Modelo 30 and platform commissions
Reviewed on 12 October 2026.
This one catches a lot of hosts off guard. The commission you pay Booking.com and the service fee Airbnb charges you are payments to companies outside Portugal. As far as the tax authority (AT) is concerned, that means you file a Modelo 30 return for every month in which you paid them.
That's not our reading. The AT answered this exact question in two binding rulings, one from 2017 and one from January 2026, and everything on this page comes from them.
Why does this apply to me?
Booking.com B.V. is based in Amsterdam, and for hosts in Portugal, Airbnb means Airbnb Ireland, in Dublin. The AT treats what these companies earn from you as income obtained in Portugal (IRC Code, article 4, no. 3, c), point 6).
It applies to everyone: hosts running their AL as individuals under IRS, and companies under IRC, with or without organised accounts. Both rulings say so in those words.
When is it due?
By the end of the second month after the month you paid the commission. July's commissions are due by 30 September, August's by 31 October, and so on (IRC Code article 128 and IRS Code article 119, no. 7).
It can only be filed online, on the Portal das Finanças.
What about the 25% withholding?
In principle, whoever pays the commission must withhold 25% IRC and pay it to the State by the 20th of the following month (IRC Code article 94).
In practice, there's a way out. Portugal has double-taxation treaties with Ireland and the Netherlands. If the platform gives you a Modelo 21-RFI form, certified by its own country's tax authority, you don't have to withhold. According to the AT, those documents are valid for a year. Without them, the 25% is on you.
With or without withholding, the Modelo 30 is always filed. The AT's words are “in any circumstance”.
What to do every month
- Collect the month's commission invoices from Airbnb and Booking.com.
- Check you hold a valid 21-RFI for each platform. If you don't, withholding is due by the 20th of the next month.
- File the Modelo 30 by the end of the second month after.
Where to check
- Binding ruling 29555, 19 January 2026 (Airbnb), on the Portal das Finanças (Portuguese)
- Binding ruling 5566/2016 (Airbnb and Booking.com), on the Portal das Finanças (Portuguese)
- IRS Code, article 119 (Portuguese)
- IRC Code, article 128 (Portuguese)
This is a summary of what the AT wrote in the rulings above, not tax advice. A binding ruling only binds the AT towards whoever asked for it, but it shows how the AT reads the law. If in doubt, ask your accountant.