# Running a Unipessoal Lda in Portugal: The Real First Year

> What really happens after incorporating a Unipessoal Lda in Portugal: accountant, IVA, IRC, IES, RCBE, Social Security and real first-year costs.

- Source: https://www.growinportugal.com/running-a-company-in-portugal-first-year
- Publisher: GrowIN Portugal (https://www.growinportugal.com)
- Published: 2026-08-22
- Last reviewed: 2026-09-01
- Language: en

> **In short — as of August 2026:** Incorporating a Unipessoal Lda is the easy part; running it is the real commitment. From day one you must have a **certified accountant** (contabilista certificado) by law, who handles monthly bookkeeping, monthly invoicing **SAF-T**, and periodic **IVA** returns (quarterly for most small companies, monthly only above €650,000 turnover). Profit is taxed under **IRC** — standard rate **19%**, reduced **15% on the first €50,000** for qualifying SMEs, plus a municipal **derrama** of up to 1.5% — with IRC payments on account and the annual **Modelo 22**. You file the **IES** annual declaration by **15 July**, keep the **RCBE** beneficial-owner registry current (confirmed annually by 31 December if unchanged), and pay **Social Security** for the gerente (34.75% combined, on real salary or a minimum IAS-based base of €537.13/month if unpaid). Typical first-year running costs land around €7,000–€10,000. A D2-backed company must show genuine activity, not sit as a paper shell.

Incorporating your [Unipessoal Lda](/how-to-open-a-company-in-portugal-step-by-step/) feels like the finish line — you've got your company NIF, your articles of association, maybe even your bank account open. In reality it's the starting gun. What happens *after* incorporation is where most first-time founders in Portugal underestimate the workload and the bill: monthly accounting, recurring tax filings, an annual declaration with a hard July deadline, and Social Security obligations that apply whether or not you've paid yourself a single euro. This guide walks through what actually runs in year one, month by month, with a realistic cost example.

The recurring obligations below — the mandatory accountant, IRC, IVA/IES and the RCBE — are grounded in our verified [company formation & corporate-law data](/data/company-formation), with the full IRC rates on the [corporate tax (IRC) data page](/data/corporate-tax-irc/).

## What Changes the Day You Incorporate

The moment your company exists, you stop being able to treat compliance as optional or occasional. Unlike a freelancer on the simplified regime — who can, legally, manage their own recibos verdes and quarterly declaration — a company is required to keep **organised accounts** and file through a licensed professional. Nearly every obligation below is either handled by, or requires the sign-off of, your certified accountant, which is why choosing one you trust matters as much as choosing your company name.

## Obligation 1: The Certified Accountant (Contabilista Certificado)

Every Portuguese company must have a **contabilista certificado**, registered with the Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados, from the day it registers its início de atividade. This isn't a nice-to-have — it's a legal requirement with no exemption for small or single-shareholder companies. Your accountant registers the company with Finanças, classifies its activity (CAE), sets the correct IVA and IRC regime, and from that point on is professionally responsible for your bookkeeping and filings. Changing accountants later is possible but adds friction, so this is a decision worth taking seriously at incorporation, not treating as an afterthought.

## Obligation 2: Monthly Bookkeeping and SAF-T

Your accountant records every invoice, expense and bank movement into **organised accounts** on an ongoing basis — not once a year. On the tax side, Portuguese companies must generate a monthly **SAF-T (PT)** file from certified invoicing software, submitted by the **5th of each month**, covering every invoice issued with Portuguese IVA. A separate annual accounting SAF-T file is being phased in and, as of 2026, applies from the 2026 fiscal year onward (filed in 2027) — worth knowing about now even if it isn't yet due. Either way, "I'll sort the books at year-end" isn't compatible with how Portuguese companies are actually required to operate.

