Freedom of movement makes the German-to-Portuguese move administratively easy and tells you nothing about the tax. No visa is needed and registration here is an immigration formality — Portuguese tax residence is decided by CIRS art. 16 alone, on days present and on whether you keep a home in a way that implies you mean to live in it. An EU registration certificate neither creates that nor prevents it.
What is genuinely different about Germany is on the other side. Germany's own residence rule can survive your departure without anybody noticing, and its exit charge can arrive without anything being sold.
Two German tests, and either one is enough
| Test | Trigger |
|---|---|
| Wohnsitz | Keeping a dwelling in Germany that is available for your use |
| Gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt | More than 183 days present in a calendar year |
That is the fact nobody volunteers, because from the client's point of view they moved. The 183-day limb runs on the calendar year, days need not be consecutive, and crossing it by a single day is reported to make you resident for the whole year.
Meanwhile Portugal is applying art. 16: residence starts on the first day of the stay, unless you were resident here on any day of the previous year, in which case it backdates to 1 January. So the two countries' residences begin by entirely different mechanisms, on different dates, and both can be running at once.
Wegzugsbesteuerung — the tax on leaving
Giving up German tax residency while holding 1% or more of a corporation is treated under § 6 AStG as a deemed disposal of those shares on the day of departure, and the imputed gain is taxed. Nothing changes hands. The charge is real.
The position reported for 2026 is that the tax is assessed immediately for every destination — EU, Switzerland and the United States alike, with no distinction — and may on request be paid in seven equal annual instalments against security, meaning a bank guarantee or a pledge of the shares.
It matters here more than it looks. Somebody who left Germany holding a stake and now runs a Portuguese business may have a German exit-tax position they have never mentioned, simply because from where they stand they did not sell anything.
And Germany can follow for ten years
Erweiterte beschränkte Steuerpflicht under § 2 AStG lets Germany reach certain income for up to ten years after departure, where substantial economic interests remain in Germany. A German nexus is therefore not closed by the move, and neither Portuguese residence nor elapsed time settles it by itself.
The convention, and the pension surprise
The Portugal–Germany convention was approved for ratification by Lei n.º 12/82 of 3 June 1982, and it covers taxes on income and on capital. Article 18 states that pensions and similar remuneration paid to a resident of a contracting state in consequence of a prior employment may be taxed only in that state.
We do not print this convention's withholding ceilings on dividends, interest and royalties. Our copy of the 1982 Diário da República is a scan whose two columns interleave when extracted, which preserves the article numbers and mangles the rate tables sitting between them. Read the convention itself before relying on a rate; the caps sit in articles 10, 11 and 12.
What Portugal taxes, and where it goes
Once resident, CIRS art. 15 n.º 1 puts your worldwide income in the Portuguese base and CIRS art. 81 relieves the overlap: a lesser-of credit, capped at the treaty rate rather than at whatever was withheld, with five years to use what you cannot use now. Income taxed abroad above the treaty rate is reclaimed from the other country, never from Portugal.
- German income and the German tax paid on it — Anexo J.
- Any account held outside Portugal — quadro 11 of the folha de rosto, with no income threshold and no need to own it.
- Freelance or business income earned here — Anexo B or C.
- Gains — Anexo G or G1.
IFICI is the regime worth checking on arrival, and it is activity-based rather than nationality-based: research and higher-education posts, qualified roles under investment benefits, certified startups and a short list of others. EBF art. 58.º-A n.º 10(a) bars anyone who has ever benefited from NHR, permanently, and n.º 12 allows it once per taxpayer in a lifetime.
Can I still be a German tax resident after moving to Portugal?
Yes. Wohnsitz attaches to keeping a dwelling in Germany that is available for your use, with no requirement that you be there. Separately, more than 183 days present in a calendar year establishes gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt. Either alone creates unlimited liability on worldwide income.
Does keeping my German flat matter for tax?
It is the specific fact that silently preserves German residence. If the flat remains available to you, the Wohnsitz test can be met even in a year you barely set foot in Germany.
What is the German exit tax?
Under § 6 AStG, giving up German tax residency while holding 1% or more of a corporation is treated as a deemed disposal of those shares on the day of departure, and the imputed gain is taxed although nothing was sold.
Can I defer the German exit tax by moving inside the EU?
The position reported for 2026 is that the tax is assessed immediately for all destinations, EU included, with payment in seven equal annual instalments available on request against security. Guidance describing open-ended, security-free EU deferral describes a previous state of the law.
Who taxes my German public-service pension if I live in Portugal?
Portugal alone. Article 18 of the 1980 convention gives pensions from prior employment to the state of residence, and article 19 — public remuneration — opens with a reservation in favour of article 18, so pensions never reach it.
Does Germany stop taxing me once I leave?
Not necessarily. § 2 AStG extends limited liability for up to ten years after departure where substantial economic interests remain in Germany. A departure within the last ten years keeps that live.
Does registering as an EU citizen in Portugal make me tax resident?
No. Registration is an immigration formality. CIRS art. 16 decides tax residence on presence and on whether you keep a home here in conditions implying you intend to occupy it — nothing else.