Tax Authority allows IRS corrections for cancer patients

Wednesday, 13 May 2026AI summary
Tax Authority allows IRS corrections for cancer patients
Photo: JOÃO PORFÍRIO/OBSERVADOR

Cancer patients can now request corrections to their personal income tax (Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Singulares or IRS) returns for previous years. This follows a Supreme Court ruling favoring taxpayers whose disability ratings were reassessed below 60%, with the government confirming the issue is now resolved.

Context & Explainers

The IRS withholding tables (tabelas de retenção na fonte) are government-published schedules that determine how much personal income tax (Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Singulares — IRS) employers must deduct from each paycheck. They take into account gross pay, marital status, number of dependents, and disability status.

The tables are updated annually (and sometimes mid-year when budgets change), directly affecting monthly take-home pay. When tables are revised downward, workers see more in their pay packet; when raised, less. Any difference between amounts withheld and the actual tax owed is settled when the annual IRS return (Modelo 3) is filed, typically between April and June.

Employees and pensioners should check the current tables — published by the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT) — whenever they change, as the impact on net income can be significant.