Meet Atlas Bridge Wealth: Planning for Life After Portugal's NHR Regime

Buying or owning a home overseas rarely sits apart from the rest of a family's plans. A move to Portugal can affect how pensions, investments, property and succession arrangements work across different countries.

GHI's role is to help buyers and owners make informed property decisions and, where a question falls outside our expertise, introduce an appropriate specialist. Our partner series explains who those specialists are, what they do and where their knowledge may help GHI clients.

Our partnership with Atlas Bridge Wealth

Atlas Bridge Wealth is a Portugal-based cross-border financial planning consultancy helping international families understand how pensions, investments, property and succession planning interact across different countries.

Its work is particularly relevant to British residents in Portugal whose financial arrangements may still be centred in the UK. Atlas Bridge Wealth helps identify the areas requiring attention and, where regulated investment, pension, tax or legal advice is required, connects clients with appropriately qualified or authorised professionals.

GHI works with Atlas Bridge Wealth because an international property decision is often connected to existing pensions, investments and succession arrangements. The partnership gives clients a route to discuss those wider questions without blurring GHI's role as a property adviser.

We asked Atlas Bridge Wealth to highlight one of the issues becoming increasingly relevant to established international residents in Portugal. Its first subject is the end of the original Non-Habitual Resident regime and the planning questions that may arise as individual NHR periods expire.

For many UK families, NHR formed an important part of their early financial planning. The original regime provides benefits for a limited period of up to ten years. The question is therefore not only how an arrangement is treated today, but how that same pension, investment, property or income may be treated afterwards.

Because the options available may depend on timing, it is worth reviewing the position well before the final NHR year.

First, confirm when your NHR period actually ends

Confirm when the NHR registration took effect, the tax years in which the regime was used and the final year of the ten-year period. The benefits may be used in qualifying years within that period when the person is tax resident in Portugal, but a non-resident year does not simply restart the clock.

Once the date is confirmed, planning can work backwards from it. Someone with several years remaining may have more flexibility than someone beginning a review in the final few months.

Map the income that may be treated differently

The phrase “foreign income” can hide several separate issues. Pension payments, dividends, interest, rental income and investment gains are not necessarily treated in the same way. A sensible review asks how each source is treated while NHR applies and how it is likely to be treated afterwards.

Cross-border rules also change. A new UK-Portugal Double Taxation Convention entered into force at the end of 2025, with provisions applying from relevant dates in 2026. That does not determine an individual's tax bill on its own, but it is another reason to use current specialist advice rather than rely on old assumptions.

A UK ISA is not automatically tax-free in Portugal

An ISA is a UK tax wrapper. Its UK tax advantages do not automatically carry across to Portugal. For a Portuguese tax resident, income and gains arising within an ISA may still need to be considered under Portuguese rules.

The answer is not necessarily to sell. A review should consider acquisition cost, unrealised gains, income produced, holding period, charges and the purpose of the money before any action is taken.

Property sale timing deserves a cross-border review

Overseas property can be one of the most important areas to examine, particularly where someone still owns a former UK home, a buy-to-let property or another property they expect to sell. The UK and Portugal can calculate taxable property gains differently, and any relief from double taxation depends on the applicable rules and treaty.

Timing can matter, but it should be modelled rather than guessed. Reaching the end of NHR is not, by itself, a reason to rush a sale.

Pensions belong inside the whole plan

Pension planning is rarely just a question of this year's tax rate. It also involves retirement income, investment risk, succession objectives, future residence and what happens to the money after it leaves the pension.

For someone currently receiving favourable NHR treatment, the difference after the regime ends may be material. That makes it worth comparing withdrawal patterns and future income needs before the final year arrives.

It does not mean everyone should withdraw more while NHR remains available. Any recommendation involving a pension should be based on the person's full circumstances and handled through an appropriately authorised adviser.

Plan for the years after NHR

The strongest question is not simply, “How can I reduce tax before NHR ends?” It is, “What should my finances look like over the long term?”

Atlas Bridge Wealth's central point is that NHR end-planning is about sequencing. If an asset is sold, where will the proceeds sit? If pension benefits are drawn, how will the money be used? If a portfolio is changed, what cost is created now and what long-term benefit is expected?

Speak with our team

If you are approaching the middle or end of your NHR period, GHI can arrange an introduction to Atlas Bridge Wealth for an initial cross-border planning conversation.