## Obligation 3: Periodic IVA Returns

Companies charge and reclaim **IVA** (standard rate 23%) and file periodic returns. Most small and newly incorporated companies file **quarterly**; you only move to **monthly** once your turnover in the prior year passes **€650,000**. A 2025 rule change (Decreto-Lei n.º 49/2025, in force since 1 July 2025) put the responsibility for declaring your own filing frequency onto the business rather than having Finanças assign it automatically, so this is something your accountant needs to actively confirm each year rather than assume. See our full [IVA in Portugal guide](/vat-iva-in-portugal-guide/) for registration, rates and returns.

## Obligation 4: Corporate Tax — IRC Payments on Account and Modelo 22

Company profit is taxed under **IRC** (corporate income tax). The 2026 standard rate is **19%**, with a reduced rate of **15% on the first €50,000** of taxable profit for qualifying SMEs (fewer than 250 employees, turnover under €50m); profit above that slice is taxed at the standard rate. On top of IRC, most municipalities levy a **derrama** (municipal surtax) of up to **1.5%** on taxable profit — the exact rate depends on where your registered office sits. A further state surcharge only kicks in on profits above €1.5 million, so it rarely touches a first-year Lda. See the [corporate tax (IRC) data page](/data/corporate-tax-irc/) for the full rates and derrama brackets.

During the year, companies make **pagamentos por conta** (payments on account) — typically in July, September and December — based on the prior year's tax, then settle the final position with the annual **Modelo 22** return, normally due by the end of May. For the 2025 tax period (filed in 2026), the Autoridade Tributária extended this twice — first to 19 June, then, by Despacho n.º 81/2026-XXV of 17 June 2026, to **30 June** — so always check the current-year deadline rather than assuming the statutory end-of-May date holds. A first-year company with no prior-year tax to reference generally has little or nothing due on account, but the Modelo 22 filing itself is still mandatory.

## Obligation 5: The IES Annual Declaration

The **IES** (Informação Empresarial Simplificada) bundles your annual accounts, tax and statistical reporting into a single filing, submitted through your accountant by **15 July** each year for the prior fiscal year. In 2026 the Autoridade Tributária did not grant an extension, so this is a hard date — miss it and you face escalating penalties plus complications elsewhere in the system, since other bodies rely on IES data.

## Obligation 6: Keeping RCBE Updated

You filed the **RCBE** (Registo Central do Beneficiário Efetivo) declaring your beneficial owners at incorporation — but that isn't the end of it. Any change to beneficial ownership must be declared within **30 days**, and if nothing changed during the year you must still **confirm** the existing declaration by **31 December**. It's a small task, but a forgotten annual confirmation is a surprisingly common — and easily avoidable — compliance gap.

## Obligation 7: Social Security for the Gerente

The **gerente** (managing director) of a Portuguese company is mandatorily covered by Social Security, and this applies regardless of whether they draw a salary. If remunerated, the combined rate is **34.75%** (23.75% paid by the company, 11% by the gerente) on actual pay. If the gerente takes **no salary**, contributions are still due, calculated on the **IAS** (Indexante dos Apoios Sociais, **€537.13/month** in 2026) — a real, recurring cost that many first-time founders don't budget for because there's no invoice for it the way there is for accounting. The [social security data page](/data/social-security/) sets out the gerente rates and the IAS-based minimum.

## The D2 Reality Check: Genuine Activity, Not a Shell

If your company is the basis of a [D2 visa](/portugal-d2-visa-guide/), there's a substance test running quietly alongside all the compliance above. AIMA and the tax authorities both expect to see a company that actually trades — invoices going out, costs coming in, a functioning bank account, filed returns that show real movement, not a shell sitting untouched with a €0 IES filed on autopilot. Founders who incorporate, obtain their permit and then let the company go quiet while they "settle in" risk both their compliance standing and the credibility of their residency basis. Genuine activity doesn't have to mean large revenue in year one — it means the company visibly does what you said it would do.

