Crypto Tax in Portugal

Crypto tax in Portugal is no longer the tax haven narrative that circulated in 2021 and 2022. The State Budget for 2023 introduced a comprehensive crypto tax framework that applies to all Portuguese tax residents. If you hold cryptocurrency and live in Portugal, you owe tax on gains — unless you qualify for the 365-day holding exemption.

The framework classifies crypto assets (criptoativos) as a distinct income category under Portuguese tax law. Under Article 10 CIRS, gains from disposing of crypto assets held for fewer than 365 days are taxed at a flat 28% rate, while gains from disposals after 365 days can be exempt under the conditions in that article.

This 365-day holding rule is the single most important provision in Portuguese crypto taxation. "Disposal" means any event where you exchange a crypto asset for fiat currency (euros, dollars, pounds) or for goods and services. The critical question — and the one that defines your tax position — is whether crypto-to-crypto swaps constitute a taxable disposal.

Under current Portuguese law (Article 10 CIRS), when the consideration is another cryptoasset, taxation is generally deferred and acquisition values/holding history carry into the received asset. Conversion to fiat currency or use in a commercial transaction remains the key taxable trigger in most scenarios.

This treatment is unusually favourable compared to most EU jurisdictions, where crypto-to-crypto trades are taxable events. But it comes with conditions. You may need to track your holding period from the original acquisition of the crypto asset.

If you bought BTC in January 2025, swapped it to ETH in June 2025, and then sold ETH for euros in March 2026, your holding period for the ETH position starts from the original BTC acquisition date — provided you can document the chain.

If you typically may not prove the holding period, Finanças (the Portuguese tax authority) may treat the gain as taxable. Taxbordr advises clients on crypto tax positions and documents the treatment in the Position Memo — a founder-signed written document prepared by Telmo Ramos (Ordem dos Economistas Cédula No. 16379).

The 365-day exemption is the centrepiece of Portugal's crypto tax framework. Gains on crypto assets held for more than 365 days are potentially exempt from Portuguese capital gains tax. No partial exemption. No tapering. No cap on the exempt amount. What counts as the holding period. The clock starts on the date you acquire the crypto asset.

For purchases on an exchange, the acquisition date is the date of the buy order execution. For mining or staking rewards, the acquisition date is the date the reward was received. For airdrops, the acquisition date is the date the tokens were credited to your wallet. Crypto-to-crypto swaps and the holding period.

If you swap BTC for ETH, the holding period question is nuanced. The Portuguese tax authority has not issued definitive guidance on whether the swap resets the clock. The conservative position — and the one Taxbordr recommends documenting — is to track the original acquisition date of the chain of assets.

If Finanças challenges the holding period, comprehensive transaction records are your defence. What breaks the exemption. Converting crypto to fiat within 365 days of acquisition is taxed at 28%. Using crypto to pay for goods or services within 365 days is treated as a disposal.

Lending crypto on a platform where you lose ownership (e.g., certain CeFi platforms) may constitute a disposal depending on the platform's terms. Documentation requirements. Finanças can request proof of acquisition date, transaction history, and wallet records. Exchange statements, blockchain explorer records, and wallet transaction logs are acceptable documentation.

If you typically may not prove the holding period exceeded 365 days, the burden of proof falls on you — and the default assumption is taxable. Planning implication. For expats arriving in Portugal with existing crypto positions, the acquisition date precedes Portuguese residency. If you bought BTC in 2023 and became Portuguese resident in 2025, your holding period is already over 365 days.

The gain on selling that position in Portugal is exempt — provided you can document the original acquisition date.

Not all crypto activity produces capital gains. Staking rewards, DeFi yields, liquidity provision returns, and mining output can be classified as income — not gains — and taxed differently. Staking rewards. Tokens received for staking (proof of stake validation) are treated as income on receipt.

The income is taxable at the date the reward is credited to your wallet, at the fair market value on that date. If you subsequently sell the staking reward, the capital gain (or loss) is calculated from the value at receipt to the value at sale.

The 365-day holding period for the capital gain starts from the date the reward was received. DeFi yields. Income from liquidity provision, yield farming, and lending protocols is treated as investment income. The classification depends on the specific arrangement. Interest-like returns (fixed or variable yield for lending) may be taxed as interest income at 28%.

