Child support in Portugal: calculation and non-payment

Child support — in Portuguese, pensão de alimentos (literally "maintenance allowance") — is the payment, usually monthly, made by the parent with whom the child does not live to contribute towards the child's expenses. It is set within the framework of the regulation of parental responsibilities — either through a court-ratified agreement or by decision of the Family and Minors Court — in proportion to the child's needs and the means of the paying parent (arts. 1878.º, 2003.º and 2004.º of the Código Civil, the Portuguese Civil Code).

There is recurring confusion about a supposed child support table, minimum statutory amounts and an automatic end at age 18. This guide answers the most frequent questions, one by one.

Key points

• There is no official table and no statutory formula: child support is set case by case (art. 2004.º of the Civil Code).
• It covers everything indispensable to the child's sustenance, housing, clothing, health, instruction and education (art. 2003.º of the Civil Code).
• The law sets no minimum amount; court practice varies according to income and the child's actual needs.
• Agreements and judgments usually include an automatic annual update, indexed to the inflation rate published by INE, Portugal's national statistics institute.
• Child support does not end at 18: it continues until age 25 while the child completes their education or professional training (art. 1905.º, no. 2, of the Civil Code).
• In case of non-payment: deduction at source from wages, enforcement proceedings, the non-compliance procedure under art. 41.º of the RGPTC and, where the legal conditions are met, the FGADM guarantee fund.

What child support is and what it covers

Child support covers everything indispensable to the child's sustenance, housing and clothing and, in the case of minors, also their instruction and education (art. 2003.º of the Civil Code). It is therefore not limited to food in the strict sense.

In practice, it encompasses food, the child's share of the household expenses of the home where they live (rent or mortgage instalment, water, electricity), clothing and footwear, routine healthcare costs and school expenses. Arrangements commonly set a fixed monthly payment and, on top of it, each parent's contribution — usually in equal shares — to health and education expenses, and sometimes to agreed extracurricular activities.

How child support is calculated: is there a table?

There is no official child support table in Portugal. The legal test is a different one: maintenance is proportionate to the means of the person who must provide it and the needs of the person who is to receive it (art. 2004.º of the Civil Code). The "child support table" people search for online is a myth — what exist are merely indicative formulas used by some legal scholars and case law as a starting point, without any binding force.

When setting the actual amount, the court weighs, on one side, the child's needs — age, health, schooling, standard of living before the separation — and, on the other, each parent's financial capacity: employment and other income, fixed expenses, other dependent children. Time spent with the child also matters: the parent who has the child for longer periods bears more expenses directly. This is why two families with identical incomes can end up with different support amounts — and that is precisely the rationale of the system.

Minimum amount: what the law and the courts say

The law sets no minimum amount of child support. The duty to maintain one's children is a fundamental parental duty (art. 1878.º of the Civil Code), so the courts only set it aside in situations of genuine, proven impossibility — the mere fact that a parent is unemployed or earns the minimum wage does not, by itself, exempt them from contributing.

The amounts awarded vary according to income and region, and each case is decided on its own circumstances. A debtor's lack of means, the prior fixing of maintenance and access to the FGADM are distinct legal questions. Access to the fund depends on non-payment and the remaining statutory conditions and is not automatic.

Annual updates: indexation to INE inflation

Agreements and judgments often include an annual adjustment clause. Without such a clause, an increase is not automatic and may require a new agreement or a court decision. Regulation agreements and judgments usually include a clause providing for an automatic annual update, indexed to the inflation rate — the change in the consumer price index published by the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE, the national statistics institute). With this clause, the update operates without any need to return to court.

If the arrangement contains no update clause, or if circumstances change significantly — a substantial loss or increase in income, new needs of the child — either parent may apply to have the support amount modified, under art. 2012.º of the Civil Code and art. 42.º of the RGPTC, the General Regime of Civil Guardianship Proceedings (Law no. 141/2015).

Until what age child support is paid

Child support does not end automatically when the child turns 18. Since Law no. 122/2015, art. 1905.º, no. 2, of the Civil Code provides that support set for the child's benefit during minority continues, after they come of age, until age 25, for as long as their professional or academic training lasts.

Continued support ends before age 25 if the educational process is completed or freely abandoned by the child, or where, in any event, it ceases to be reasonable to require payment — for example, due to manifest lack of academic progress. The paying parent who wishes to stop paying bears the initiative of demonstrating this; they should not simply suspend payment.

