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How to issue a fatura-recibo on the Portal das Finanças: 5 rules to fill in every field without mistakes
Step Inside Accounting · Practical guide
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1. Choose the right document: fatura-recibo, fatura or recibo
Recibos verdes are issued on the Portal das Finanças, in the Faturas e Recibos area, under Emitir. The first field is the type of document, and the choice depends on when you are paid:
- Fatura-recibo (invoice-receipt) – when the client pays on the spot or has already paid. It is an invoice and proof of payment at the same time.
- Fatura (invoice) – when the work is done but payment comes later (for example, at 30 days).
- Recibo (receipt) – when you receive payment of an invoice you had already issued. It is linked to that invoice.
If you issue a fatura-recibo before you are paid, the document says you have already been paid. If the client pays late or does not pay, you are left with a document that does not match reality. When in doubt, issue the invoice now and the receipt when the money reaches your account.
2. Identify the client and the date of the service correctly
For a client in Portugal, the NIF is enough: the name appears automatically. Always check it before issuing. It is with that NIF that the client sees the expense in e-fatura, and it is what shows whether the client is a company that has to withhold IRS. For a foreign client, choose the country and enter the tax number, name and address (we explain the rest in our article on foreign clients).
The date of the service is the date on which you did or finished the work, not the date you remembered to invoice. The invoice must be issued no later than the 5th working day after the service is completed. If the client is a company in another EU country and the service has no Portuguese VAT, the deadline is longer: by the 15th of the month after the one in which the service was completed. In practice, the safest option is to invoice as soon as the work is finished, instead of letting invoices pile up.
3. Describe the service and enter the amount without VAT
In the description, be specific: “Website development – phase 2, October 2026” says much more than “services rendered”. A good description helps the client’s accountant and is your first line of defence if the Tax Authority asks what that work was.
In the amount field, enter the price of the service without VAT and before withholding: the Portal calculates the rest from the options you choose. Also indicate the type of payment:
- payment for the service;
- advance payment, if the client pays before the work is done;
- reimbursement of expenses you paid in the client’s name and on their behalf (for example, a fee with a document in their name), which are not subject to withholding.
4. Choose the VAT regime and the withholding option
For VAT, the option depends on your situation:
- exempt under the €15,000 limit – choose the exemption regime; the invoice will carry the wording “IVA – Regime de Isenção”;
- exempt because of the nature of the activity (for example, certain health services) – choose that exemption, not the one for the limit;
- you charge VAT – choose the rate; for most services it is 23% in mainland Portugal, 22% in Madeira and 16% in the Azores;
- company client abroad – as a rule, there is no Portuguese VAT (see our article on foreign clients).
For IRS withholding, the rule is simple. If the client is a company with organised accounting, choose the rate for your activity: in mainland Portugal, 23% for activities in the CIRS table and 11.5% for other services. If you expect to invoice less than €15,000 in the year, you can choose the waiver. If the client is a private individual or a foreign company, choose the no-withholding option. We explain everything in our article on withholding tax.
5. Made a mistake? Correct it with a credit note or cancel it
The most common mistakes we see:
- wrong client NIF;
- fatura-recibo issued before being paid;
- VAT charged when you were exempt, or the other way round;
- withholding selected when the client is a private individual, or forgotten when it is a company;
- amount with VAT already included in the service value field.
How you correct it depends on the type of mistake.
Mistake in the amount or the VAT – correct only the difference, with a credit note. If you invoiced too much, put the VAT inside the service value, applied the wrong rate or charged VAT when you were exempt, you no longer need to cancel the document. On the Portal, in Faturas e Recibos, under Emitir, choose Nota de crédito (credit note), indicate the invoice you are correcting and the amount (and VAT) to deduct. The original invoice remains valid and the credit note corrects only the wrong part. Send it to the client and keep proof that they received it – a reply email is enough: without that proof, you cannot recover the VAT you overcharged.
Mistake in the details or the document – cancel and issue again. If the NIF, name or description are wrong, if you issued a fatura-recibo before being paid, if the withholding was selected incorrectly or if the service never actually happened, a credit note will not do. Go to Faturas e Recibos, under Consultar, open the document and choose Anular (cancel). The document is marked as cancelled and no longer counts. Then issue the correct document, with the date on which the service was performed, tell the client that the previous one is no longer valid and send them the new one.
If the document has already been included in a VAT return you have filed, talk to us before correcting it: the VAT may need to be adjusted in the next return.
Example
Ana is an architect (code 1001, in the CIRS table), charges VAT and works in mainland Portugal. On 15 October she finishes a project for a company with organised accounting, which pays at 30 days. On the same day she issues a fatura (invoice):
- service value: €1,500
- VAT (23%): €345
- invoice total: €1,845
- IRS withheld by the client (23% of €1,500): − €345
- amount to receive: €1,500
On 14 November the company transfers €1,500 and Ana issues the recibo (receipt) for that invoice, with that date.
But not all of that money is hers. Of the €1,500 she receives, €345 is the VAT she has to pay to the State. What Ana actually keeps is €1,155 (€1,500 − €345), before the IRS settlement.
- The €345 of VAT is not hers: she pays it in her quarterly VAT return.
- The €345 withheld by the client is IRS paid in advance and is deducted in the annual settlement.
If Ana had got the NIF wrong, she would cancel the invoice before the client paid, issue a new one with the correct NIF and only then issue the receipt. She would not touch the VAT, because the amount was the same.
If, instead, she had invoiced €1,800 by mistake, she would not need to cancel anything: she would issue a credit note for €300, plus €69 of VAT, linked to the original invoice, and send it to the client before they paid. Together, the invoice and the credit note would come to the correct €1,500 and €345 of VAT.
Team tip
Before you invoice a new client, check their NIF and ask whether they have organised accounting: those two answers decide the withholding. For your first invoices, send us a screenshot before you click Emitir. Correcting beforehand takes a minute; afterwards it can mean credit notes, cancellations and VAT adjustments.
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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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