- Crypto-asset service providers need MiCA authorization. Banco de Portugal is the main authority for providers, and the CMVM supervises offers, market abuse and part of the conduct rules. The old Portuguese registration for crypto businesses ended on 1 July 2026.
- According to the tax authority’s leaflet of December 2025, individuals pay no tax on gains from crypto held for 365 days or more. Gains on crypto held for less than 365 days are taxed at a flat 28%, or you can opt to add them to your other income.
- Swapping one crypto for another is not taxed. Tax arises when you sell for money or exchange crypto for something other than crypto. Mining and issuing crypto count as commercial activities.
- Companies pay corporate income tax: 19% for tax periods starting in 2026, 18% for 2027 and 17% from 2028.
- A law of 3 June 2026 (Lei 26/2026) applies the EU crypto reporting rules (DAC8) from 1 January 2026. The first reports cover 2026 and are due by 31 May 2027.
This page covers private individuals and companies that hold, trade or accept crypto in Portugal. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. The tax authority is the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT).
Legal status
Law 69/2025, published on 22 December 2025, executes the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in Portugal. It splits the supervision between two authorities.
| Authority | Responsible for |
|---|---|
| Banco de Portugal | Asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens (stablecoins), and the authorization and conduct rules for crypto-asset service providers. It is also the contact point for service providers. |
| CMVM (securities regulator) | Offers and admission to trading of other crypto-assets, and market abuse. |
An application for authorization as a service provider goes to Banco de Portugal, which forwards it to the CMVM within two business days. The CMVM has 15 business days to give a reasoned opinion, and if it says nothing, it is treated as having no objection. The two authorities must publish the list of authorized providers.
The end of the old registration
Before MiCA, providers of virtual-asset services registered with Banco de Portugal. Under article 30 of Law 69/2025, firms registered on 30 December 2024 whose activity had started could continue until 1 July 2026, or until they were granted or refused a MiCA authorization, whichever came first. Registrations of firms that had not started by 30 December 2024 lapsed on that date. After the transition, a firm may not carry on virtual-asset activities unless it has MiCA authorization.
Providing crypto-asset services without authorization is a very serious offense. For very serious offenses the fine for a company is between €25,000 and €5,000,000, and the maximum can be raised to 5% of turnover for crypto-asset services.
Tax for individuals
Check for changes. The rules below come from the AT leaflet on crypto-assets dated December 2025 and from AT binding information of October 2025. The 2026 State Budget (Law 73-A/2025 of 30 December 2025) amended the personal income tax code, for example by repealing paragraph 19 of article 72. We could not read the budget law and could not confirm that it left the crypto rules unchanged.
A special tax regime for crypto-assets has applied since 1 January 2023 (Law 24-D/2022). The AT defines a crypto-asset as any digital representation of value or rights that can be transferred or stored electronically using distributed ledger technology. Unique non-fungible assets (NFTs) are excluded.
Gains on sale
| Holding period | Tax treatment | Where you declare it |
|---|---|---|
| 365 days or more | Gains and losses are excluded from tax | Annex G1 |
| Less than 365 days | Taxed at an autonomous 28%, or you can opt to add the gain to your other income | Annex G |
- Crypto bought before 1 January 2023 counts toward the 365 days: the time you held it before that date is included.
- The units you bought first are treated as sold first (FIFO).
- Losses can be carried forward for five years if you opt to aggregate your income.
- Ceasing to be a Portuguese tax resident is treated as a sale, with tax in the capital gains category.
The 365-day exclusion and the exemption for swaps only apply if the counterparty is resident in the EU or EEA, or in a country that has a tax treaty or information exchange agreement with Portugal.
Swaps between crypto-assets
In binding information no. 28969 (31 October 2025), the AT says that when the consideration for a sale of crypto-assets is not money, there is no taxation. The crypto-assets you receive take the acquisition value of the ones you gave. Tax arises when you later dispose of crypto for money or in kind, other than crypto. In the case it examined, a swap into a stablecoin (USDC) followed by an immediate sale for euros was taxed only at the conversion to euros, and if the original asset had been held 365 days or more, the gain was excluded. This is a ruling on one taxpayer’s case, with the conditions of that case.
Mining, staking and lending
- Mining, validating and issuing. These are commercial activities, taxed as business income (category B). Under the simplified regime, with income up to €200,000 a year, 15% of the income from crypto operations and 95% of the income from mining is taxable, and it is added to your other income at the general rates.
