Why the filing exists
When money leaves Portugal for an entity established elsewhere, the tax authority wants to know its nature, its amount and its recipient. That is what Modelo 30 is for.
The mechanism is tied to withholding tax: depending on the applicable treaty, certain payments abroad bear a Portuguese withholding. Modelo 30 is the return that goes with it.
What is covered
- commissions paid to Airbnb, Booking and other platforms;
- services invoiced by foreign suppliers;
- royalties and licence fees;
- interest paid abroad;
- dividends paid to non-resident shareholders.
The deadline
End of the second month following the payment.
| Month of payment | Due date |
|---|---|
| January | 31 March |
| February | 30 April |
| March | 31 May |
| April | 30 June |
Why it is missed so consistently
Here is the trap. Airbnb does not send you an invoice to pay: the platform deducts its commission before transferring the balance.
You receive €850. On the face of it, you paid nothing. Except the stay was €1,000 and €150 of commission genuinely went to a non-resident entity. That payment exists for tax purposes, even though it appears on no line of your bank statement.
That is why Modelo 30 is the filing most often missed by people doing their own books: nothing in the bank movements reminds them of it.
What to do if you have never filed it
Do not deal with this by staying quiet. Missing returns can be regularised, and a voluntary correction does not cost the same as an audit.
Pull the platform statements — Airbnb and Booking both provide them, with commissions broken down by period — and have the position assessed. We handle this kind of catch-up regularly.