Payroll Services in Portugal

Already have a Portuguese entity, or running payroll across several countries? We place you with a vetted Portuguese payroll partner who keeps income tax, social security, and the 14-month cycle exactly right, while you stay the legal employer and we stay on your side.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Multi-country ready

What running payroll in Portugal involves

If you already employ people through your own Portuguese entity, you stay the legal employer, but you still have to run Portuguese payroll correctly every month, including the 13th and 14th month salary and the monthly DMR filing. Segurança Social and the tax authority run integrated reporting, which means errors are visible and penalised. This is where a specialist payroll partner earns its place: you keep the employment relationship, they keep the mechanics right.

01

You stay the employer

You stay the legal employer of your Portuguese staff. The payroll partner runs the monthly mechanics; you keep the employment relationship.

02

Accurate every cycle

Income tax and social security calculated and withheld correctly, payslips issued, and the monthly DMR filed on schedule, every month.

03

Multi-country consolidation

Run payroll across several markets under one partner and one process, rather than a different vendor and standard in every country.

How managed Portuguese payroll works, step by step

From onboarding your employee data to filing and reconciliation.

01 — Scope & onboard

We map your entity, headcount, and pay structure, place you with the right vetted Portuguese payroll partner, and onboard your employee data.

02 — Set up calculations

Income tax bands, the 23.75% social security rate, and the 14-month cycle configured correctly to current Portuguese law, so every payslip is right from the first run.

03 — Run monthly payroll

Salaries calculated, income tax and social security withheld, payslips issued, and people paid on schedule, every cycle including the holiday and Christmas payments.

04 — File & reconcile

The monthly DMR and social security declarations filed on time, with year-end reconciliation handled for you.

What payroll in Portugal costs

Your statutory employer costs, plus a payroll partner fee. Portugal’s 23.75% employer social security and 14-month cycle add real detail; the value of the partner is accuracy and time, in a system where mistakes are visible and penalised.

Employer social security

23.75% of gross salary (no ceiling), covering pension, unemployment and family benefits, calculated correctly on every payroll run. The employee pays a further 11%.

Minimum wage (2026)

EUR 920 per month across 14 payments per year (2026), the statutory floor. Portugal pays 14 months, not 12.

Income tax (employee)

Progressive from 12.5% to 48% across nine brackets, withheld via IRS. Borne by the employee, calculated and filed correctly each month.

Payroll partner fee

A transparent per-employee or per-payslip fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

One partner, many countries

If you run payroll across several markets, we consolidate it through vetted partners under one point of contact, not a different vendor and a different standard in every country.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

Pricing you can’t get direct

Portugal’s uncapped 23.75% employer contribution does not change by provider. The processing fee on top of it does. We benchmark that fee across our payroll network for rates typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate it for you at renewal.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

Portuguese regulations that expose risk

The 14-month salary, the monthly DMR, the meal allowance, the year-end. We place you with partners who get the specifics right, and we stay on your side if anything needs escalating.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

20+ years and the local detail

Two decades running compliant payroll across Europe. Portugal’s solidarity surtax, an extra 2.5% to 5% on income above EUR 80,000, sits on top of the standard IRS bands and is easy to miss when a senior hire’s payroll is set up in a hurry. Two decades of doing this means it does not get missed.

  • Two decades of payroll
  • Deadlines & filings
  • Year-end handled

Built to scale across markets

Run payroll in one country or twenty through one partner and one process. As you add markets, the standard does not fragment, you keep a single point of contact and consistent compliance everywhere.

  • One process everywhere
  • Single point of contact
  • Consistent compliance

Where Portuguese payroll bites first

These are the ones that catch foreign employers, and the reason a specialist partner pays for itself.

Tax & social security

Forgetting the 13th and 14th month salary. Misapplying the social security split. Missing the meal allowance or a statutory benefit under the Código do Trabalho. Each is easy to get wrong alone and visible to the authorities when you do.

Filings, deadlines & reporting

Late social security or DMR remittance, where penalties and interest apply automatically. None of these are hard for a specialist; all are easy to get wrong alone. That is the whole case for getting your Portuguese payroll partner right.

What managed payroll covers

One transparent fee covers the full monthly payroll cycle. No hidden extras.

Tax & social security

Compliant Portuguese payroll processed monthly, with income tax and social security correct every run.

Payroll & filings

Monthly payroll run, with income tax and social security calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: 22 days’ leave, the 13th and 14th month salary, meal allowance, sick and parental leave.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on running compliant payroll in Portugal.

Do I need a Portuguese entity to use payroll services?

Yes. Payroll outsourcing assumes you are the legal employer, which means you have a Portuguese entity. If you have no entity and do not want one yet, you need an EOR instead, where the partner is the legal employer. We will confirm which applies to you.

Income tax calculation and remittance, employer and employee social security, the 14-month salary, statutory benefits and leave, payslips, and the monthly DMR, with year-end reconciliation. You keep the employment relationship; they keep it compliant and on time.

Portuguese employees receive 12 monthly salaries plus a holiday allowance and a Christmas allowance, totalling 14 payments a year. A good payroll partner builds this into the cycle so it is right from the first run. Forgetting it is one of the most common foreign-employer mistakes.

Employer social security is 23.75% of gross, uncapped; the employee separately pays 11%, withheld from salary and not added to your cost. Salary is paid across 14 months. Add the transparent payroll partner fee and you have your all-in cost.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons companies come to us. One point of contact and a consistent process across markets, rather than a separate provider and a different standard in every country.

Yes. When you incorporate and become the legal employer, we move your people from the EOR arrangement onto your own compliant Portuguese payroll, and manage the handover so nothing is missed.

Need compliant payroll in Portugal?

Tell us your entity setup and headcount and we will come back with the right partner and pricing you will not get direct, usually within a day. One process, every country you operate in.

Tax and labour data verified June 2026 (Segurança Social, AT, OECD). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your payroll.