- Staking, lending and similar remuneration. This is capital income (category E), taxed at a special rate of 28%, with an option to aggregate. If you are paid in crypto, there is no tax at that moment. Tax arises when you sell the crypto for money, as a capital gain.
For crypto you receive as payment for work, the AT leaflet gives only the valuation rule: in-kind income is valued at its money equivalent under article 24(1) of the personal income tax code. It does not set out the tax category for each case.
Stamp duty
Free transfers of crypto, such as gifts and inheritances, are subject to 10% stamp duty. Commissions charged by crypto-asset service providers are subject to 4% stamp duty.
Tax for companies
| Tax periods starting in | General corporate income tax (IRC) rate |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 19% |
| 2027 | 18% |
| From 2028 | 17% |
Law 64/2025 sets these rates. It also sets a reduced rate of 15% on the first €50,000 of taxable profit for qualifying small and medium-sized enterprises and small mid-cap companies, from tax periods starting on 1 January 2026. The rest is taxed at the general rate.
All crypto income and expenses of a company go through its accounts. The AT says there is no single way to account for crypto-assets and that, if in doubt, the company should ask the Accounting Standardization Commission (CNC). For the simplified regime, 15% of crypto income and 95% of mining income enter the taxable profit. We could not confirm the municipal and state surcharges for 2026 or the VAT treatment from official sources, so we do not describe them.
Reporting and filing obligations
Individuals. You file your annual return (Modelo 3) in the spring of the year after the income. For income of 2025, the AT’s schedule says April to June 2026, with payment or refund by 31 August 2026. Check the AT’s schedule for the year you file.
Reporting by providers (DAC8 and CARF)
Law 26/2026 of 3 June 2026 transposes the EU’s DAC8 directive and sets up Portugal’s framework for the OECD crypto-asset reporting framework. It applies from 1 January 2026, and the first reports cover calendar year 2026.
- Deadline: crypto-asset service providers report to the AT by 31 May each year for the previous calendar year.
- What is reported: for each user and type of crypto-asset, the totals of purchases and sales against money, exchanges between crypto-assets at fair value, retail payments above USD 50,000, and transfers, including transfers to addresses not linked to a known provider.
- Due diligence: providers collect a self-certification from each user. A user who does not provide the data after two reminders and 60 days is blocked from transactions that must be reported. Existing users must be covered by 1 January 2027. Records are kept for 10 years.
- Penalties: a missing report is punishable by a fine of €2,000 to €22,500, and omissions or inaccuracies by €500 to €11,250.
Exchanges and KYC
An exchange or custodian that serves customers in Portugal needs MiCA authorization, or a notification where that applies. You can find authorized providers on the lists that Banco de Portugal and the CMVM publish. Banco de Portugal supervises the anti-money-laundering rules for providers established in Portugal and checks compliance with the EU Transfer of Funds Regulation (Regulation 2023/1113).
Law 70/2025 changed the anti-money-laundering law. Customer identification is required for a transaction in crypto-asset services above €1,000. The old registration provisions for virtual-asset service providers are repealed, with the repeal of article 112-B effective from 1 July 2026. Providers must also join at least two out-of-court dispute resolution bodies within three months of starting their activity.
Self-custody
The legal texts we read contain no prohibition or license requirement for holding your own wallet. The rules fall on regulated providers. When a provider transfers crypto to or from a self-hosted address, it must take enhanced measures in proportion to the risk, under the new article 71-A of the anti-money-laundering law. These include identifying and verifying the sender or recipient, obtaining extra information on the origin and destination, and ongoing enhanced monitoring. Provider reports under DAC8 also include transfers to wallets that are not linked to a provider.
Tax arises on a sale, not when you move crypto between your own wallets, but the AT leaflet does not say this expressly. We found no AT statement on lost or stolen keys.
Sources
- Autoridade Tributária: Criptoativos, conceito fiscal e tributação (December 2025) (last checked October 2026)
- Autoridade Tributária: Informação vinculativa, processo 28969 (last checked October 2026)
- Autoridade Tributária: IRS 2025, principais prazos (last checked October 2026)
- Autoridade Tributária: Código do IRS, artigo 72.º (last checked October 2026)
- Diário da República: Lei n.º 69/2025 (execution of MiCA) (last checked October 2026)
- Autoridade Tributária: Lei n.º 70/2025 (anti-money laundering and transfers of funds) (last checked October 2026)
- Diário da República: Lei n.º 26/2026 (DAC8 and CARF) (last checked October 2026)
- Diário da República: Lei n.º 64/2025 (corporate income tax rates) (last checked October 2026)
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official sources above before you act.