Portugal

Portugal supervises investment firms through the Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários. The domestic brokerage industry is modest, so most traders deal with EEA firms passporting in under MiFID II, and the local variables are tax and residence rather than licensing.

Trading conditions

The ESMA measures apply in full: 30:1 on major currency pairs, 20:1 on minors, gold and major indices, 10:1 on other commodities, 5:1 on shares, 2:1 on cryptocurrencies. Negative balance protection is mandatory, margin close-out is at 50% of required margin, bonuses are prohibited, and each broker must state the share of its retail accounts that lose money. Binary options are banned for retail clients.

Tax

Capital gains are generally taxed at a flat rate, with the option to include them in the progressive income tax scale where that produces a lower liability — worth calculating rather than assuming, since the progressive route can favour lower incomes. Losses may be offset within the category, subject to conditions including a requirement to opt for aggregation.

Portugal has been a destination for people relocating for tax reasons, and the regimes involved have changed substantially. The non-habitual resident regime closed to new entrants and was replaced by a narrower successor aimed at specific qualifying activities. Anyone considering Portuguese residence on the strength of older guidance should verify the current rules directly — this is an area where published summaries, including this one, go out of date quickly, and where getting it wrong is expensive.

Cryptocurrency taxation also changed: gains that were previously outside the scope of personal income tax are now taxable under defined conditions, with treatment depending on holding period and whether the activity is professional.

Compensation

Portugal operates the Sistema de Indemnização aos Investidores for clients of domestically authorised firms, up to a statutory limit. A passported broker brings its home state's scheme instead — a Cyprus licence means the €20,000 ICF. The entity named in your client agreement decides which applies.

Checks

The CMVM publishes registers of authorised intermediaries and of EEA firms operating in Portugal, alongside warnings about unauthorised entities. Confirm the entity, then confirm your own tax position with a Portuguese accountant.