Rewards in tokens may be treated as income at receipt (fair market value) plus a subsequent capital gain on disposal. Mining. Crypto mining income is generally treated within Category B/self-employment logic when activity is regular and systematic. This triggers self-employment registration with Finanças, social security obligations, and taxation under the applicable regime.

Under the simplified regime, Article 31 CIRS includes a specific 0.95 coefficient for mining income. Occasional mining may be classified differently. The distinction depends on frequency, scale, and whether mining constitutes a business activity. NFTs. Gains from selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens) fall under the general crypto asset framework. The 365-day exemption applies.

The acquisition cost is the price paid for the NFT (or the minting cost). If you created the NFT, the income from the first sale may be classified as self-employment income (similar to selling a digital product). Subsequent resale gains follow the capital gains rules. Airdrops.

Tokens received in an airdrop are taxable as income at the fair market value on the date of receipt. If the airdrop has no determinable market value at receipt, the cost base is zero — and the full sale proceeds become the gain on disposal.

Taxable events (trigger capital gains tax): Converting crypto to fiat currency (selling BTC for EUR on an exchange). Using crypto to purchase goods or services. Disposing of crypto in any transaction where you receive non-crypto value. Non-taxable events (do not trigger capital gains tax under current law): Exchanging one crypto asset for another (BTC to ETH, SOL to USDC).

Transferring crypto between your own wallets. Holding crypto without disposal. Grey areas: Wrapping tokens (e.g., ETH to WETH). Providing liquidity to a pool (you deposit tokens and receive LP tokens). Bridging tokens across chains. These activities may or may not constitute a disposal depending on whether the economic ownership changes.

Portuguese tax law has not issued specific guidance on all of these scenarios. Taxbordr documents the position taken on each activity in the Position Memo. Stablecoins. Converting crypto to a stablecoin pegged to fiat (e.g., BTC to USDT) is technically a crypto-to-crypto swap and not a taxable event under current Portuguese interpretation.

This is a planning opportunity — you can crystallise a position into a stable value without triggering tax. But if Finanças reclassifies stablecoins as fiat-equivalent instruments in the future, this treatment may change. Cost basis tracking. Maintain lot-level records for acquisitions, disposals, and crypto-to-crypto exchanges, including timestamps, values, and wallet evidence.

Portuguese treatment requires consistent acquisition-value and holding-period tracking, especially when swaps occur before fiat disposal. If your records are incomplete, Finanças may challenge your exemption claim.

Standard regime (no NHR or IFICI). Gains on crypto held less than 365 days: 28% flat rate. Gains on crypto held more than 365 days: exempt. Staking/mining income: progressive rates (if classified as self-employment) or 28% (if classified as investment income). This is the default treatment for most Portuguese residents. NHR holders (existing, regime closed to new applicants).

Under NHR, crypto gains from foreign-sourced disposals could be exempt from Portuguese tax if the gains were "taxable" in the source country. In practice, this meant that crypto gains realised on foreign exchanges were exempt even within the 365-day window — a significant advantage. NHR holders retain this treatment until their 10-year NHR period expires. IFICI holders.

IFICI does not replicate the NHR foreign income exemption for capital gains. Under IFICI, crypto gains on assets held less than 365 days are taxed at 28% regardless of where the disposal occurred. The 365-day exemption still applies. IFICI's 20% flat rate covers qualifying employment and self-employment income — not investment gains or capital gains from crypto.

Choosing the right regime for crypto-heavy portfolios. If you are arriving in Portugal with a large crypto portfolio and plan to sell within 365 days, NHR (if you qualified before closure) offered substantial savings. Under IFICI or the standard regime, the 365-day holding strategy is the primary planning tool.

For IFICI eligibility and crypto, IFICI does not change the crypto treatment — it only benefits qualifying employment and self-employment income. For a broader view of how Portugal taxes different types of investment gains, see capital gains tax in Portugal. For filing your crypto positions on the Portuguese return, see filing your Portugal IRS return.

A robust compliance file should include: Exchange exports and API-derived transaction logs. Wallet-to-wallet transfer proofs to avoid false disposal assumptions. Lot-level acquisition history and method consistency. EUR conversion methodology and timestamp policy. Year-end tie-out between portfolio movement and declared taxable events. Without this structure, exemption claims become difficult to defend and correction risk increases significantly.