Business 7 July 2026

Portugal's tax authority set a decade record: 641,000 garnishment orders and 1.55 billion euros recovered in 2025

Portugal's Fisco filed 641,678 garnishment requests in 2025 (+3%) and clawed back 1.55 billion euros in unpaid tax, a ten-year high. VAT led the way; pension garnishments jumped 9%.

Portugal’s tax collection machine has never been busier. In 2025 the Autoridade Tributária filed 641,678 garnishment requests over unpaid tax, up 3% on the year before — and recovered 1.55 billion euros through enforced collection, the highest figure of the past decade.

How many garnishment orders did Portugal’s tax authority issue in 2025?

More than 641,000 across the year, most of them targeting “other assets and income” — bank accounts, credits and the like. Inside those numbers, two trends pull in opposite directions: wage garnishments fell 12% to 75,620, while pension garnishments jumped 9% to 13,221. Fewer workers are seeing their salary docked, but more retirees are being caught in the net.

Which tax brings in the most enforced revenue?

VAT, by a distance: 523.6 million euros recovered coercively in 2025, a 19% rise on the previous year. It paints a picture of squeezed businesses leaving VAT at the back of the payment queue — and the state going to fetch it later, with interest. All the more striking given that Portuguese companies actually got more profitable at the start of this year.

What should you do if you receive a garnishment notice?

Enforcement doesn’t arrive out of nowhere: summonses and response deadlines come first, and debts can be paid in instalments or contested. The first step is checking your situation on the Portal das Finanças, the tax authority’s official portal, and requesting a payment plan before the execution advances — stopping the process early is always cheaper than letting it reach your salary or bank account.

For the state, 2025 was a bumper year. For taxpayers in arrears, it was a reminder that the Fisco’s patience comes with an expiry date — and interest.

By Beatriz Mota

Image: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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