Residence on both sides, with no tie-breaker
New Zealand treats you as tax resident after 183 days in any twelve-month period or while you keep a permanent place of abode there; you become non-resident after 325 days away in a twelve-month period, provided no permanent place of abode remains. Portugal starts residence after 183 days in a twelve-month window or from the day you keep a habitual home (IRS Code, art. 16.º). Without a treaty there is no tie-breaker: a person who meets both tests is taxed by both, relieved only by each country’s unilateral credit. Ending the New Zealand abode cleanly — the house sold or on a genuine long lease, the family moved — is what prevents the overlap.
- No DTA in force; New Zealand lists Portugal among treaties under negotiation
- 10,5 % to 39 % New Zealand rates; 12,5 % to 48 % Portuguese brackets plus 11 % contributions
- No general capital gains tax in New Zealand; 28 % in Portugal (less after 2, 5, 8 years)
- NRWT 30 % on dividends, 15 % on interest from New Zealand to a Portuguese resident; Portugal credits up to its own tax
Income tax, side by side
| Portugal 2026 | New Zealand (from 1 April 2025) | |
|---|---|---|
| Rates | 12,5 % to 8 342 € … 48 % above 86 634 €; solidarity 2,5 % above 80 000 € | 10,5 % to $15 600; 17,5 % to $53 500; 30 % to $78 100; 33 % to $180 000; 39 % above |
| Tax-free | 4 587 € deduction on salaries and pensions | none (the first bracket is 10,5 %) |
| Social contributions | 11 % employee, 23,75 % employer | none (ACC levy about 1,6 % of earnings; KiwiSaver voluntary, 3 % + 3 % employer) |
| Capital gains | 28 % on securities; half of a property gain at progressive rates | none in general; residential property sold within 2 years taxed as income (bright-line), main home excluded |
| Dividends and interest | 28 % | taxed as income with imputation credits; PIE funds at up to 28 % |
| Couples | joint filing, income split | individual |
| GST / VAT | 23 / 13 / 6 % | 15 % on almost everything |
| Tax year | calendar year; return 1 April – 30 June | 1 April – 31 March; return by 7 July |
A single person on NZ$120 000 (about 62 000 €) pays about NZ$30 000 (25 %) in New Zealand; in Portugal about 16 100 € of IRS plus 6 800 € of contributions, 37 %. Portugal is heavier on salaries and lighter on nothing an employee sees — its case is made on capital and pensions.
Without a treaty: who taxes what
| Income of a Portuguese resident | New Zealand | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| NZ Super | paid gross abroad under general portability — Work and Income: no New Zealand tax on the payments while you live overseas | taxed at the progressive rates after the 4 587 € deduction |
| KiwiSaver withdrawals | not taxed on withdrawal (taxed within the fund) | taxed as pension income; capital component excluded where contributions were taxed |
| NZ dividends | NRWT 30 % (15 % on the imputed part under domestic rules for fully imputed dividends) | 28 %, credit for NZ tax capped at 28 % |
| NZ interest | NRWT 15 % (or the approved-issuer levy of 2 % where the payer registers) | 28 %, credit for NZ tax |
| NZ rental income | NZ income tax on net rent, return required | 25 % or progressive, credit |
| Sale of NZ property | bright-line within 2 years; otherwise nothing | half the gain at progressive rates (no credit if NZ charged nothing) |
| Salary for work done in Portugal | nothing | full Portuguese tax and contributions |
Portugal’s credit (IRS Code, art. 81.º n.º 1) is unilateral: New Zealand tax on foreign-source income is deducted up to the Portuguese tax on that income, category by category. The treaty status page tracks the negotiation.
Property and pensions
Buying in Portugal: IMT by bracket (7,5 % flat while you are still non-resident since 25 May 2026, refundable within two years of becoming resident) plus 0,8 % stamp duty; IMI 0,3–0,45 % of the tax value; AIMI above 600 000 €; rents at 25 %; half the gain at sale. New Zealand has no stamp duty and no general capital gains tax; its council rates are the recurring charge. The property tax page for New Zealand investors has the 2026 figures.
