Who has to file Annex J

The official instructions are explicit, and the word that matters is or. Annex J must be filed by resident taxpayers where they, or a dependant in the household, in the year concerned:

• obtained income outside Portuguese territory; or
• are the holder of, a beneficiary of, or authorised to operate, deposit or securities accounts opened at a financial institution that is not resident in Portugal.

Either limb on its own triggers the obligation. A resident with no foreign income at all, but with a dormant account left behind in their home country, still files Annex J.

The box that catches people out: box 11

Box 11 of Annex J is headed deposit or securities accounts opened at a financial institution not resident in Portuguese territory, or at a branch located outside Portuguese territory of a resident institution. Its legal basis is Article 63-A(8) and (9) of the General Tax Law.

Three features of it surprise people:

• Income is irrelevant. The account is reported because it exists, not because it paid you anything. A current account sitting at zero interest is reportable.
• Ownership is not required. The obligation covers accounts you hold, accounts of which you are the beneficiary, and accounts you are merely authorised to operate. A power of attorney over an elderly parent's account abroad is inside the rule.
• Beneficiary is defined widely. Article 63-A(9) treats as beneficiary anyone who controls the rights to the account directly or indirectly, whatever the legal title, including through intermediaries or representatives.

What you report is identification, not balances: the IBAN and the BIC. Where an account has neither, you give its number instead. Portugal is not asking what is in the account on this form; it is asking that the account exists.

This is also the least defensible thing to omit. Portugal receives account information automatically from other jurisdictions under the Common Reporting Standard, so an unreported account abroad is not an invisible one.

What goes in which box

Annex J follows the same category structure as the rest of the Portuguese return, so foreign income lands in the box matching its Portuguese category:

Within each income box you give the income code, the source country, the amount, and the tax paid abroad. That last column is not decoration: it is what produces your credit.

The column that gives you the credit

Declaring the foreign tax you paid is how you avoid being taxed twice. Under Article 81 of the Personal Income Tax Code, the credit is the lesser of two amounts: the income tax actually paid abroad, and the share of Portuguese tax attributable to that foreign income. Where a double taxation convention applies, the credit is further capped at the tax the convention permits the other state to charge.

The practical consequences run in both directions:

• If Portuguese tax on that income is higher, you pay the difference here. The credit removes the double charge; it does not hand you the lower of the two rates.
• If the other country withheld more than its treaty allows, the excess is not creditable in Portugal. You reclaim it from that country's tax authority. Claiming the correct treaty rate at source is worth more than fixing it afterwards.

Keep the proof. The instructions require that original documents evidencing the income and the corresponding foreign tax, issued by the tax authority of the source state, be retained and produced to the Portuguese tax authority on request. A payslip or a broker statement is not the same thing as a certificate from a foreign tax authority, and it is the certificate you will be asked for.

Where you get a choice: aggregation

Some foreign income can either be taxed at a flat rate or added to the rest of your income and taxed at progressive rates. Annex J puts that election in its own sub-boxes: 7B for rental income, 8B for investment income, 9.2C for the capital gains that allow it.

The choice is not obvious and it is not permanent. Aggregation tends to help when your total income sits in the lower brackets, and to hurt when it is already high, because the aggregated income is taxed at your marginal rate. It also interacts with the credit above, since the Portuguese tax attributable to the foreign income changes with the method. This is worth modelling before ticking the box rather than after.

Crypto has its own box now

Box 9.4 covers the disposal of crypto assets that do not qualify as securities, split between the gains themselves and the aggregation election. If you hold crypto on a foreign exchange, note that two separate obligations can apply: the gain goes in box 9.4, and the account itself may fall inside box 11. Our crypto tax guide covers the Portuguese rules on holding periods and categories.

If you are on IRS Jovem or the Regressar Programme

Annex J is also where two Portuguese regimes are claimed for foreign employment income. Box 4D is the election for the former-residents regime of Article 12-A, the Regressar Programme, where you state the year you became resident again. Box 4E.1 is the election for IRS Jovem under Article 12-B for 2025 onwards, with a separate box 4E kept for the years 2020 to 2024 under the old rules.

Both are elections. Neither is applied for you. If you qualify and leave the box empty, you do not get the relief. See our guide to IRS Jovem for who qualifies and how the percentages run.

Deadline and what to have ready

The Modelo 3 return, Annex J included, is filed between 1 April and 30 June of the year following the income year. Before you start, gather:

• the certificate of income and tax paid from each foreign tax authority;
• the source country for every item, since the country drives which treaty applies;
• IBAN and BIC for every account abroad, including ones you only operate;
• for property sales, the acquisition and disposal documents with dates and costs.

If part of your income arrives through a UK trust or estate, read our guide to the 2025 UK-Portugal treaty first: the treaty has a look-through rule that changes how those payments are characterised.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to declare a foreign account that earns no interest?

Yes. Box 11 of Annex J identifies accounts because they exist, not because they produce income. The obligation comes from Article 63-A(8) of the General Tax Law and the official instructions require the annex from residents who are holders, beneficiaries or authorised to operate an account at a non-resident institution, whether or not there is any income.

I only have a power of attorney over my parent's account abroad. Does that count?

Yes. The rule covers accounts you are authorised to operate, not only accounts you own. Article 63-A(9) also treats as beneficiary anyone controlling the rights to an account directly or indirectly, including through intermediaries or representatives.

Do I have to report the balance?

No. Box 11 asks for identification: the IBAN and the BIC, or the account number where those do not exist. It does not ask for balances.

Will I pay tax twice on income already taxed abroad?

Generally no, but the relief has a ceiling. Article 81 of the Personal Income Tax Code gives a credit equal to the lesser of the tax paid abroad and the share of Portuguese tax attributable to that income, capped at what the applicable convention allows the other state to charge. If Portuguese tax is higher you pay the difference here.

What if the other country withheld more than the treaty allows?

The excess is not creditable in Portugal. You reclaim it from the tax authority of that country. It is worth claiming the correct treaty rate at source instead.

What proof do I need to keep?

Original documents evidencing the income and the foreign tax, issued by the tax authority of the source state. The instructions require them to be kept and produced to the Portuguese tax authority on request. A payslip or broker statement is not a substitute.

When is Annex J filed?

With the Modelo 3 return, between 1 April and 30 June of the year following the year the income relates to.

Sources

• Filling-in instructions for Annex J of the Modelo 3 return, Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority — purpose of the annex, who must file it, structure of boxes 3 to 11, and the wording of box 11.
• General Tax Law, Article 63-A(8) and (9) — obligation to identify accounts at non-resident financial institutions, and the definition of beneficiary.
• Personal Income Tax Code, Article 81 — credit for international double taxation and its limits.
• Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority, "Rendimentos obtidos no Estrangeiro" — worldwide taxation of residents and the 1 April to 30 June filing window.

Written on 4 September 2026. General information rather than advice on your situation. Which box an item belongs in depends on facts this page cannot see; bring the paperwork and we will read it with you.