Macao Personal Tax Basics

183 days or a qualifying habitual home at year-end

An individual is resident for the relevant calendar income year after at least 183 continuous or intermittent days in Macao, or with fewer days if a home available on 31 December shows an intention to maintain and occupy it as a habitual residence. A full or partial day counts. Article 24's residence rule took effect on 1 January 2025, ahead of the Code's general 2026 commencement.

Effective from 2025-01-01

Territorial scope, subject to specific exceptions

The Code generally applies to taxable events in Macao, subject to international or interregional agreements and contrary legal provisions. DSF explains that foreign-source income is generally outside that territorial rule. Its special foreign-passive-income exception concerns qualifying multinational-group entities, not a blanket worldwide charge on every individual resident.

Payment abroad does not remove local work income

Professional tax covers income from work carried out in Macao, in cash or kind, regardless of where payment originates or is made and regardless of currency. Foreign payroll is therefore not itself an exemption for work performed locally.

Employees and listed independent professions differ

DSF distinguishes employed workers from people independently exercising the listed liberal or technical professions. For employees, its guidance places registration, applicable withholding and periodic remittance duties on employers; it does not classify every independent business as the same professional-tax cohort.

Some absent taxpayers need a local tax representative

Natural-person taxpayers living outside Macao, and residents absent for more than 183 days in a calendar year, must generally appoint a representative habitually resident in Macao for tax rights and ancillary duties. The Code waives this appointment when the taxpayer opts for the electronic-notification system; this is distinct from the residence test.

Residence evidence and treaty relief are separate steps

DSF provides applications for declarations of tax residence and procedures under applicable double-taxation agreements, including mutual agreement requests where taxation is alleged to conflict with an agreement. A Macao identity document alone does not establish that a particular treaty benefit applies.