From Portugal to Costa Rica

Leaving Portugal

• More than 183 days in any 12-month period. You are resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal, consecutive or not, in any 12-month period starting or ending in the tax year.
• Habitual residence. With fewer days, you are still resident if at any time in that 12-month period you have a home in Portugal in conditions suggesting you intend to keep and use it as your habitual residence.
• Part-year residence. Since 2015 residence normally starts on the first day of stay and ends on the last day, so a year can be split into resident and non-resident periods, with some exceptions.

Rules that can follow you after leaving

• Portuguese nationals moving to a blacklisted territory stay resident 4 more years. Portuguese nationals who move tax residence to a territory on the government blacklist remain Portuguese residents in the year of the move and the four following years, unless they prove valid reasons such as temporary work.

Exit tax in Portugal

No general exit tax for individuals

Leaving Portugal does not trigger tax on unrealised gains on ordinary shares or property. Specific exceptions: gains previously deferred on tax-neutral share exchanges or on transferring a sole-trader business into a company can become taxable on loss of residence, and loss of residence is treated as a disposal of crypto-assets (since 2023).

Exit tax → · Am I still resident? →

Arriving in Costa Rica

Personal income: 0% abroad · Company tax: 30%

Residency as a rentista, pensioner or investor.

183 days a year.

Foreign income stays outside the tax base. Local companies pay 30%. Nature and stability, but further and pricier than it looks.