If you are a British citizen you may enjoy significant tax advantages by relocating to Portugal. Tax in Portugal is extremely complex, and you should have your affairs in order before you move to the Iberian Peninsula to avoid crushing tax and penalties.
Unfortunately, many expats arrive in Portugal with only a cursory understanding of the Portuguese tax system.
Many may put their wealth and lifestyle at risk by working with Portuguese accounting firms in Lisbon or Porto who don’t fully understand the tax efficient NHR program, Golden Visa or the UK/Portugal double tax treaty.
Amanda C. decided to move her partner and son to Portugal from the north of England for a better climate and safer streets. She was delighted to learn about Portuguese tax benefits for non-habitual residents (NHR), and looked forward to claiming exemptions on income from pension, interest payments, capital gains and several other forms of income earned outside the country.
She and her family moved to Porto, where she resumed her career as a self-employed marketing consultant. Like many UK expats living in Portugal, she did her due diligence and sought tax advice from an English-speaking accountant. Unfortunately, she soon learned that all accountants are not created equal.
Bad UK Expat tax advice services cost Amanda both money and time
Amanda and her family were about to pay the price for her accountant’s ignorance—and that price was over €5,000 in extraneous tax accountancy charges and a mistake that cost her any opportunity to gain the very attractive NHR status.
Unfortunately for Amanda, this was not an isolated case. She went on to work with another accountant whose advice was so complicated she submitted the wrong information. This second accountant cost Amanda a huge amount of stress from long, uncomfortable conversations with the Portuguese Fiscal office to rectify the error.
In the UK, the story was no better. Amanda’s UK tax accountant – not related to the Portuguese ‘specialist’ – cost her £100’s in fines from the tax office for submitting her accounts late.
Amanda discovers RHJ Accountants personal tax services for UK expats
“I walked into my meeting with Jeremiah ready to return back to the UK. I was emotionally and financially exhausted and felt like giving up. I walked out of RHJ Accountants’ office with a growth plan for my business that would allow me to make the most of Portugal’s expat tax system. And huge peace of mind,” she reports.
Bookkeepers and tax accountants are a dime a dozen in Portugal, she says. “They all claim to be experts in Expat taxes, but most aren’t. I needed more than a number cruncher. I needed a strategic mind. A problem-solver.” Amanda needed someone with Expat experience who lived and breathed the labyrinth that is the Portuguese tax system for expats. That someone was Jeremiah at RHJ Accountants.
“I walked into Jeremiah’s office a basket case. I walked out with peace of mind, and the knowledge that I was working with professionals whom I could trust. RHJ helped me to achieve my strategic goals and help me run my business efficiently and smoothly. This has given me the confidence and time to be able to set up my next business - in Portugal.”
Amanda C.
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