The IRS delivery period starts today

Delivery of the IRS Model 3 declaration begins this Monday, with the beginning of April. See here the IRS calendar until the end of the campaign and find out which taxpayers are eligible for the automatic IRS, which this year will be extended to more taxpayers, as well as the tax consequences for those who do not submit the IRS declaration within the stipulated deadlines.

April 1st to June 30th: delivery of the declaration

The deadline for submitting the IRS declaration occurs within this period, the taxpayer has until June 30th to do so. Many taxpayers choose to submit the declaration within the first few days, which can usually result in a faster refund. The president of the Tax Workers Union (STI) does not anticipate difficulties in the functioning of the tax machine with the delivery of the IRS declaration, but advises taxpayers not to focus on the beginning and end of the process. For Gonçalo Rodrigues, the ideal for taxpayers “is not to rush to the beginning or leave this declarative obligation until the end”, similar to experts who recommend waiting around 15 days before submitting the declaration, as this gives the AT time to correct any errors or provide necessary clarifications.

The new president of the STI does not, moreover, anticipate difficulties with the arrival of yet another IRS campaign, despite the lack of human resources at the Tax and Customs Authority (AT) that has been highlighted.

Still on the IRS campaign, Gonçalo Rodrigues points out that the new withholding tax regime (which came into force in July last year and seeks to bring the amount withheld closer to the tax due), being a positive measure, can contain the “risk” result in a reduction in the refund or imply that there is tax to be paid, after the calculations are made.

Automatic IRS for whom?

The automatic IRS will this year be extended to more taxpayers, now covering those who have investments in retirement certificates, a change that makes this automation “more comprehensive” and that adds the public capitalization regime to the list of tax benefits that were already available. covered – namely donations and PPR. Conversely, taxpayers who wish to benefit from the tax regime aimed at young people must refuse the automatic IRS and complete the declaration ‘manually’.

Taxpayers who in 2023 earned income that falls within this list are eligible for automatic IRS in 2024:

• income from employment (category A);
• pensions (category H);
• income from the provision of services (category B, except with code “Other service providers”) falling within the simplified regime and who have issued all invoices, receipts and receipts through the Finance portal;
• income taxed at liberatory rates, without the inclusion option having been exercised;
• income obtained only in Portugal by taxpayers resident throughout the year (does not include non-habitual residents);
• tax benefits arising from donations or investments in retirement savings plans (PPR) or in individual accounts managed under the public capitalization regime (State retirement certificates).

Even if they fit into the previous list, taxpayers who are covered by the Young IRS are excluded from automatic IRS; pay alimony; made deductions relating to ascendants; they have to restore tax benefit amounts; make deductions for people with disabilities; make deductions for international double taxation; make deductions due to the additional municipal property tax (AIMI); had tax debts to be settled on December 31, 2023.

For taxpayers who are married or cohabiting, a provisional declaration is available for each taxation regime: joint or separate.

How do you know if you have Automatic IRS?

You can confirm whether you are covered by the automatic delivery of the IRS declaration, simply access the Finance Portal and log in with your identification password. If you don’t find a shortcut for IRS on the home screen, look in the side menu for “All Services” and scroll to “IRS”. Select the “Automatic IRS” option.

If you are not covered by the automatic IRS, you will find the message “As you do not meet all the conditions required to be covered by the Automatic Income Declaration, you must submit an IRS declaration, model 3, under the general terms”. In this case, you must fill out your declaration manually.

Month of July – deadline to receive IRS refund

By July 31st, AT must send the IRS settlement note. But for this to happen, the IRS must have been delivered within the legal deadline. It is in this document that AT demonstrates how it calculated the tax. This is also the deadline for receiving the refund, if applicable.

If the IRS declaration is submitted on time and there is a right to a refund, it must be received by July 31st. At this stage, AT also issues the settlement note, which presents all the calculations carried out.

Until August 31st: deadline to pay IRS

This is the deadline month for those who have to pay IRS. Therefore, the deadline to do so is August 31st. Don’t forget that you can ask the Finance department to pay the amount in installments.

If you have to pay additional tax to the State, you must do so by the end of August. This met the IRS delivery deadline. Otherwise, you have until December 31st to make the payment.

What if I miss the IRS 2024 deadlines?

If you are unable to meet the deadlines established above for each month, you may be subject to some tax consequences.

Failure to declare the IRS leads to the imposition of a fine. Its severity depends on the delay and the way in which the situation is regularized.

According to Article 116 of the General Regime of Tax Offenses, failure to submit declarations for tax purposes is punishable by a fine of 150 to 3,750 euros. If you are subject to a process of this nature, you must inform the Finance Department accordingly.

Who is entitled to an IRS refund?

The almost six million households that submitted their IRS declaration last year will begin to make accounts with the State from this Monday, April 1st. The vast majority of taxpayers who only receive income from pensions or paid work have a more simplified life. They have automatic IRS delivery at their disposal. If you are not covered, you must submit the IRS Model 3 declaration (category A or H).

To receive an IRS refund, you must have withheld your income at source in the year corresponding to the tax declaration (the declaration for 2023 will be submitted in 2024). Only after delivering this document will you be able to access a refund or not. A taxpayer will therefore have to withhold a higher amount at source than what they will have to pay in IRS. If the opposite occurs, then you will not receive a refund and will have to pay the missing tax amount.

Can I see if I have a refund on the Finance Portal?

Yes you can. Through the Finance Portal it is possible to check your situation, so that you can understand how much will result from the IRS settlement: the refund or the amount you will have to pay in additional tax.

If you have other debts to AT, the refund amount will be used to automatically pay them. If there is money left over from this debt settlement, the respective amount will be given to you by Finance.

What are the deadlines for IRS 2023 refunds?

The Government’s promise has been, in recent years, that the transfer will be made in 12 to 20 days, a deadline that has generally been met. In 2023, the average deadline was 12 days for the automatic IRS and 17 days for the normal declaration. By law, the tax authorities have until July 31st to pay refunds to taxpayers, which means that failure to fulfill the promise of payment within 15 days cannot generate complaints.

Could IRS Withholding Changes Lead to Lower Refunds?

Yes, they can. The change in IRS withholding tax from July could now result in a smaller refund or tax payable, highlights Deco, which advises taxpayers to check their invoices carefully to minimize this effect.

Deco Proteste warns that the fact that the withholding tax tables, changed in July 2023, “have given immediate relief to taxpayers’ wallets, now payment can be made upon submission of the IRS declaration”. Taxpayers must, therefore, take extra care in the process of verifying and validating invoices with expenses deductible to the IRS that they have earned this year and verify that the value of the deductions calculated by the AT that became available on the Finance Portal in mid-March – includes all invoices with NIF and to refuse it or complain if they find that there are missing invoices.

If there are gaps in expenses for housing, education, health or nursing homes, “when the taxpayer is filling out the IRS”, from April 1st, “he must delete the pre-filled amount and replace it with the correct amount”.

The absence of invoices for general family expenses or those that allow the IRS to deduct part of the VAT incurred in sectors such as restaurants, gyms, workshops and hairdressers must be claimed from the AT by the end of March, before the start of the IRS campaign.