If you have been notified to pay Personal Income Tax (IRS), note that you can pay this tax to the authorities in installments, but there are several rules and limits you should be aware of.
This is “an option that, while offering immediate financial relief and implying a simple and automatic process, entails significant additional costs,” notes DECO PROTeste in a statement sent to Notícias ao Minuto.
“This year, many taxpayers have been confronted with the obligation to pay IRS, instead of receiving the refunds they were accustomed to. The tax has not increased, but withholdings at the source are increasingly close to the true amount to be paid. With the deadline for filing the IRS declaration on June 30, many taxpayers find themselves, some for the first time, facing taxes to be paid, in some cases, higher than expected,” recalls the consumer protection organization, adding that the payment can be made in installments, provided some essential conditions are met:
- The income declaration must have been submitted within the legal deadline (by June 30);
- The taxpayer cannot have other debts to the tax authorities;
- The request for installment payment must be made by September 15.
Beware of interest!
“It is crucial to emphasize that interest on arrears is added to the installment amount. In 2025, the rate applied to state debts is 8.309%. This additional cost, although it may seem small at first, can have a significant impact on the total amount to be paid. For a debt of approximately 4,000 euros, for example, the first installment will be around 360 euros,” calculates DECO PROTeste.
According to the consumer protection organization, these are the main rules and limits:
- Number of installments: taxpayers can choose the number of monthly installments, provided it does not exceed 36.
- Minimum amount per installment: the unit value of each installment cannot be less than 25.50 euros.
- Guarantee requirement: the guarantee waiver applies to amounts up to 5,000 euros or if the number of installments does not exceed 12;
- If the amount owed exceeds 5,000 euros, or if the desired number of installments surpasses 12, a guarantee (bank, deposit insurance, or mortgage on a property) is generally required;
- However, it is possible to obtain a guarantee waiver by settling the amount exceeding 5,000 euros within the legal deadline (by the end of August) and requesting installments without a guarantee for the remaining amount.
Then, “if the taxpayer meets all the requirements, the request is automatically authorized“.
“DECO PROteste informs that if the taxpayer is financially able to amortize the debt over the installment payment period, they can do so, provided the plan is already authorized and at least one installment has been issued and regularized. The procedure for amortizing and making early payments of some installments is similar to the initial request but must be done in the ‘Amortize’ or ‘Advance Payments’ option on the Tax Portal,” the statement reads.
