Two steps
- Open activity at Finanças first — the “declaração de início de atividade,” done via Portal das Finanças before you start working (at the latest by your declared start date).
- Register with Segurança Social — largely linked automatically once you’ve opened activity at Finanças, or done directly via the Segurança Social Direta portal.
Contribution rules for 2026
The rate is 21.4% applied to your “relevant income” (70% of quarterly billing for services, or 20% for goods). Example: €4,500 quarterly billing → €3,150 relevant income → ~€1,050 monthly base → roughly €224.70/month contribution. Minimum contribution floors around €20–€148/month depending on declared income; the ceiling is €1,379.35/month.
First-year exemption
New registrants get an automatic 12-month exemption from contributions, starting the month after your declared start date — no payments due, but also no access to unemployment/illness benefits during that window, and it doesn’t count toward pension credit. Quarterly income declarations are still mandatory even during the exemption (missing one risks a €50–€250 fine).
⚠ These figures come from accounting-firm sources rather than a directly-fetched seg-social.pt page — worth a quick confirmation against the official 2026 contribution schedule before you rely on the exact percentages.
Next step: check whether your work fits one of the IFICI qualifying categories — most self-employed nomads won’t, but it’s worth ruling out early rather than assuming either way.