NZ Super is paid to Portugal under general portability: a proportion of the full rate equal to the months lived in New Zealand between 20 and 65 (out of 540), paid gross and free of New Zealand tax, applied for before departure. Portugal taxes it as pension income. There is no social security agreement between the two countries.
Special regimes
NHR closed on 1 January 2024. IFICI gives 20 % for ten years on Portuguese income from listed activities and exempts foreign income with progression for people not resident here in the previous five years — for a Kiwi, New Zealand’s NRWT remains and the Portuguese 28 % disappears. New Zealand’s own transitional-resident exemption (four years of foreign-income exemption for new arrivals) applies in the other direction. See NHR and IFICI for New Zealand citizens.
Before you move
End the abode
Sell or let the New Zealand home, move the family; count the 325 days from departure.
Investments
New Zealand taxes no gain on shares; Portugal will from the day you arrive (from original cost, in euros). Realise before the move what you would sell within a few years.
NZ Super and KiwiSaver
General-portability application before leaving; KiwiSaver withdrawal rules on permanent emigration (one-year wait, no withdrawal of the government contribution).
Portugal
Visa (a Kiwi needs a D7, D8 or other residence visa), NIF, address at Finanças, NISS, health centre; first return the following spring with annex J and the unilateral credits.
Access Portugal handles the visa file and the tax side together: NIF, residence registration, IFICI where a job qualifies, and the annual return with New Zealand income credited correctly in the absence of a treaty. Book a first consultation.
Questions from New Zealand clients
Do I need a visa to live in Portugal?
Yes. New Zealanders can stay 90 days in 180 without a visa; living here requires a residence visa — the D7 for retirees and people with passive income, the D8 for remote workers, the D2 for entrepreneurs — obtained at the Portuguese consulate before travelling.
Is my KiwiSaver taxed in Portugal?
Withdrawals after you become resident are pension income in Portugal, taxed at the progressive rates after the 4 587 € deduction; the part representing your own contributions from taxed income can be excluded (IRS Code, art. 54.º), the fund's growth and employer contributions cannot. Withdrawing under the permanent-emigration rule before Portuguese residence avoids the Portuguese tax.
When will the treaty apply?
Nobody knows. A treaty enters into force after signature and ratification by both parliaments, usually with effect from the following 1 January. Until then, plan on domestic law on both sides.
Sources and official references
- Inland Revenue (Tax Policy) — tax treaties: countries with DTAs in force; New Zealand is currently negotiating a new DTA with Portugal — checked 18.9.2026
- Autoridade Tributária — treaty table 2026: no convention with New Zealand — checked 18.9.2026
- Inland Revenue — tax rates for individuals from 1 April 2025: 10,5 % to $15 600, 17,5 % to $53 500, 30 % to $78 100, 33 % to $180 000, 39 % above — checked 18.9.2026
- Inland Revenue — tax residency status for individuals: 183-day rule, permanent place of abode, 325-day rule for leaving — checked 18.9.2026
- Inland Revenue — NRWT rates for areas without a DTA: 15 % on interest and royalties, 30 % on dividends — checked 18.9.2026
- Inland Revenue — the bright-line test: residential property sold within 2 years of purchase (sales from 1 July 2024), main home excluded — checked 18.9.2026
- Inland Revenue — GST 15 % on most taxable supplies — checked 18.9.2026
- Work and Income — NZ Super when living overseas: no New Zealand tax on payments abroad; general portability by months lived in New Zealand between 20 and 65 (of 540) — checked 18.9.2026
- Work and Income — travelling for more than 26 weeks: months ÷ 540 × the NZ Super rate, paid gross — checked 18.9.2026
- Código do IRS, artigo 81.º n.º 1 — unilateral credit for foreign tax; artigo 68.º — brackets 2026; artigo 16.º — residence — checked 18.9.2026