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IES: 5 rules to close the year without fines
Step Inside Accounting · Practical guide
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1. One return, several recipients
The IES (Informação Empresarial Simplificada, the simplified business information return) brings together in a single filing several obligations that used to be separate: the annual return for the Tax Authority, the filing of the accounts with the Commercial Registry, and statistical information for the INE, the Bank of Portugal and the DGAE.
It includes the balance sheet, the income statement and several annexes, including VAT and Stamp Duty information. That is why it can only be done once the year’s books are fully closed.
2. The deadline is 15 July
For companies whose tax year matches the calendar year, the IES is filed by 15 July of the following year, even if that day falls on a weekend. The 2025 IES was due by 15 July 2026.
It is filed on the Tax Authority’s portal by the company’s certified accountant. The company just has to make sure the accounts are closed and approved in time.
3. First, the accounts are approved
The IES files the accounts the partners have approved. The year’s accounts should be approved by 31 March, with minutes. In a single-member company, a written decision by the sole partner is enough.
This is the normal calendar for a small company:
- February and March: closing the books.
- By 31 March: approval of the accounts.
- May: IRC return (Modelo 22).
- By 15 July: IES.
4. Even with no activity, it must be filed
A dormant company still has to file the IES. Having no activity during the year does not remove the obligation.
Filing itself is free, but registering the accounts with the Commercial Registry costs €80. It is paid by Multibanco reference within 5 working days of filing. Without that payment, the accounts are not registered, which can block other company registrations.
Example
A company with no sales in 2025 approves its accounts in March 2026, files its IRC return in May and the IES by 15 July, and pays the €80 registration fee. Even without a single euro of sales, all these obligations remain.
5. What happens if you miss it
Filing the IES late leads to a fine, which is much lower if the company puts things right on its own initiative, before it is notified.
The bigger risk is the filing of the accounts. If a company goes two years in a row without filing its accounts, and the Tax Authority reports that its IRC returns are also missing, the Commercial Registry can start an ex officio dissolution and liquidation of the company.
Team tip
Send us the year’s documents by February and sign the minutes approving the accounts in March. That way the IES is ready long before July. And pay the €80 as soon as you receive the reference.
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This article is for information only and does not replace professional advice. Figures and rules are those in force at the date of publication and may change.
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