Green Receipts for Personal Trainers in Portugal: VAT, Income Tax and Social Security
How to set up as an independent personal trainer in Portugal: CAE codes, VAT (Article 53), IRS Category B, Social Security, and the mistakes that cost real money.
Working as an independent personal trainer in Portugal almost always starts with the same problem: you get paid for your first session and realise, days later, that you actually need to register an activity with the tax office, declare to Social Security, decide between regimes nobody explained to you, all before the second client books.
Green receipts (recibos verdes), VAT, IRS Category B, Social Security. We all know the words; almost nobody was taught the numbers. This guide pulls everything into one place, with the , and shows you what to decide at each step, from the CAE code to issuing your first invoice-receipt. At the end, there's the part nobody tells you about either: without handing 50% to a chain gym.
There's a common confusion at the start: "I only need to register an activity when I start invoicing serious money." Wrong. You have to register your activity the moment you receive your first euro as a freelancer, even if it's a €25 session for a friend. There's no margin and no tolerance.
The only exception is the ato isolado (one-off act): a single piece of work, with no recurrence, performed once a year, with no continuous service to anyone. For a PT who plans to have recurring clients, the one-off act doesn't fit. As soon as there's any recurrence, an open activity is mandatory.
The process is done on the Portal das Finanças (free), in person at an AT desk, or through a certified accountant. You need your citizen card and your IBAN. It takes about fifteen minutes online, and takes effect the same day.
Which CAE to use as a personal trainer
The CAE (Portuguese Classification of Economic Activities) is the code that tells the tax office what you do. For the vast majority of PTs, the main code is CAE 85510 (Ensinos desportivo e recreativo), which covers "instruction in gymnastics, swimming, martial arts" and, explicitly, the "activity of instructors, teachers and trainers". This is the one you pick when you register your activity.
There's a second relevant code: CAE 93130 (Atividades de ginásio fitness). This applies when, on top of being an instructor, you also run your own facility with multiple modalities. If you work as an instructor going into other people's gyms, you don't need it.
You can hold multiple CAEs at the same time. One sits as the main code (usually the one generating most of the income) and the others as secondaries. For income tax purposes, almost all PTs fall under IRS Categoria B, which is the regime for independent professional and business income.
VAT: the Article 53 exemption
This is the part that confuses the most, and the one that can cost you real money if ignored. Article 53 of the VAT Code (CIVA) exempts you from charging VAT as long as you meet four conditions at the same time: you invoice less than €15,000 a year, you don't import or export, you aren't required to use organised accounting, and you don't carry out activities listed in Annex E of the CIVA. Almost every PT fits this box.
While you're exempt, your invoice-receipts carry the mention "Artigo 53.º do CIVA" and you charge the "clean" amount to the client, with no VAT added. Good for you (less paperwork) and good for the private client (they pay less).
The dangerous part is what happens when you cross the threshold. There are two distinct situations, and the difference is the difference between a planned change and a penalty.
You exceed the limit by up to 25% during the year (up to €18,750): you stay exempt that year. In January of the following year, you automatically move to the standard VAT regime and start charging VAT on invoices.
You exceed it by more than 25% (above €18,750) during the year:the invoice that crosses that limit already has to include VAT and you must file a change declaration with the tax office within 15 working days.
Social Security: the 12-month gift
When you open activity for the first time, here's some good news: you're exempt from Social Security contributions for 12 months. The exemption is automatic (you don't have to request it) and runs from the day you open activity, not the calendar year.
You can choose to start contributing right away, but it rarely pays off: skipping the gift only makes sense if you'll need contribution history soon (for instance, for a future social benefit).
From month 13, the real story begins. The contribution rate is 21.4% on 70% of the relevant income. The "70%" figure is the legal coefficient applied to service income to derive the contribution base. There's a minimum of €20 a month (even in a month with no income) and, in 2026, a maximum contribution base of €6,445.56 to cap very high contributions.
The quarterly declaration becomes mandatory after the exemption period, in January, April, July and October, on the Segurança Social Direta portal. That's where you report the previous quarter's income, with the AT cross-referencing data to confirm.
IRS Categoria B: simplified or organised accounting?
This decision weighs every year on how much income tax you pay. Almost every PT lands in Categoria B and can choose between two regimes.
In the simplified regime (up to €200,000 a year of invoicing), the tax office presumes your expenses. For services, it applies a coefficient of 0.75: you pay IRS on 75% of what you invoiced, and the remaining 25% is treated as "presumed expenses". You don't need a certified accountant, and most PTs start here. The cost of an accountant supporting you occasionally tends to be around €80 a month in the 2026 market.
In organised accounting, you deduct real expenses and a certified accountant is mandatory, with a typical cost of €150 a month or more. It makes sense when you have high, regular expenses, which tends to be the case for PTs with serious continuous training, rented premises, active advertising and equipment.
Which expenses you can deduct as a PT
On simplified, you don't deduct real expenses (they're baked into the 0.25 coefficient). It's still worth keeping invoices with your final-consumer NIF in the e-fatura system, because there's 15% of VAT recoverable on certain expenses up to an annual cap.
