You can now donate 0.5% of your IRS to an institution of your choice

A study by the GFK consultancy on how many Portuguese decide to donate 0.5% of their IRS to an institution of their choice, concluded that 43% of taxpayers still do not do so.

The study was carried out for the Red Nose Operation (ONV), an institution that brings joy to hospitalized children.

The option of donating 0.5% of the IRS tax to an institution is a solidarity option and free of charge, it is just a question of filling in a cross, which means many visits by the Clown Doctors of Operation Red Nose, who bring smiles and jokes, which last for a long time in hospital rooms and corridors.

The ONV appeals to taxpayers not to forget to fill in the IRS consignment field in the income tax return, a tax return that can be delivered from April 1st. Anabela Possidónio, general director of ONV, says that the number of taxpayers has “been decreasing from year to year, but it remains essential to clarify the weight of IRS consignment in the budgets and sustainability of Third Sector institutions”, explaining even though, “in the case of the Red Nose Operation, the IRS consignment is our main source of fundraising, representing 1/3 of our global budget”.

Based on the GFK study, it is possible to determine some of the reasons why 43% of taxpayers still do not file their IRS, with ignorance of the option or the process itself being the most common. But around 22% justify this failure with the fact that they have not completed the declaration themselves, that is, this is completed by family members or accountants.

This is “a way for the Portuguese to express their preference as to the destination to be given to 0.5% of their IRS, which, otherwise, would be automatically attributed to the State”, informs the director general of ONV.