Home › Guides › Work and salaries

Minimum wage Portugal 2026: 920 € gross — how much net?

Updated 25 October 2026· Checked against official sources

Ler em português

The minimum wage in Portugal (salário mínimo nacional, officially retribuição mínima mensal garantida, RMMG) is the lowest amount an employer can pay for a full-time job.

What is the minimum wage in Portugal in 2026?

In 2026, the minimum wage is 920 € gross per month on the mainland, in force since 1 January. The amount was set by Decreto-Lei n.º 139/2025, of 29 December, and is confirmed in official 2026 documents: the decision on the withholding tables mentions the increase “de 870 € para 920 € em 2026” (from 870 € to 920 € in 2026), and the Social Security guide says the minimum wage “em 2026 é igual a 920,00 €” (in 2026 is 920,00 €).

The number and date of the law are on the DGERT page on the guaranteed minimum monthly pay for 2026.

In the autonomous regions the amount is set by regional law. In Madeira, Decreto Legislativo Regional n.º 1/2026/M set 980 € from 1 January 2026. For the Azores, check the current amount in the Jornal Oficial dos Açores.

How much is the minimum wage after tax in 2026?

For an employee (trabalhador por conta de outrem) on the mainland, the deductions are:

1. Social Security (Segurança Social): always 11% of gross pay.
2. IRS (personal income tax) withheld at source: according to Despacho n.º 233-A/2026, pay up to 920 € has a 0% rate in Table I (single with no dependants, or married with two earners) and Table II (single with dependants). In Table III (married, one earner) the exemption goes up to 991 €.

Example (2026 calculation, single with no dependants, mainland):

If you receive subsídio de alimentação (meal allowance), it is added to your net pay (tax-free up to certain limits). To calculate your own case, use the net salary calculator (in Portuguese).

How much do I earn per year on the minimum wage?

The minimum wage is paid 14 times a year: 12 months plus the holiday allowance (subsídio de férias) and the Christmas allowance (subsídio de Natal).

A useful coincidence: the IRS mínimo de existência (minimum income protected from tax) was updated in 2026 to 12 880 €, exactly the yearly minimum wage. In practice, people with only this income pay no IRS in the annual tax return.

What if I work part-time?

The minimum wage is proportional to your working hours. Example (illustrative): with 20 hours a week in a sector where full-time is 40 hours, the minimum is 920 € × 20/40 = 460 € gross.

What rights are linked to the minimum wage?

• It is used as a reference for unemployment benefit: people who paid contributions on at least the minimum wage receive at least 617,70 € (1,15 × IAS, the social support index). See the unemployment benefit guide.
• It cannot be reduced by individual agreement.
• It applies to fixed-term and permanent contracts — see the employment contract guide.

How to check you are paid the correct minimum wage

1. On your payslip (recibo de vencimento), find the base salary (salário base, without allowances or bonuses).
2. Check that it is at least 920 € (or the proportional amount for your hours).
3. Check the 11% Social Security deduction and whether IRS withholding is 0.
4. If it is lower, talk to your employer and, if that does not solve it, contact the ACT (Autoridade para as Condições de Trabalho, the labour inspection authority).

How much does a minimum wage worker cost the employer?

On top of the gross salary, the employer pays its own share of Social Security (called the employer’s TSU), which does not come out of the worker’s salary.

In the general scheme, the overall contribution rate is 34,75%, of which 11% is paid by the worker; the employer’s share is 34,75% − 11% = 23,75% (non-profit organisations and some special cases have different rates).

Example (illustrative): at 23,75%, 920 € × 23,75% = 218,50 €; the monthly cost would be 920 € + 218,50 € = 1 138,50 €, plus the meal allowance and work accident insurance.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up gross and net. The 920 € is gross; you receive about 818,80 €.
• Counting the meal allowance as part of the minimum wage. It does not count towards the minimum.
• Forgetting about duodécimos. If your holiday and Christmas allowances are split into monthly payments (duodécimos), your monthly pay is higher, but the yearly total is the same.
• Thinking the whole country has the same amount. The Azores and Madeira have their own amounts.
• Using old IRS tables. In 2026 the withholding exemption threshold rose with the new minimum wage.

Learn more about how net salary in Portugal is calculated and see the IRS tax brackets (in Portuguese).