## First-Year Obligations Calendar

| When | What's due |
|---|---|
| Within 30 days of incorporation | Register início de atividade; file the initial RCBE declaration |
| Monthly | Bookkeeping entries; SAF-T invoicing file, due by the 5th of the following month |
| Quarterly (most small companies) | File the periodic IVA return |
| July, September, December | IRC payments on account (based on prior year's tax, once applicable) |
| By 31 May (extended to 30 June for the 2026 filing season) | File Modelo 22 and settle final IRC for the prior year |
| By 15 July | File the IES annual declaration |
| Within 30 days of any change | Update the RCBE declaration |
| By 31 December | Confirm the RCBE annually if nothing changed |
| Ongoing | Gerente Social Security contributions, due monthly under the 2026 payment cycle |

## Worked First-Year Cost Example

Take a simple, realistic scenario: a small services Unipessoal Lda, modest first-year revenue, one non-resident founder acting as sole gerente.

| Item | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| Bookkeeping — accounting Essentials (~€160/mo ex-VAT) | ~€1,920 |
| Company Secretary & Compliance (~€150/mo ex-VAT) | ~€1,800 |
| VAT declarations (~€270/quarter ex-VAT) | ~€1,080 |
| Corporate tax return — Modelo 22 + IES (~€990/yr ex-VAT) | ~€990 |
| Registered address (~€50/mo) | ~€600 |
| Fiscal representation (non-resident, first 12 months, ~€590 one-time) | ~€590 |
| Gerente Social Security (unremunerated, IAS-based, ~€186.65/mo combined) | ~€2,240 |
| IRC on a modest taxable profit (e.g. €20,000 at 15%) plus derrama (1.5%) | ~€3,300 |
| **Approximate total running cost, year one** | **~€12,500** |

That figure sits *before* the founder has taken any drawings and before IVA is even considered (IVA is generally cash-neutral if managed correctly, but late or wrong filings carry their own penalties). It's a useful anchor: a company that generates only light revenue in year one still carries five figures in compliance and running costs.

> **Case study — Karim, a Unipessoal Lda opened ahead of a D2 move.** Karim, a founder from Jordan, incorporated a consulting Unipessoal Lda in Lisbon while his D2 application was still being processed, planning to relocate once approved. He assumed that with light early revenue he could treat the company as "dormant" for a few months — pause the accountant, skip the RCBE confirmation, worry about it once clients started paying properly. His accountant pushed back hard: the monthly retainer, the quarterly IVA filings and the gerente's Social Security kept running regardless of revenue, because none of those obligations are tied to how much the company earns. By year-end, Karim's real cost stack looked close to the table above — roughly €1,920 in bookkeeping, €1,800 for company secretary and compliance, €1,080 for quarterly VAT declarations, €990 for the corporate tax return, €600 for his registered address, €590 in fiscal representation while he was still non-resident, about €2,240 in Social Security on an unremunerated management role, and IRC plus derrama of around €3,300 on a modest taxable profit — a total near **€12,500** before he paid himself anything. The lesson he took from it: a Portuguese company is never "on pause." Once it exists, the clock runs every month whether the business is quiet or busy.

## Things to Watch

- **Assuming a quiet company costs nothing.** Accounting fees, RCBE confirmations and gerente Social Security run regardless of revenue.
- **Skipping the annual RCBE confirmation.** A one-click task that's easy to forget and creates real compliance exposure.
- **Missing the 15 July IES deadline.** No extension was granted in 2026 — build it into your calendar early, not when your accountant chases you.
- **Not budgeting for gerente Social Security on zero salary.** The IAS-based minimum is a real monthly bill, not a hypothetical.
- **Treating a D2-backed company as a paper shell.** Genuine activity is expected, not optional window dressing.
- **Assuming the monthly accounting fee covers everything.** At GrowIN, company bookkeeping (from €160/mo) does not include VAT declarations (€270/quarter), the corporate tax return (€990/year) or Company Secretary & Compliance (€150/mo), and payroll, one-off dossiers and other extras are billed separately too — see our [monthly accounting & compliance retainer](/services/accounting-retainer/) for what's included and what isn't.

## Short FAQ

**Is a Unipessoal Lda more work than freelancing?** Yes, materially — a company has mandatory monthly accounting, more filings and Social Security obligations a sole trader on the simplified regime doesn't have. It buys you limited liability and a more credible corporate structure in return.

