Virtual Office: what it is, who it suits and what it costs

Picture this: you are setting up your company and you work from home. Your address will appear on invoices, on your website and in every email footer. Do you really want it to be your home address? That is what a Virtual Office is for.

In practice, the company uses the address of a business centre as its registered office and tax address, without occupying an office there. The provider receives mail on the company's behalf and lets you know when something arrives. It is also known as company domiciliation.

Registered office and tax address are not the same thing

The sede social (registered office) is the address in the articles of association and in the commercial register. The Código das Sociedades Comerciais (the Portuguese Companies Code) says the registered office must be set at a specifically defined place and that it is the company's legal domicile (article 12). The same code requires it to be shown in contracts, correspondence, websites and, in general, in all of the company's external dealings (article 171).

The domicílio fiscal (tax address), on the other hand, is the address that counts for the tax authority, the Autoridade Tributária, usually just called Finanças. For legal entities, the Lei Geral Tributária (General Tax Law) defines it as the place of the registered office or of effective management (article 19), so for a company the two almost always match. The same law adds that a change of address has no effect until it is reported to Finanças.

For sole traders the rule is different: an individual's tax address is their usual place of residence. A sole trader can still use a professional address for mail and the image of the business, but should check with their accountant what they can declare and where.

Who it suits

The most common case is someone who works from home and would rather keep their personal address off the commercial register, invoices and website. Next come new companies, which need a registered office to be incorporated but not yet an office. Then there are people who spend the week on the road, partners who live outside Portugal and companies that have closed their office and do not want to change address every time someone moves house.

What it usually includes

The core is almost always the same: registered office and tax address at the provider's address, mail handling (registered letters included, within the terms of the contract), an arrival notice by email or another channel and, often, a meeting room by booking, sometimes charged separately.

Ask a few questions before signing. Is the mail opened and scanned, or only photographed from the outside? How do you collect it or have it forwarded? What kind of parcels are accepted? And how much does it cost to leave the contract?

Also, the physical address is not the only channel Finanças uses. The Lei Geral Tributária requires companies to have an electronic mailbox, unless they sign up to the public electronic notification service linked to the morada única digital (single digital address). A good Virtual Office does not replace that.

What it costs

There is no standard price: it depends on the city, what is included and the contract. When comparing, look at the monthly and annual price, VAT, setup fees, mail limits, the cost of forwarding, the notice period to leave and automatic renewal. A low price with lots of extras can end up costing more.

Why the provider asks for so many documents

The list of documents is not red tape for its own sake. Lei n.º 83/2017, the Portuguese anti-money laundering law, includes providers of services to companies among the obliged entities and expressly mentions the provision of registered offices and of business, administrative or postal addresses (article 4).

The provider must obtain information on the client's beneficial owners before the relationship starts (article 29) and check for politically exposed persons (article 19). That is why you will normally be asked for:

• the access code of the certidão permanente (permanent commercial register certificate);
• the manager's ID document and proof of address;
• proof of RCBE, the Registo Central do Beneficiário Efetivo (Central Register of Beneficial Owners);
• the beneficial owners and whether any of them is a politically exposed person.

If the company has not been incorporated yet, you are usually asked for the certificado de admissibilidade, which shows the name has been approved. And if a provider asks for none of this, be suspicious rather than relieved.

Virtual Office at My Desk

At My Desk, in the centre of Maia, the Virtual Office costs €20/month or €200/year (2 months free when paying annually), exempt from VAT under article 53 of the Código do IVA (VAT Code). It includes registered office and tax address, receipt of letters and small parcels (we do not accept large parcels). The meeting room is an add-on: 2 hours a month for €10 more a month, with extra hours at €5. We photograph the outside of each envelope, never opening it, and notify you by email, WhatsApp and in the My Desk client area.

The service is 100% online. Companies, sole traders (empresário em nome individual) and private individuals can all sign up. If your company is still to be set up, you can sign up first, use the My Desk address when incorporating and send us the certidão permanente afterwards. Everything is done online at sign up for the Virtual Office.