Non-payment: what to do when child support is not paid

When child support is not paid, the law gives the parent representing the child several means of reaction, which can be used in combination:

• Deduction at source from the debtor's income — the court may order the support to be deducted directly from wages, pensions, rents or other periodic payments received by the debtor (art. 48.º of the RGPTC), a simple and effective pre-enforcement mechanism.
• Special maintenance enforcement proceedings — for the compulsory collection of instalments due and falling due, with attachment of assets and income, under the Código de Processo Civil (Code of Civil Procedure).
• Non-compliance procedure — provided for in art. 41.º of the RGPTC, it allows the court to order compliance and to impose a fine on the debtor and, where the legal conditions are met, an award of compensation. We explain the procedure step by step in our article on non-compliance with parental responsibilities (in Portuguese).
• FGADM — where the debtor does not pay and the child's household has a low income, the court may order the Guarantee Fund for Maintenance Owed to Minors (Fundo de Garantia dos Alimentos Devidos a Menores, Law no. 75/98) to provide, through Social Security, a substitute payment until the debtor resumes compliance — as a rule, until the child comes of age.
• Criminal liability — repeated non-payment, where the debtor is in a position to pay, may constitute the crime of breach of the maintenance obligation (art. 250.º of the Código Penal, the Portuguese Criminal Code).

Child support and Portuguese income tax (IRS)

The parent who pays the support may deduct from their IRS (personal income tax) liability 20% of the amounts demonstrably paid and not reimbursed, provided the support was set by judgment or by an agreement ratified under civil law (art. 83.º-A of the Código do IRS, the Personal Income Tax Code). The deduction cannot be combined with other deductions relating to the same dependent: as a rule, the parent who deducts the support payments cannot also deduct that child's expenses as a dependent of their household.

Where parental responsibilities are exercised jointly with alternating residence notified to the Autoridade Tributária (the Portuguese Tax Authority), the dependent may be included in both parents' tax returns, with the deductions apportioned between them — a specific regime we explain in our article on shared custody and alternating residence (in Portuguese).

FAQs

Is there an official child support table in Portugal?

No. There is no official table or statutory calculation formula in Portugal. Child support is set case by case, in proportion to the child's needs and the means of the paying parent (art. 2004.º of the Civil Code), through a court-ratified agreement or by court decision.

How much is child support in Portugal?

There is no fixed amount and no legal minimum. The court weighs the child's actual needs (food, housing, health, education) and each parent's income and expenses. The amount varies significantly from case to case and is usually accompanied by an apportionment of health and education expenses.

What does child support include?

Everything indispensable to the child's sustenance, housing and clothing, as well as their instruction and education (art. 2003.º of the Civil Code): food, a share of household expenses, clothing, health, school and school supplies. It is common to set a monthly payment plus a contribution to health and education expenses.

Until what age is child support paid?

Support does not end automatically at 18. Under art. 1905.º, no. 2, of the Civil Code, it continues until age 25 while the child completes their professional or academic training, unless the educational process has ended or been freely abandoned, or it would be unreasonable to require payment.

Is child support updated every year?

As a rule, yes. Agreements and judgments usually include a clause providing for an automatic annual update, indexed to the inflation rate published by INE, the national statistics institute. If there is no such clause, the support amount may be modified by the court where circumstances justify it (art. 2012.º of the Civil Code and art. 42.º of the RGPTC).

What happens if child support is not paid?

The parent representing the child may apply for deduction at source from wages, pensions or rents (art. 48.º of the RGPTC), bring special maintenance enforcement proceedings, file the non-compliance procedure under art. 41.º of the RGPTC and, where the legal conditions are met, activate the FGADM guarantee fund. Repeated non-payment may constitute the crime of breach of the maintenance obligation (art. 250.º of the Criminal Code).

What is the FGADM and who can apply?

The Guarantee Fund for Maintenance Owed to Minors (Fundo de Garantia dos Alimentos Devidos a Menores, Law no. 75/98) ensures, through Social Security, the payment of a substitute allowance where the debtor fails to pay the support that was set, the child resides in Portugal and the household's income does not exceed the legal threshold. It is set by the court and continues until the debtor resumes payment, as a rule until the child comes of age.

Is child support tax-deductible in Portugal?

Yes. The paying parent may deduct from their tax liability 20% of the amounts demonstrably paid and not reimbursed, provided the support was set by judgment or by a ratified agreement (art. 83.º-A of the Personal Income Tax Code) and the same dependent does not give rise to other deductions in their return. Where alternating residence has been notified to the Tax Authority, specific rules on apportioning the deductions apply.