Living in Portugal on a Japanese pension: tax and paperwork in 2026

Japan and Portugal have a tax treaty, in force since July 28, 2013. Under its article 17, a pension paid to a resident of Portugal is, as a rule, taxed only in Portugal. The Japan Pension Service says that a person receiving an old-age pension who lives in a treaty country can stop Japanese income tax withholding by filing a treaty relief form (Form 9, 様式9), and its list of those countries includes Portugal. Portugal taxes its residents on their income from anywhere in the world. The NHR regime is closed to newcomers, and IFICI, which replaced it, gives no relief on foreign pensions. Japan and Portugal have no social security agreement.

This article is general information. Urbanis does not give tax advice. Check how your own pension is treated with tax advisers in Japan and in Portugal.

The Japan–Portugal tax treaty

The treaty was signed in Lisbon on December 19, 2011. The Japanese Ministry of Finance lists its entry into force as July 28, 2013, and the Portuguese Tax Authority's treaty table gives the same date.

Under article 28, Japan applies it to tax withheld at source on amounts taxable from January 1 of the year after entry into force, so from January 1, 2014. The treaty has three authentic texts, in Japanese, Portuguese and English. The Portuguese and English texts were published in the Diário da República with Parliament Resolution 50/2012.

Articles 17 and 18: which country taxes the pension

Article 17 (Pensions) reads:

Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of article 18, pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that Contracting State.

Once you live in Portugal and are tax resident there, that Contracting State is Portugal.

The exception is article 18(2) (Government service). A pension paid by a State or one of its local authorities, or out of funds they created or contribute to, for services rendered to that State, is taxable only in the State that pays it. It is taxable only in the other State if the person is both a resident and a national of that other State. For a former Japanese public servant living in Portugal, the treaty text means that part of the pension stays taxable in Japan unless they are also a Portuguese national.

The public pages of the Japan Pension Service and the National Tax Agency do not say whether Japan's national pension (kokumin nenkin) and employees' pension (kosei nenkin) old-age benefits fall under article 17 or article 18(2). What the Japan Pension Service does say is that an old-age pension can be exempted from non-resident income tax where Japan has a treaty with a pension clause with the country of residence. The National Tax Agency form has a field for "the relevant provisions of the applicable income tax convention." If you worked as a public servant or receive a company pension, ask a tax adviser which article to enter before you file.

In Japan: stopping the withholding

Once you leave Japan and become a non-resident, your Japanese pension is subject to non-resident income tax. According to the Japan Pension Service, someone living in Portugal on a Japanese pension files:

1. The address and bank registration form for pensioners living abroad (外国居住年金受給権者 住所・受取金融機関 登録（変更）届), due by the end of the month two months before the pension payment date.
2. Two copies of Form 9 (租税条約に関する届出書, 様式9), which the National Tax Agency's English instructions call the "Application Form for Relief from Japanese Income Tax and Special Income Tax for Reconstruction on Pensions, Annuities, etc." This is the form for any treaty country other than the United States. Only US residents also attach the limitation-on-benefits form (Form 17-US, 様式17-米) and a residency certificate.

The Japan Pension Service list of treaty countries (as of January 2025) names Portugal among the countries where filing the form exempts a pension from Japanese withholding. Some countries with a treaty are not covered, for example because the treaty has no pension clause: Canada, Thailand, Sweden and Macau are among them.

The National Tax Agency says the form is prepared for each payer and filed through the payer with the tax office by the day before the first payment. For a public pension, the payer is the Japan Pension Service. If it arrives late, tax is withheld at the domestic rate, and you can claim the difference back with the treaty refund claim, Form 11 (様式11, 租税条約に関する源泉徴収税額の還付請求書). The Japan Pension Service asks people to check the National Tax Agency website for the latest version of each form.

Every year at the end of January, the Japan Pension Service sends old-age pensioners who lived abroad the previous year a payment statement showing the pension paid and the tax withheld. Keep it for your Portuguese tax return.

Getting the pension paid in Portugal

You can have the pension paid to a bank account in Japan or in Portugal. A Japanese account cannot be at Japan Post Bank (Yucho, ゆうちょ銀行). A Portuguese account needs its SWIFT (BIC) code and IBAN, plus a bank statement, a copy of a checkbook or a passbook copy. The Japan Pension Service pays pensions to Portugal in euros, and you cannot choose another currency. The first payment after a change of bank can take three to four weeks.

Pensioners living abroad file a yearly status report (現況届, genkyo todoke), due by the end of their birth month. The Japan Pension Service mails it three months before the birth month. Japanese nationals attach a certificate of residence issued by a Japanese embassy or consulate in their country of residence, dated within the six months up to and including the birth month. With a My Number Card, it can also be filed online through e-Gov.

In Portugal: how the pension is taxed

Under article 16 of the Portuguese IRS Code, you are resident if you spend more than 183 days in Portugal in a 12-month period, or fewer days but have a home here in conditions that suggest you intend to keep it as your habitual residence. Article 15 taxes residents on "a totalidade dos seus rendimentos, incluindo os obtidos fora desse território" (all their income, including income earned outside Portugal). Pensions are category H income under article 11 and are added to your other income at the progressive rates of article 68. The return for each year is filed from April 1 to June 30 of the following year (article 60).

