2025 IRS

The IRS tax return doesn’t have to be a puzzle. Find out what the main new features are and what you need to bear in mind in order to submit your tax return with peace of mind.

| Are you a tax resident in Portugal?

You must submit a tax return for 2024 between 1 April and 30 June 2025, in which you must include all the income you earned during the year, but with some exceptions.

If you have earned capital income through your Bison Bank account (e.g. interest on term deposits, dividends, etc.), this has already been subject to IRS withholding tax in Portugal at the rate of 28% or 35% (or reduced if you are a tax resident in one of the Autonomous Regions). As such, you are not obliged to include this income in your tax return, unless:

• You wish to opt for the aggregation of this income (i.e. taxation at the general IRS rates); or
• You have had tax withheld at source abroad (in this case, you must include the income and the tax withheld in order to eliminate double taxation).

Did you know…?

When dividends/profits from Portuguese sources are included (i.e. taxed at the general IRS rates), are only 50 per cent of their value taken into account? This regime may also be applicable to dividends/profits from the European Union or the European Economic Area, provided certain conditions are met.

The option to include all income from capital in your personal tax return, including that already subject to tax relief, means that all income from capital will be taxed at the general rates. With this option, this income will be taxed at the general IRS rates.

… and even if…?

If you have a negative balance (capital losses) from the sale of securities, you can use this balance to offset any capital gains you make in the following five years. But beware! In order to make this deduction possible, you must select the option to include capital gains in your personal income tax return for the year in which you realise these losses. Depending on the case, you may also have to select this option in subsequent years.

| I’m not a tax resident in Portugal

You only have to file a tax return for 2024 if you have earned income from a Portuguese source or realised gains/losses on assets from a Portuguese source, but there are some exceptions.

If you have earned capital income through your Bison Bank account (e.g. interest on term deposits, dividends, etc.), this has already been subject to final IRS withholding tax and, as such, you are not obliged to submit a tax return to report this income.

What’s more, even if you have lined up Portuguese securities, you can benefit from an IRS exclusion, which frees you from filing a tax return, provided you fulfil certain conditions.

Did you know…?

You can request that a reduced IRS withholding tax rate be applied to capital income earned on your Bison Bank account if you reside in a country with which Portugal has signed a Double Taxation Convention. To do this, you must provide us with form 21-RFI, as well as a tax residence certificate issued by the tax authorities in your country of residence.