Profile · SaaS & tech editors
SaaS founders & tech editors:base your software company in Portugal
Editing a SaaS, selling licences or invoicing development to clients across Europe? Portugal offers a clear framework for a software company: a flexible structure, a competitive SME IRC, and an incentive regime often relevant to tech profiles. I am a consultant in company formation and setup, I form your company, support you at the bank, and connect you with a partner Contabilista Certificado and tax adviser for VAT reporting and IRC.
75+ entrepreneurs supported since 2025 · Lisbon, Portugal
What I do, and what I don't
I form the company, I guide for the rest
A SaaS editor has three sensitive topics: the structure, cross-border VAT and the founder's taxation. I handle formation and coordination; I am neither a tax adviser nor an accountant. VAT reporting (OSS, reverse charge) and IRC fall to the partner Contabilista Certificado registered with the OCC and the partner tax adviser, to whom I introduce you.
Electronic services VAT
A SaaS is an electronic service
A SaaS, an online licence or API access are electronically supplied services. The IVA rule depends on who your client is and where they are. Here are the main cases, pointers, not the treatment of your case, which the partner Contabilista Certificado establishes.
Reverse charge: the business client declares the VAT in their own country.
Invoice without IVA, marked “reverse charge”, with the client's intra-EU VAT/NIF number validated (VIES).
VAT of the country of consumption. The OSS scheme centralises reporting above €10,000 of intra-EU B2C sales per year.
Invoice with the consumer's country VAT rate; declared via the Portuguese OSS.
Portuguese IVA at the standard 23% rate.
Invoice with 23% IVA; usual periodic reporting.
In principle outside the scope of Portuguese IVA for an electronic service supplied abroad; local rules may apply in the client's country.
Usually invoiced without VAT; to be confirmed per destination country.
The €10,000 threshold is assessed across all your intra-EU B2C sales, not country by country. Below it, you can in principle apply Portuguese IVA; above it, the OSS becomes the practical route. This is exactly the kind of trade-off the partner Contabilista Certificado sets up with you.
SME IRC & structure
A structure suited to a software company
For a SaaS editor, the most common form is the Unipessoal Lda (single partner) or the Lda with several co-founders. The share capital is €1 per partner. Here are the 2026 pointers on taxation of profits.
- Unipessoal Lda
- Single-member limited liability company: the typical structure for a solo SaaS founder. Share capital of €1.
- Lda (several partners)
- For several co-founders: capital of €1 per partner, share split set in the agreement. Allows for co-founders or investors.
- IRC, corporate income tax
- General rate of 19% in 2026, with a reduced 15% rate for SMEs on the first €50,000 of taxable profit. Above that, the general rate applies.
- Dividends & remuneration
- The trade-off between a manager's salary and dividend distribution has a real tax impact. It is a point to quantify with the partner tax adviser, not a single rule.
Founder IFICI
The incentive regime for tech profiles
The IFICI (the regime that succeeded the NHR) reserves a 20% IRS rate for 10 years to active, qualified profiles. Tech and R&D occupations and certain founder roles are among the targeted activities (Anexo I). A software-company founder relocating to Portugal is therefore often an eligible profile, subject to conditions.
Often eligible does not mean automatically eligible. The conditions notably include not having been a Portuguese tax resident in the previous 5 years, carrying out a targeted activity, and filing the application on time. Your actual eligibility is checked case by case with a partner tax adviser.
The right word
The trap isn't VAT, it's forgetting the OSS
Many SaaS founders think “I invoice without VAT, everyone is reverse charge”. True for intra-EU B2B, false the moment you sell to European consumers. Past €10,000 of intra-EU B2C sales, you owe the VAT of each client's country, via the OSS. The point is not to pay more, it is to set up invoicing and the OSS from the start, to avoid regularising a year of IVA under stress.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask me about SaaS in Portugal
- My SaaS invoiced without VAT to EU businesses: do I have to charge VAT?
- No, as a general rule. An intra-EU B2B sale of an electronic service is subject to reverse charge: you invoice without VAT and the business client declares the VAT in their own country. You must validate their intra-EU VAT number (VIES) and mark the invoice “reverse charge”. The partner Contabilista Certificado sets up the exact configuration.
- What if I sell my SaaS to consumers in Europe (B2C)?
- The VAT of the country of consumption applies. As long as your intra-EU B2C sales stay below €10,000 per year, you can in principle apply Portuguese IVA; above that you use the OSS scheme to declare each country's VAT. The threshold is assessed across all your intra-EU B2C sales, not country by country.
- Which structure for a SaaS editor: Unipessoal Lda or Lda?
- A Unipessoal Lda (single partner) suits the solo founder; an Lda allows several co-founders or investors. In both cases the share capital is €1 per partner. The choice depends on your cap table and your plans: we discuss it during the free assessment.
- What tax on profits for my software company?
- IRC (corporate income tax) is 19% in 2026, with a reduced 15% rate for SMEs on the first €50,000 of taxable profit. The exact calculation, and the salary/dividend trade-off, fall to the partner Contabilista Certificado and tax adviser.
- As a developer-founder, am I eligible for the IFICI?
- Often, but not automatically. Tech and R&D occupations are among the activities targeted by the IFICI (20% IRS rate over 10 years), which makes software-company founders frequently eligible. But you notably must not have been a Portuguese tax resident in the previous 5 years and must file on time. Take the eligibility test, then check your case with a partner tax adviser.
Disclaimer
This page is for information only and does not constitute personalised legal, accounting or tax advice. Business Portugal is neither an accounting nor a tax practice: we form the company and make introductions to a partner Contabilista Certificado and tax adviser. The VAT treatment of an electronic service, the OSS thresholds, IRC and IFICI eligibility depend on your specific situation. The information is current as of 2026 and subject to change (notably with each Orçamento do Estado). For an analysis of your project, book a meeting.
Let's base your SaaS in Portugal
A first free conversation, with no commitment, to frame your software company's structure, your cross-border VAT and your IFICI eligibility. I form the company, support you at the bank, and connect you with the right partners.
No commitment · Introduction · Lisbon, Portugal