A GUIDE TO: OBTAINING A NIF/FISCAL NUMBER – TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (Número de Identificação Fiscal)
Serviço de Finanças – Tax Office of Arganil Avenida das Forças Armadas, 3300-011 Arganil 235200280 [email protected] 9:00am-12:30pm | 2:00 pm-4:00pm (Working days)
This is a simple, easy process. You need a Fiscal number to buy a house, buy a car and open a bank account in Portugal so for us this was the first process we did when we visited Portugal to view houses. Visit your local tax office (Serviço de Finanças) ours is in Arganil. Most operate a ticket system. All you need is photo ID e.g. Passport and proof of address, we took a council tax bill (utility bill from the UK). There is no cost, it is free.
Once we purchased our house we then went back to the finance office to change our address on the Fiscal number document. We had to take our 5 year temporary residency permit document to prove our address as they would not accept the deeds of the house. Most checkouts in shops will ask you for your Fiscal number – if you are buying items for your business or a house it’s best to give the number so you can use it to avoid paying tax on expenses.