Requesting an invoice with a taxpayer number (NIF) may once again have a direct incentive from 2026, with the resumption of the Fatura da Sorte draw in a format still being defined. The confirmation was given by the Government, which admits profound changes to the prize model, after almost two years of suspension of the competition that distributed millions of euros to consumers.
The measure, created to encourage fiscal citizenship and combat the parallel economy, has been on hold since the beginning of 2024, in a reevaluation process that now has an indicative end date. The Executive intends to recover the mechanism, but adapt it to new behaviors and sectors where asking for an invoice continues to be less frequent.
According to the ECO news portal, the Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs, Cláudia Reis Duarte, confirmed that the draw will be resumed in 2026, although not in the model previously in force. “The intention is to resume in 2026, not exactly in the previous model”, he stated, without providing details about the final configuration of the prize.
According to the same source, the central objective remains: to encourage taxpayers to request an invoice with NIF. However, the Government now wants to concentrate this stimulus “especially in sectors where it is less common to request an invoice”, seeking to correct efficiency flaws identified in recent years of the competition.
Prizes under analysis and possible new formats
The type and value of the prizes are still under analysis, and it is not guaranteed that the Treasury Certificates will be maintained. Asked about this hypothesis, the Secretary of State sent the final decision to the Council of Ministers, stressing that the Government will be the one to define the definitive format.
Among the hypotheses on the table are prizes with a lower unit value, but with a more direct impact, such as tickets for cultural shows or other offers for immediate consumption, abandoning high prizes that are less tangible for many taxpayers.
Millions distributed before suspension
The same source states that, until the last draw held in December 2023, Fatura da Sorte had already distributed 20.8 million euros since its creation in 2014. In 2023 alone, 2.12 million euros in Treasury Certificates were awarded.
The competition was suspended on January 4, 2024, with the Tax Authority justifying the interruption with the need to comply with legal requirements, namely the renewal of protocols with the IGCP. Finance then guaranteed that the draw would be resumed “as soon as possible”, a promise that now has a new calendar.
Instrument created to combat the parallel economy
It is recalled that Fatura da Sorte was launched by the PSD/CDS Government led by Pedro Passos Coelho, with the declared objective of rewarding fiscal citizenship and reducing the parallel economy. Initially, the prizes were cars, having been replaced by Treasury Certificates in 2016.
Since then, the overall value of premiums has remained relatively stable, with the exception of the pandemic year.
The recovery announced for 2026 now points to a new phase of the competition, in a context in which requesting an invoice with a taxpayer number could once again translate into direct gains for consumers.
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