Will the special personal tax exemption on all foreign source income, and 20% tax rate for employment over a 10-year period also cease?
The non-habitual resident tax regime is independent of the golden visa program. The first is a fiscal benefit and the latter is a residency visa, therefore, the changes in the golden visa program won't affect the non-habitual resident tax benefit. The special personal tax exemption on all foreign source income, and 20% tax rate for employment over a 10-year period will not change.
Legal residency and tax residency should not be mistaken for one another. The non-habitual residency (NHR) needs approval from Portuguese tax authorities while residencies are approved by the Portuguese Foreigners and Border Services – also known as the SEF. The changes that are to occur on December 31 refer to the legal residences, specifically those issued under the rules of golden visa applications. Therefore, as one is not dependent or conditioned on the other, you can still become a tax resident in Portugal and benefit from the NHR, as this regime won’t change by the end of the year.
When Portugal changes the golden visa program, there won't be any effect in the non-habitual resident tax regime. Until this moment (November 2021), there is no change in the special personal tax exemption on all foreign source income and in the 20% tax rate for employment. The investor only needs to hold the investment during the 5 years of the golden visa.
Golden visa is a totally independent program from the non habitual tax resident regime. As such, the golden visa amendments have no impact in the NHR program, which continues to be enforce with no changes.
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