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Family Office Services in Portugal

Family office services in Portugal cover company documents on standard articles, accounts and tax compliance filings for families who need a company for shared governance or wealth records. We also organise the family's beneficial-owner, source-of-wealth and AML records.

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The Vasco da Gama bridge crossing the Tagus at dawn under a pale sky

Who Needs Family Office Services in Portugal

  • Your family needs a Portuguese company for shared governance, administration or wealth records.
  • You need the investment-advice, custody, payment and deposit-taking rules set out before appointing providers.
  • Your family needs tax, inheritance, gift, AML or foreign-asset records organized across entities and generations.
  • You need accounts, annual reporting and privacy controls organized for the family's companies.

Unlicensed investment management, a product-only sales request and a bookkeeping task with no family-office records or tax compliance work are outside the offer.

What's Included in Family Office Support

The service sets out the tax, governance, record and regulated-provider work your family-office model requires.

  • Company and governance records. Portuguese law has no dedicated family-office company form. A sociedade anónima has a minimum capital of EUR 50,000 under CSC Article 276, and a specialist prepares the company records on standard articles.
  • Investment-advice perimeter. CVM Article 294(1) defines investment advice. The file records the authorised financial-intermediary or autonomous-adviser route that a regulated provider must hold before offering advice.
  • Banking and custody checks. A specialist checks the Banco de Portugal register. Receiving public deposits requires an authorised credit institution.
  • Family tax records. A certified accountant organizes the records for the CIRS Article 72 28% categories, Article 81 foreign-tax credit limits and Stamp Duty treatment, including the payment timing for gratuitous transfers.
  • AML and privacy. The work organizes beneficial-owner, source-of-wealth and client records, the seven-year AML retention period and GDPR security and 72-hour breach procedures.
  • Accounts and reporting. CSC Article 65 sets a three-month accounts deadline and a five-month consolidated-accounts deadline. A certified accountant prepares the accounts, and the OCC or OROC scope question is identified for the services required.
A layers diagram showing company, banking, AML and privacy controls.
Four control layers shape a Portuguese family office.
Diagram text version

A sociedade anónima has EUR 50,000 minimum capital; quotas capital is set in its articles. Only a credit institution receives public deposits for its own account. The obliged entity keeps covered records for seven years. A qualifying breach triggers notice within 72 hours where feasible.

What Your Family Office Needs

Family and governance map
Family relationships, decision rights, governance preferences, jurisdictions and the proposed office activities.
Company and ownership plan
The proposed company form, shareholders, beneficial owners, directors, capital and commercial-registry information.
Asset and provider schedule
Banks, custodians, investments, advisers, accountants, auditors, payment providers and jurisdictions.
Tax and transfer records
Income, gifts, inheritances, foreign tax, asset transfers and documents supporting the family's tax analysis.
AML and source-of-wealth file
Identity, beneficial ownership, source-of-wealth, source-of-funds and risk information.
Privacy and accounts material
Data flows, security controls, breach contacts, year-end records, accounts and reporting documents.

How Family Office Work Starts

A specialist prepares the filing work for the competent commercial registry and Autoridade Tributária routes and flags Banco de Portugal, CMVM, accounting and privacy questions along the way.

  1. Map the family and office purpose

    You provide the family, jurisdictions, assets, decision rights and activities the family office will carry out.

  2. Prepare the company records

    A specialist prepares the company records on standard articles for the commercial-registry route.

  3. Regulated-activity rules

    Investment advice, custody, payments and deposit-taking each need an authorised provider (CVM Article 294(1); Banco de Portugal).

  4. Build tax and AML records

    A certified accountant organizes income, transfers, beneficial ownership, source-of-wealth and foreign-tax material.

  5. Set accounts and privacy controls

    The work sequences annual accounts, consolidated reporting, GDPR security and breach-response records.

  6. Prepare implementation documents

    The file sets out the registry, tax, provider and family-governance documents still required.

Timing and Possible Delays

Set case by case

The work is planned around the family structure, jurisdictions, entities, providers, assets and records involved.

What delays it

The work takes longer when ownership is layered, provider permissions are unclear, foreign tax evidence is incomplete or privacy systems need redesign.

What to prepare now

You prepare the family chart, entity records, asset schedule, provider list, tax evidence and governance preferences before the work begins.

Ongoing Family Office Obligations

Company documents and governance sequence

The file records the corporate documents that support the office’s permitted activities.

Accounts, AML and privacy controls

The file preserves the GDPR response record and commercial-registration evidence for each reporting cycle.

Published by Advisors in Portugal Published: Last reviewed:

Set out your family-office priorities

Describe your family, entities, assets, advisers and governance questions.

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Common questions

Is family office a Portuguese company form?
No. Portuguese law has no dedicated family-office company form. A sociedade por quotas has capital freely set in its articles, and a sociedade anónima has EUR 50,000 minimum capital under CSC Article 276.
Does a family office need a licence?
A licence depends on the activity. Investment advice, deposits, custody and other regulated activities require the authorised provider route for that service.
Who may provide investment advice?
CVM Article 294(1) defines investment advice as personalized advice about transactions in securities or other financial instruments. An authorised financial intermediary may advise on any financial instruments, while an autonomous adviser is limited to securities under the statutory route.
Can a family office take deposits?
No unregistered family office should receive public deposits or other repayable funds for its own use. Banco de Portugal states that this activity is reserved to authorised credit institutions.
What tax rules affect family wealth?
CIRS Article 72 includes a 28% autonomous rate for specified categories, while Article 81 limits foreign-tax credit relief. Stamp Duty applies to covered gratuitous transfers, and the current CIS Article 45 payment rule gives the timing for notified tax.
How long must AML records be retained?
Lei n.º 83/2017 requires obliged entities to keep beneficial-owner and identification records for seven years after identification or the end of the business relationship, and transaction records for seven years after execution.
When must accounts be approved?
CSC Article 65 gives three months after year-end for annual accounts and related reports, extending to five months for companies presenting consolidated accounts or applying the equity method. Approved documents are subject to commercial registration.
What GDPR deadline applies to a data breach?
GDPR Article 33 requires the controller to notify the supervisory authority without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of a risky personal-data breach.
Which professionals can support a family office?
The required route depends on the task: investment advice follows the CMVM route, accounting and audit questions may require OCC or OROC scope checks, and work reserved by law to a registered lawyer is outside the services Advisors in Portugal offers.
How is a family-office matter handled?
Each enquiry is reviewed, and the reply confirms what can be prepared. A specialist stays your contact through the case. Tax compliance work is performed by a certified accountant.

How the Service Works

  • One team for the whole case.

    The family, company records, tax, provider, accounts and privacy questions that follow stay with one case team.

  • English or Portuguese.

    English or Portuguese, whichever you are most comfortable in.

  • A written quote before work starts.

    You get a quote in writing before any work starts. Fees are set case by case.

Contact us

Your request is in

Every request is read in house. The requirements are assessed, and a reply by email sets out the appropriate next steps.

Every enquiry is read in house, and the aim is a reply within one business day.

Share your family-office details

Every enquiry starts with the form below. Each enquiry is reviewed, and the reply confirms what can be prepared, in English or Portuguese.

Describe your family, entities, assets, advisers and governance questions. Each enquiry receives a reply within one business day, and the first conversation is free.

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The information on this page is checked against official sources and reviewed regularly. It is corrected when the law or official guidance changes, as the Editorial Standards describe.