On organised, the typical deductible expenses for a PT are what you'd expect: training and certifications (licensing courses, specialisations), management software for workouts and clients, rent for the space where you train (studio, room, gym), equipment (dumbbells, bands, mats, scales, assessment tools), online advertising (Instagram Ads, Google), branded technical clothing, travel to clients (under specific criteria), and the civil liability insurance.
There's a practical rule for choosing between the two regimes: if your real annual expenses sit above roughly 25% of your gross income, organised pays off. If they're below, simplified is the cheaper and simpler path.
How to issue green receipts in practice
Issuing them is free on the Portal das Finanças, in the "Faturas e Recibos Verdes" section of your Personal Area. There's also certified invoicing software (mandatory for those under organised accounting), but for most PTs on simplified, the portal is enough.
The moment to issue is the moment of receipt: when the client pays, you issue the invoice-receipt. The mandatory fields are the client's NIF, the description of the service (for example "Personal training session, 60 minutes"), the amount, the date, and the VAT regime, with the mention "Artigo 53.º do CIVA" while you're exempt.
There's also IRS withholding at source, which often catches people out. By default, it's 25% when the client is a company or an entity with organised accounting (the company withholds when paying and remits to the tax office). It's zero when the client is a private individual. If your estimated annual income is low, you can request withholding exemption in your activity declaration, below a certain threshold (currently €13,500).
Mistakes that cost an independent PT real money
There are five mistakes that repeat like a broken record. Training without an open activity is the first and the most expensive: it starts with one session, then five more, and when the tax office asks questions there come the fine, the interest and the back-payments. Mixing personal and business expenses is the second: in organised, all it takes is for the AT to be suspicious and the whole expense is disallowed; at home, the family card and the business card must be separate.
Forgetting the €15,000 limit happens every year, especially to PTs who grow steadily and don't do the maths. Failing to file changes (address, IBAN, regime, activities) within 15 working days generates avoidable fines. And the mistake of those who trust themselves too much: thinking you don't need an accountant even on simplified. It can be true most of the time, but near the thresholds, in regime decisions, or when you receive income from different sources, one consultation saves penalties worth a year of fees.
And there's a mistake that isn't tax-related but can end your career: not having civil liability insurance. A first serious client injury without insurance costs a number you don't want to see.
And then? Where you take your clients
With the tax side sorted, the practical part remains, the one nobody covers in the course: where you actually train with your clients. In the Portuguese market there are, practically, three models.
The first is the chain gym with commission, where you get paid by the gym (or it gets paid by the client) and keeps a share typically between 40 and 60%. The second is going to the client's home or training in public spaces, with no rent or commission, but with the logistics (and the rain) on you. The third is the per-session private studio, where you pay for the use of the space and charge the client directly.
MySelf Studio fits this third model. You book the studio by the session (or via a pack or subscription), bring your client as a guest (no registration, no charging the client on our side) and charge them directly, with no commission, no monthly rent and no exclusivity. For the full numbers and prices per format, see the guide to the studio for personal trainers in Lisbon. If you also want to understand "how much to charge the end client", our article on personal trainer prices in Portugal has the full picture, and the personal trainer in Lisbon piece covers the client-side perspective.
Frequently Asked Questions
CAE 85510 (Sports and recreational instruction) is the main one for most PTs. If you also run your own facility, add 93130 (Gym fitness activities) as a secondary code.
Up to €15,000 a year in 2026, under Article 53 of the CIVA. If you exceed this by more than 25% (above €18,750), you have to charge VAT on the invoice that crosses that threshold.
No. For the first 12 months after opening activity for the first time, you benefit from an automatic exemption. You can choose to start contributing earlier, but it rarely pays off.
21.4% on 70% of the relevant income, declared quarterly. The minimum is €20 a month even with no income; the maximum contribution base in 2026 is €6,445.56.
Simplified works for most PTs with few expenses (up to €200,000 a year). Organised pays off if you have high real expenses (continuous training, premises, equipment, advertising).
On the Portal das Finanças, in the Faturas e Recibos Verdes section, or via certified software. Issue it the moment the client pays, with their NIF and the mention "Artigo 53.º do CIVA" if you're still exempt.
Not in the simplified regime. Yes, in organised accounting. Even on simplified, an occasional consultation with an accountant saves costly mistakes and costs the equivalent of one or two PT sessions.
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TLDR: Key Points
The main CAE for a PT is 85510 (Sports and recreational instruction); 93130 applies if you run your own facility.
You're VAT-exempt while you invoice under €15,000 a year (Article 53 CIVA); above €18,750 you must start charging VAT.
In your first 12 months of activity, Social Security charges you nothing; after that it's 21.4% on 70% of the relevant income.
Simplified regime works for most PTs invoicing under €200,000 a year with few expenses; organised accounting wins with high expenses.
Typical deductible expenses for a PT: training, software, premises, equipment, advertising, branded technical clothing.
This guide isn't a substitute for an accountant; in mixed cases or near a threshold, pay for one consultation.
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