Jan 12, 2021 04:11:14 AM by Fabio M
Hello from Portugal
I just started on Upwork, and I need help with this, please
I'm from Portugal and I need help to declare my earning as a freelancer... In Portugal, we have to declare earnings for everything and make a receipt with the vat number.
I don't know if I should create the receipt from Upwork(don't know how to do it), or if I should create a receipt from the money I receive in the bank every month, or if I have to do it in the name of my clients. Does anyone know what I can do?
Thanks in advance,
Fabio Matos
Jan 12, 2021 07:26:03 AM by Aleksandar D
Hi Fabio,
I shared your concern with the rest of our team and one of our agents will reach out to you directly via a support ticket to assist you further.
Thank you.
Jan 14, 2022 09:36:00 AM by Catarina C
Hello, Aleksandar! Could you share the info with me too?
Thanks, appreciate it.
Catarina
Jan 14, 2022 11:48:48 AM by Bojan S
Hi Catarina,
One of our team members will reach out to you directly via a support ticket to assist you with your request.
Thank you!
Jun 14, 2024 06:34:34 AM by Solomiya G
Hello,
Could I please get some help on this matter as well?
Thank you.
Jan 17, 2021 05:06:09 AM by Marta L
Hi Fabio,
I've been working here since 2013, I think I can help you with those questions.
So, as a Freelancer you have access to all the invoices that UpWork issue through your Reports - Transaction History. There you should save all the invoices available as proof of what you've earned.
In Portugal we are obliged to pass a "Fatura-Recibo", even though UpWork does this for us, we need to do our own Fatura-Recibo. The best is to do it as soon as the UpWork Invoice is available so it will count as earnings from the current month.
On Fatura-Recibo you will need to put the Client Name, the Country and the value in Euros! Use the site of the "Banco de Portugal" to do the conversion on the date that was due how much was in euros what you received and that's what you will put in your Fatura-Recibo.
They will also ask about the VAT and the "Retenção" that you've made.
For the VAT you need to see if the client is inside or outside EU. If outside, for example USA, you will use the "Art. 6º" because of the EU rules of not an EU company you don't charge VAT. The "Retenção na Fonte" you will put "Sem Retenção - Artigo 101, nº 1 do CIRS".
The VAT number you will not have, so you put "-".
And that's all for the Income Invoices.
About the Fees! That's a different issue that I still struggle to find a solution to.
You are obliged to declare VAT when UpWork issue their Fees Invoice (Commissions). On their Invoice is "Reverse-Charge" which means that you should pay the VAT in Portugal according to the Portuguese Tax Values.
We do have a way to declare these values so that we pay the VAT, but we should be able to add this Fees Invoice to our expenses and the "E-Faturas" doesn't allow us to add an EU Vat. So I will try to tell you something more about this when I find the solution for it.
But I hope I did help you with your main question.
Jan 31, 2021 11:39:03 AM by Ruxanda V
Hi Marta! As far as I know, you should declare those fees in your "Declaração periódica". Also there you get to deduce them. I reached out to the Finances authorities through a written request on the Portal das Finanças about, and they instructed me to do so. If you want the specifics, feel free to contact me via a private message and I'll share the information they sent me.
May 30, 2022 02:22:52 PM by Stefania R
Hello Ruxanda, could you please pass this info to me? I am just starting and looking for info about this
Apr 8, 2022 05:49:39 PM by Joao G
Hello Marta,
In 3 jobs here at UpWork I only made $700 (with fees $530.45).
Even with this amount alone, do we have to declare something to the finances in Portugal? Haven't we already discounted here at UpWork?
Jul 29, 2022 04:59:35 PM by Marta L
Hi Joao and sorry for the late answer, but I've been away from the community and couldn't answer before.
I hope I'm still in time to answer to your doubt.
What you pay to UpWork it's a Fee (Income) that they declare in their own country about it, according with US rules.
