Child Support in Portugal: How Maintenance Is Decided

Portuguese child maintenance is not calculated using one universal percentage of salary.

The core rule is proportionality.

The amount should reflect:

• the child's needs;
• the resources and financial capacity of the parent who must contribute;
• the way the child's costs are actually shared between the parents.

Portuguese law uses the concept of alimentos, but this covers much more than food.

What does child maintenance cover?

For a child, maintenance can include what is necessary for:

• food;
• housing;
• clothing;
• health;
• education;
• ordinary living needs.

A parenting agreement can also deal separately with extraordinary or variable expenses.

Examples can include:

• medical treatment not fully reimbursed;
• school expenses;
• extracurricular activities;
• specific educational support;
• other significant agreed costs.

The exact structure should be clear enough that both parents know what the monthly amount covers and how additional expenses are handled.

Is there a fixed child-support formula in Portugal?

No universal statutory percentage applies to every Portuguese child-maintenance case.

The legal starting point is that maintenance is proportionate to the means of the person providing it and the needs of the person receiving it.

For children, the court looks beyond one salary figure.

The wider financial position and real ability to contribute can matter.

That is why copying a percentage from another country or from an online calculator is unsafe.

What information matters when setting maintenance?

A proper assessment can require information about both the child and the parents.

The child's side

• age;
• housing;
• food;
• school;
• health;
• transport;
• clothing;
• activities;
• special needs;
• regular and extraordinary expenses.

The parents' side

• salaries;
• professional income;
• business income;
• benefits;
• property income;
• assets;
• necessary living costs;
• other children or dependants;
• actual distribution of care and expenses.

The purpose is to arrive at a proportionate contribution, not to punish either parent.

Does the parent who lives with the child also contribute?

Yes.

Both parents are responsible for supporting the child.

The parent with whom the child lives contributes not only through direct spending but also through housing, daily care and other costs.

The maintenance payment is part of the overall allocation of the child's financial needs.

What if the child lives with both parents alternately?

Alternating residence does not automatically mean no maintenance.

Portuguese law expressly allows alternating residence without excluding a maintenance payment.

The financial outcome depends on the family's circumstances.

If the parents have very different incomes or bear different proportions of the child's expenses, a balancing payment can still be appropriate.

How is maintenance formalised?

Maintenance can be included in the regulation of parental responsibilities.

Where the parents agree, the agreement needs the required legal approval.

Where they do not agree, the court can determine the amount and payment structure.

A good agreement should state clearly:

• monthly amount;
• payment date;
• payment method;
• annual updates if agreed;
• which expenses are included;
• how extraordinary expenses are shared;
• what evidence is needed for reimbursement.

Can child support be changed later?

Yes.

Maintenance can be reviewed if relevant circumstances change.

Examples:

• substantial income change;
• job loss;
• major salary increase;
• new health needs;
• change of school;
• change in residence arrangements;
• the child becomes older;
• the existing division of expenses changes materially.

A parent should not simply stop paying or reduce the amount unilaterally because circumstances changed.

The formal arrangement should be varied through the proper legal route.

What if a parent loses their job?

Job loss is relevant, but it does not automatically cancel the duty to support the child.

The legal assessment can consider the person's actual resources, earning capacity and wider economic position.

If the existing amount is genuinely no longer workable, the parent should seek a formal variation rather than allowing arrears to accumulate.

What if a parent has a company but pays themselves a low salary?

A maintenance case is not necessarily limited to the number printed on one payslip.

The wider economic reality can matter.

For business owners or self-employed parents, relevant evidence can include:

• declared professional income;
• company distributions;
• shareholder payments;
• assets;
• recurring transfers;
• benefits received through the business;
• actual lifestyle and financial capacity where legally relevant.

This is often one reason international or entrepreneurial families need a more detailed financial review.

Until what age is child support paid?

Maintenance does not necessarily stop automatically on the child's 18th birthday.

Portuguese law provides that maintenance fixed during minority can continue after majority and up to age 25 while the child's education or professional training continues, subject to the statutory conditions.

It can end earlier where, for example, the education or training has already been completed or was freely interrupted.

The circumstances of the adult child matter.

What if the paying parent stops paying?

Unpaid maintenance can be enforced.

The appropriate enforcement route depends on the existing order or approved agreement and the circumstances of the default.

Portugal also has a state guarantee mechanism for qualifying minor children where maintenance has been fixed, the debtor is in default and the statutory conditions are met.

That mechanism is not a replacement for every unpaid maintenance claim.

What if the paying parent lives abroad?

Cross-border maintenance is still enforceable in many cases, but procedure becomes more important.

Questions include:

• where the maintenance decision was made;
• where the child lives;
• where the debtor lives;
• whether EU rules or an international convention apply;
• recognition and enforcement in the destination country.

Do not assume a Portuguese order becomes useless simply because the debtor moved abroad.

Maintenance and relocation

A move to another country can change the child's costs.

Housing, school, transport and travel between parents may all change.

That does not mean relocation should be used merely to increase or reduce maintenance.

The relocation decision itself and the financial consequences should be analysed together.

Read: Moving Abroad With a Child After Divorce in Portugal

Common mistakes

Using a percentage copied from another country

Portugal does not use one universal child-support percentage.

Agreeing a number without defining additional expenses

This creates repeated disputes later.

Stopping payment after job loss without changing the order

Arrears can continue to build.

Assuming alternating residence means zero maintenance

It does not necessarily do so.

Forgetting maintenance after age 18

The obligation can continue during qualifying education or training.

How THE-Ö can help

We can review, negotiate, formalise, vary and enforce child-maintenance arrangements in Portugal.

For international families, we can also deal with:

• foreign income;
• business-owner income;
• parents in different countries;
• cross-border enforcement;
• relocation-related financial changes.

Need to set or review child maintenance in Portugal?

Tell us where the child lives, the current residence arrangement, each parent's income situation and whether there is already an approved agreement or court order.

Related

• Child Custody in Portugal
• Moving Abroad With a Child
• Divorce in Portugal for Foreigners
• Child Custody Legal Support