Of all the measures that will mean changes in Portugal in 2025, we’ve already told you about some that will have an immediate impact on everyone’s lives.
For example, the price of Navegante passes won’t increase in 2025, but occasional Metro and Carris tickets will; spaces managed by Museus e Monumentos de Portugal will have free entry every day for residents of Portugal; night train journeys between Lisbon and Madrid may see the light at the end of the tunnel later this year; and, of course, Lisboa Secreta already has its exclusive, first-hand news channel on WhatsApp – these are just a few highlights for this year, but there are more, many more, which we’ll tell you about in the next few lines.
Some of the government’s measures for Portugal in 2025
On the portal of the XXIV Portuguese Government you can find details of the 37 measures that will “govern” the country throughout 2025, always with the aim of improving the quality of life of all citizens, while promoting the country’s economic development.
One of the most significant, already mentioned several times in the media at the end of 2024, is the closure of tolls on some SCUTs, after more than 13 years of struggle by the main users of these roads.
Now, in addition to being able to drive for free on the Via do Infante (A22) during your next vacation in the Algarve, there are other routes that have abolished their tolls:
- A4 – Transmontana and Túnel do Marão
- A13 and A13-1 – Pinhal Interior
- A22 – Algarve
- A23 – Beira Interior
- A24 – Northern Interior
- A25 – Beiras Litoral and Alta
- A28 – Minho (only the sections between Esposende and Antas and between Neiva and Darque)
This year’s State Budget also introduces a number of changes, ranging from family income to mobility and taxation.
The increase in the national minimum wage to 870 euros will be the most significant measure, as will the creation of a 15th month of tax-free pay for eligible workers and the extension of the IRS Jovem, which now covers young people up to the age of 35 for a period of 10 years.
In addition, pensions will see additional permanent increases, and the VAT applied to essential goods, such as baby food and electricity, will be reduced to 6%.
In the field of companies, they will benefit from a reduction in the general corporate income tax rate to 20% and tax incentives aimed at increasing wages and innovation.
Let’s explore some more measures for Portugal in 2025:
- Updating the personal income tax brackets by 4.62%, guaranteeing tax relief for thousands of families and making the minimum wage exempt from personal income tax;
- Incentives for salary bonuses of up to 6% of the annual basic salary, which will also be exempt from IRS and Social Security payments;
- Incentives for health insurance for companies that offer it to their workers, with the possibility of deducting up to 20% from the IRS;
- Increased support for accommodation for displaced students;
- Increases in the exemption from the meal allowance card, from €9.60 to €10.20;
- Reinforcement of INEM and SNS, by hiring 400 technicians, as well as guaranteeing a family doctor for all users;
- Wider breast cancer screening for the 45 to 74 age group;
- Expansion of the CAC – Clinical Care Centers, to remove less serious cases from hospital emergency rooms.
A more detailed list of all the measures can be found on the government portal.