Then we need to declare here that we received (according with your numbers) $530.45 from the Client (through or own Invoices/Recibos Verdes) and paid $169.55 to UpWork (through the Modelo 30 declaration because it's an US company)
Now, if you want to declare it or not, even if it's only $5 it's up to you. You know the rules and what benefects or consequences can bring. But if you ask me, if you "need" to declare it... I will answer the law says so, and I do declare, but I'm me! 😄
Aug 3, 2022 07:35:44 AM by Bernardo S
Hi Marta,
I'm a bit confused here. In Joao's case, shouldn't he declare $700 from the client?
Thanks,
Bernardo
Aug 5, 2022 03:59:28 AM by Marta L
Hi Bernardo,
Yes, he should declare it. It's income.
Greats,
Marta
Apr 22, 2022 11:40:29 AM by Maria F
Hey Marta! I'm portuguese, I opened now my activity and now I need help declaring my earns and help typing the "vat" that they ask on upwork, because I'm searching all around the internet and community and I still don't understand. People told me 1000 different things, some people told me tat I need to make the recibos with the name of each client, some told me that I need to invoice to upwork, some told me that I just need to put the € that I receive on the bank because I have "rg simplificado" I should wait to the money gets on the bank to invoice in €, and I'm so confused, I don't know how to do that because people does it in different ways, what's the best way to do this without any multa?
Can you please contact me on @maiyhara instagram or email imrferreira4@gmail.com? Thanks, its urgent!
Jul 29, 2022 05:11:44 PM by Marta L
Hi Maria,
I'm so sorry for the late answer. I hope I'm still in time to help clear your mind.
This is not easy for no one, specially at first, when we start.
But I'm going to try my best and I hope a lot of people sees this...
As I answered to Ana Margarida on this post just a bit ago.
To UpWork you pay Income (Fees and Memberships) and they are like your "secretary", the client pays your income to you through UpWork.
So, you pass your Recibo-Verde in the name of the Client (like you see on UpWork Invoice it's the Client Name on Top and Your, not UpWork).
UpWork creates another Invoice related to the costs you have with UpWork Itself.
And you create your Recibo Verde when the money is on your UpWork Account, not your bank!
Aug 5, 2022 03:31:15 PM by Liliana A
Hey marta!
I opened today with an accountant, and I am so confused, being that it is my first year I am exempt from vat right?
-Other questions... as I have simple accounting I have to pass invoice for upwork rates?
- What is the value so I have to put on the invoice receipt, the value without the fees or the total value of the project including fees.
-I guess I will have to fill out a document every month called recapitulative statement, is this right?
-The accountant just opened my activity and my framework is exemption article 53, but I provide services to international clients.
- another question what is the model 30, i noticed that they talk a lot about it and the rfi-21
Aug 7, 2022 03:44:18 AM by Marta L
Hi Liliana,
You're exempt from VAT so you pass your invoices (recibos-verdes) under the article 53 when it's for clients inside Portugal! Outside Portugal, like most of the clients here you use the article 6, even if you need to charge VAT.
Your Invoices are in name of the client, not UpWork, with the full amount the client pays you.
UpWork fees are for the Modelo 30 (to be filed in when paying income outside the country).
"Simple Accounting" only means that you do not need to have an accountant.
I'm sorry to ask Liliana, but if I understod right you hired an accountant, he didn't explained to you all the things you need to do? He should be the best to answer your doubts, after all you're paying him for that. If he doesn't know all this information, then, sorry to say, but you don't need him. He doesn't know about this specific situation of working with companies outside the country and/or outise EU.
Don't waste you're money with that if he doesn't know the basic things on this situation.
Aug 8, 2022 08:34:01 AM by Liliana A
Thanks for the answer Marta!
I've been to 3 and talked to 2 people from finance and some said the amount I get in the account and others the total amount...
