative and Tax Court or, alternatively, request the constitution of an arbitral tribunal at the Administrative Arbitration Center (“CAAD”). Appealing to CAAD, although it involves paying a higher administrative justice fee, results in cases being decided much more quickly, with an average decision time of 6 months, and is just as binding on the tax authorities as a decision issued by the Administrative and Tax Court.

If the error in the assessment note relates to previous years, it is still possible to challenge it by making a request for an ex-officio review addressed to the Tax Office, provided that the error in the assessment note is attributable to the Tax Authority.

If you are found to be right, either by the AT itself or by the courts, you will be refunded the tax you overpaid and may even receive interest on this amount.

Therefore, if you believe that the assessment note issued by the Tax Authority is wrong, we advise you to seek tax advice in order to confirm whether, in view of what you have declared and the legislation in force, there is indeed an error, and whether it is possible to react to it and in what terms.

In view of the above, the of – Sucursal em Portugal demonstrates its total availability to support and advise you in your representation before the TA or before the courts, providing all the necessary information with a view to correcting any errors detected in your IRS assessment.