Latest news and stories about tax refunds in Portugal for expats and residents.
A technical error within the tax authority's systems has resulted in rejected bank transfers for tax refunds, despite valid IBAN verification, though officials claim the issue is isolated.
The State has already paid taxpayers approximately 165 million euros in income tax refunds, according to data sent by the Ministry of Finance to ECO. As of April 20, '204,000 refunds totaling 164.7 million euros have been paid by bank transfer,' the ministry indicates in its first assessment.
An error in the Tax Authority's system led to the rejection of bank transfers for IRS refunds, affecting several taxpayers and necessitating the issuance of cheques.
Workers and pensioners should prepare for smaller income tax refunds this year, with some even being required to pay. The warning comes from the head of the Order of Certified Accountants (OCC), who explains in an interview with ECO that this phenomenon is not due to a tax increase. Quite the opposite. It is intended to reflect changes retroactively.
In 2025, the average time for Automatic IRS refunds 'did not reach two weeks'. The Secretary of State for Tax Affairs says that the 'expectation is that refund deadlines will be close to those of last year'.
Taxpayers using the Automatic IRS system are expected to receive their refunds in under two weeks, while those submitting via the standard method should expect three to three and a half weeks, according to the Government. Secretary of State for Tax Affairs, Cláudia Reis Duarte, stated that the average refund times are expected to be similar to last year's. The increase in Automatic IRS users to approximately two million is largely due to the inclusion of young workers under the 'IRS Jovem' scheme. Despite changes to tax withholding tables throughout 2025, the government maintains that a significant portion of tax returns will still result in refunds.