If I put the total value (200) and I only received (150) the state will not charge me more/more fees, I am new in this so I do not understand anything... how then they know that I paid 50 of fees to upwork? Do I fill out the model 30? And if so when do I have to fill it out, and even if I do I have to put in the total value of the project right?
Can I be double taxed?
About the rfi, I don't know what it is or fill anything out..
Thank you very much!
Aug 10, 2022 03:32:23 PM by Marta L
Hi Liliana,
This is the situation... The client paid $200 to you and UpWork took $50 (taking the example you gave). The $50 did went out of your balance on UpWork, after you received from the client.
Because you pass Recibos-Verdes to the client, and he does not have anything to do what "your deal is with UpWork", you need to say that he paid you the $200!
Then you have a different invoice for the $50 that UpWork took as a fee. This is your own cost with your "business" so you will declare it apart from the money you received from the client.
In this situation, UpWork is charging a Comission for every client that pays you. This comission is Income! And you need to say in Portugal that you paid that to UpWork, so you use the Modelo 30 to declare income paid to a company or a person based outside Portugal.
The finances will cross the information that you pass invoices and declare costs (income) paid and will not charge you nothing on that.
You fill in Modelo 30 every month, related to the month before, only with the value of the fee, not the total the client paid you.
You can't be double taxed, that's why you do all the necessary steps.
The RFI it's a document that frees you to withhold income (retenção na fonte) in the name of upwork.
For example, when you do register your Recibos-Verdes to a client you have an option saying if you want the client to withhold a percentage of your income (the value he paid to you) to then be paid to social security. (This only aplays if the client is a company or freelancer with organized accounting. Then you can ask them to do the "retenção na fonte").
In this situation, you will not pay social security to USA based companies, even though because they may have other rules, so you need to have the RFI (the legal way) to free you from that responsibility.
One more detail... don't forget that you pass Recibos-Verdes in Euros not Dolar! It's important to convert the $200 to Euro on the day of the Invoice that UpWork provides you!
Sep 2, 2023 12:58:16 AM by Daniel G
Hi Marta! Thanks for giving out so much information 🙂
In order to properly fill out Modelo 30, we need UpWork's attributed NIF number, right? Would you be able to provide it?
Thanks!
Apr 7, 2023 06:59:46 AM by Pia K
Hi Marta,
This was a very useful answer, thank you for posting!
Does anyone have the portuguese NIF of UpWork? I've asked Finanças (via the e-balcão) but they've left me hanging for the last 2 weeks 😞
Dec 22, 2023 05:26:30 AM by Shreenidhi H
Hello Pia,
Were you able to find the Upwork NIF? I have been struggling with this trying to talk to accountants and financas. Nobody seems to know the correct answer!
Thanks in advance!
Dec 26, 2023 04:17:46 AM by Marta L
Hello everyone!
If you send a message through e-balcão on finanças, asking what is the Portuguese NIF number of UpWork Global Inc, and give the address they will send a message back with the number.
I've been always using the 712435891.
Jan 14, 2022 01:38:01 PM Edited Jan 14, 2022 01:40:39 PM by Marta L
Hi Fábio. UpWork doesn't know as well, but I can help. The problem is that you will need to do a lot of things. You need to create invoices for what you earn, fill in "modelo 30" for what you pay to upwork, fill in the rfi-21 so you're not oblige to withhold for social security, need to know unwpwork vat number in Portugal besides their number in the USA (and this is the only thing upwork can help you with), pay vat (even if you not oblige to charge it) in Portugal for each fee you pay to upwork... and please! Change your activity so it shows international, so you stop pay vat yo upwork! Otherwise you will pay in double. So, validate you vat number as soon as possible on upwork. It's a lot if information, but after knowing it all it's easy to keep the track. Upwork should hire me to help with this questions... They put the platform available for everyone but don't know all the rules. They should have at least one person representing them in each country to help on this kind of questions. Because a lot of people don't know and are doing it very wrong. Are you ready to learn all the details? Or you know already?