The Tax Number, Your First Key to Settling In
Before the lease, before the bank account, before even the electricity contract, there’s one step that determines all the others: getting your tax number in your new country. Good news: it’s often the easiest… as long as you do it at the right time.
1 – Why It Comes First
In all three countries, the tax number serves as an identifier for almost everything: opening a bank account, signing a lease, buying property, signing an employment contract, getting a phone or internet plan, buying a car… Without it, as a rule, nothing gets signed.
That’s why you apply for it first, before you’ve even found your permanent home.
2 – The Main Principles, Shared by All Three Countries
- You can get it without living in the country: as a tourist, on a scouting trip, or while still living elsewhere.
- You apply for it before signing anything, or at the latest when you sign.
- At first, it’s linked to your address in your home country. Once you’ve settled in, you update that address.
- It’s personal and unique: everyone in the household who signs a contract needs their own, and you keep it for life.
3 – Portugal: The NIF
The NIF (número de identificação fiscal) is issued at any Finanças office, the Portuguese tax authority. A professional such as a solicitador can also handle it for you, even remotely.
- There’s no such thing as a « temporary NIF »: the number is permanent from day one. Only the address linked to it is temporary.
- EU citizens: no fiscal representative needed.
- Outside the EU: you need either a fiscal representative, or to sign up for electronic notifications on the Finanças portal.
Good to know: many estate agents are used to taking their clients to the Finanças. If you have one, ask: with their help, it can be sorted out in minutes.
4 – Spain: The NIE
The NIE (número de identidad de extranjero) is issued in Spain, by appointment, or at the Spanish consulate in your country. Through the consulate, allow several weeks.
- It identifies you… but doesn’t prove that you live in Spain.
- EU citizens: once settled for good, they register with the Central Register of Foreigners. That’s a separate step, which comes later.
Appointments can be hard to get: just the kind of task a gestoría can take on.
5 – Italy: The Codice Fiscale
The codice fiscale is issued by the Agenzia delle Entrate in Italy, or at the Italian consulate in your country. It has no expiry date.
Even professionals get this wrong! You’ll read almost everywhere that a lease can’t be registered without the tenant’s codice fiscale. That’s not true for a non-resident: in 2023, the Agenzia delle Entrate clarified that it can be registered using their name, date and place of birth, and address abroad. You’ll still need the codice fiscale for almost everything else, so apply early.
6 – What the Tax Number – or Fiscal Number – Doesn’t Do
It’s not a residence permit. It gives you no right to settle in the country.
It doesn’t make you a tax resident. You can get your tax number well before you move. As long as the address linked to it stays in your home country, you are, in principle, a non-resident in your new country. Watch out for the length of your stays, though: the time you spend in each country counts, and it may be checked very closely if need be.
Non-resident doesn’t mean no tax. If you own property or earn income in the country (rent, for example), you pay tax there, even if you don’t live there.
And tax residence isn’t a matter of choice. The day you link your number to your new address, you’re declaring that you’ve moved. But each country also applies its own practical criteria: your usual home, where your main interests lie, and that all-important time spent there. Your home country applies its own, and you can’t stop being taxable there just by saying so. It’s the facts, and the tax treaties between countries, that decide, especially for the year you leave. That’s the time to see a tax adviser, they are in our directory.
7 – Who Can Help?
- In Portugal: a solicitador
- In Spain: a gestoría
- In Italy: a commercialista (an accountant… yes, they also handle this kind of thing for individuals!)
You’ll find them, speaking your language, in our directory.
Off on the Right Foot
This article is part of our « Off on the Right Foot » series, about future expats’ first steps in their new country.
We see too many newcomers struggle to adapt, then leave disappointed, feeling they were taken in by fine promises.
Settle in step by step, making sure each one works before moving on to the next. Take your time: your new country will wait for you… and you might just fall for it, gently, and never want to leave!
🇬🇧 This article was written in October 2026. Laws and regulations can change without notice. Please verify all details at the time of reading — and consult a professional, you’ll find one in our directory!
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