**Can my accountant handle all of this for me?** Yes — a certified accountant is the professional who files IVA, IRC, IES, SAF-T and handles correspondence with Finanças on your behalf; your job is to keep them supplied with clean records and to pay on time.

**What if my company makes no profit in year one?** You still file IRC (Modelo 22) and the IES, and Social Security for the gerente still applies. A loss-making year reduces IRC due, but doesn't remove any of the filing obligations.

Running a company in Portugal is entirely manageable once you plan for the real first-year rhythm — a certified accountant from day one, monthly bookkeeping, quarterly IVA, the July IES deadline, an updated RCBE, and Social Security for the gerente regardless of salary. Budget for it honestly and it stops being a surprise. For the incorporation steps themselves, see our [step-by-step company formation guide](/how-to-open-a-company-in-portugal-step-by-step/), and for what the whole first year typically costs end to end, see our [cost of starting a business in Portugal](/cost-of-starting-a-business-in-portugal/) guide.

> Want your first year run properly — accountant, filings and RCBE handled without the surprises? Set up the [monthly accounting & compliance retainer](/services/accounting-retainer/), or if you need to change the company later see [company amendments](/services/company-amendments/) — GrowIN Portugal keeps your Unipessoal Lda compliant end to end.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I legally need a certified accountant for a Unipessoal Lda in Portugal?

Yes, without exception. Any Portuguese company, including a single-shareholder Unipessoal Lda, must have a contabilista certificado (certified accountant) registered with the Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados from the day it starts activity. The accountant files your início de atividade, keeps organised accounts, submits IVA and IRC returns and signs off the IES. There is no simplified, accountant-free regime for companies the way there is for freelancers.

### How much does it really cost to run a small Lda in the first year?

Budget roughly €160–€240/month ex-VAT for bookkeeping, plus €150/month for Company Secretary & Compliance, €270/quarter for VAT declarations and €990/year for the corporate tax return (Modelo 22 + IES); €50/mo for a registered address if you don't have commercial premises; and €590 for the first 12 months of fiscal representation if you're a non-resident shareholder or director. Add corporate tax (IRC) on any profit, plus Social Security for the gerente even at zero salary. A modest first year commonly lands between €10,000 and €13,500 in running costs before any owner drawings.

### What happens if I miss the IES deadline?

The IES is due by 15 July each year for the previous fiscal year, and the Autoridade Tributária has not been granting extensions in 2026. Late or missing submissions trigger automatic penalties that scale with how late you are and the company's size, plus knock-on problems since the IES also feeds the statistical and Social Security systems. Your accountant should flag this weeks in advance — it isn't optional paperwork.

### Do I have to pay Social Security if I take no salary as gerente?

Yes. A managing director (gerente) of a Portuguese company is mandatorily covered by Social Security even with zero remuneration. If unpaid, contributions are calculated on the Indexante dos Apoios Sociais (IAS, €537.13/month in 2026) at a combined rate of 34.75% (23.75% company, 11% you) — a real monthly cost even in a company that isn't yet paying you anything.

### Can I set up a company on a D2 visa and let it sit quietly for a year?

No — and this is the mistake that catches out the most founders. A D2 residence permit is granted on the basis of a genuine, active business, and AIMA and the tax authorities both expect to see real activity: invoicing, costs, a functioning bank account, filed returns. Treating the company as a dormant shell while you 'figure things out' undermines the very basis of the visa and still leaves you with the full compliance bill regardless.

### How often do I file IVA returns for a small company?

Most small and newly incorporated companies file IVA quarterly. Since a 2025 rule change (Decreto-Lei n.º 49/2025, in force 1 July 2025), businesses must actively declare their own filing frequency rather than have Finanças assign it automatically — you move to monthly only once turnover in the prior year reaches €650,000. Your accountant handles the declaration and the returns themselves as part of a standard retainer.

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© GrowIN Portugal. Cite as: GrowIN Portugal, "Running a Unipessoal Lda in Portugal: The Real First Year", https://www.growinportugal.com/running-a-company-in-portugal-first-year