The NHR regime, which gave foreign pensions favorable treatment, was ended by the 2024 State Budget (Law 82/2023). Under article 236(3) of that law, the old regime continues only for people already registered as NHR, people who were already resident in Portugal on December 31, 2023, and people who became resident by December 31, 2024 with ties from before, such as a job contract or a lease signed by the dates in that article. Members of their household are covered too. The Portuguese Tax Authority sets this out in its note under IRS Code article 81. Someone moving now does not qualify.

IFICI (article 58-A of the Tax Benefits Statute) is for people working in eligible activities, such as higher-education teaching, research and certain highly qualified jobs. Its 20% rate applies to categories A and B (employment and self-employment income). Its exemption for foreign income covers categories A, B, E, F and G, and leaves out category H, pensions (IRS Code article 81(4)). More in NHR is closed. Here's what IFICI offers in 2026.

If you also own a home in Portugal, IMI (the municipal property tax) and other yearly taxes apply on top of the pension. See Owning a home in Portugal from abroad: yearly taxes in 2026.

No social security agreement

Social security agreements prevent double contributions and let people add together the years they paid into each country's pension system. The Japan Pension Service list shows Japan with agreements in force with 24 countries once the agreement with Austria took effect on December 1, 2025. Portugal is not one of them, so years paid into the Portuguese system cannot be added to your Japanese coverage.

Japanese nationals living abroad can join Japan's national pension voluntarily. Contributions paid as a voluntary member count toward the old-age basic pension. If you have not left Japan yet, you apply at your city or town office.

Visa and nationality

Most people living on a pension look at the D7, the residence visa for people with a regular income such as a pension. Conditions and income amounts are in D7 vs D8 visa Portugal 2026: which one fits you.

If you are thinking about Portuguese citizenship, note that Japan's Ministry of Justice says Japanese nationality "will be automatically lost if a foreign nationality is acquired by the individual’s choice, for example, through naturalization in a foreign country." For most Japanese, permanent residence is the realistic goal. The difference is explained in Portugal permanent residence vs citizenship in 2026.

Before you move and after you move

Before you move

1. Check what kind of pension you receive: an old-age pension, a part based on public service, or a company pension. The treaty can treat them differently.
2. Ask tax advisers in Japan and Portugal which treaty article applies to you.
3. If you hold securities and similar assets worth ¥100 million or more, check whether Japan's exit tax applies. It generally covers people who lived in Japan for more than 5 of the 10 years before leaving.
4. Decide whether to join the national pension voluntarily, and if so apply at your city or town office.
5. Decide whether the pension will be paid to a Japanese or a Portuguese account.
6. Apply for your visa (usually the D7).

After you move

1. Send the address and bank registration form to the Japan Pension Service by the end of the month two months before the payment date.
2. Send two copies of Form 9 together with the address and bank form by the end of the month two months before the payment date. The Japan Pension Service then lodges Form 9 with the tax office by the day before the first payment. If it is late, claim a refund with Form 11.
3. Confirm the date you became tax resident in Portugal (IRS Code article 16).
4. Keep the payment statement that arrives at the end of each January, and file your Portuguese IRS return between April 1 and June 30.
5. Each year, send the status report (genkyo todoke) and a certificate of residence to the Japan Pension Service by the end of your birth month.

What Urbanis does

Urbanis is a licensed real estate agency in Porto (AMI 24596). We help you find a home to rent or buy in Porto, coordinate the move, and refer you to independent tax advisers. We do not give tax advice. Our team speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish and Hebrew, and we reply in English. Talk to the relocation team

Frequently asked questions

Do Japan and Portugal have a tax treaty?

Yes. It was signed in Lisbon on December 19, 2011 and entered into force on July 28, 2013. In Japan it applies to tax withheld at source from January 1, 2014.

Source: Ministry of Finance of Japan, list of tax conventions

Is my Japanese pension taxed in both Japan and Portugal?

Under article 17, a pension paid to a resident of Portugal is taxable only in Portugal. Article 18(2) is the exception: a pension for services to a State or a local authority is, as a rule, taxable in the State that pays it. Ask a tax adviser which one applies to your pension.

Source: Diário da República, Resolution 50/2012, treaty text

How do I stop Japanese withholding on my pension?

If you receive an old-age pension, send two copies of Form 9 to the Japan Pension Service together with the address and bank form, by the end of the month two months before the payment date. The Pension Service then lodges it with the tax office by the day before the first payment. Tax withheld before then can be claimed back with Form 11.

Source: Japan Pension Service, when a pensioner lives abroad (Japanese)

Do NHR or IFICI lower the tax on my pension?

Not if you move now. NHR has ended except for people covered by the transitional rule, and IFICI's foreign-income exemption does not include pensions (category H). As a Portuguese resident, your pension is taxed at the normal progressive rates.

Source: Portuguese Tax Authority, IRS Code article 81, with Law 82/2023 article 236

Do Japan and Portugal have a social security agreement?

No. Portugal is not among the 24 countries on the Japan Pension Service list, so contribution years in the two countries cannot be added together.

Source: Japan Pension Service, social security agreements (Japanese)

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Last verified: October 29, 2026.