"Taxpayers who, in 2024, benefit from the current Young People's IRS (in the current wording of article 12.º-B of the IRS Code) may opt to apply this scheme (as an alternative to applying the new Young People's IRS rates)", states, in response to Lusa, an official source from the Ministry of Finance, specifying that "this option will be annual, and may be renewed or changed each year". The new model of the Young People's IRS, approved last week by the Council of Ministers, works differently from the one currently in force, by providing for a reduction of up to one third of the tax rates that apply to income brackets from employment, with the exception of the 9th and last IRS bracket. The model that is in force grants a tax exemption on income for five years, which decreases over time, with the exemption in the first year of use of the benefit being 100% of the income earned by the young person (up to a maximum amount of 40 times the social support index, that is, €20,370 taking into account the value of the IAS for 2024). In the usual 'briefing' that follows the Council of Ministers meeting, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Youth and Modernisation stressed that no young person would be harmed by the change in rules, stating that those who were already benefiting from the current scheme could opt for the new one. The Ministry of Finance details that this option is annual and may be "changed or renewed" each year, also specifying that "young people who benefit from the current scheme in 2024 may opt to apply this scheme, so no young person who benefits from the current scheme will be harmed". The two Young People's IRS schemes only have in common the fact that they both cover income from dependent and independent employment (green receipts) and the maximum age (35 years), although the current scheme does not apply globally to all those up to this age, but rather allows the five years of the benefit to be used (consecutively or interpolated) up to that age. In the current scheme, after the IRS exemption on 100% of income up to the limit of 40 IAS granted in the first year, the exemption falls back to 75% of income (up to a maximum of 30 IAS) in the second year, dropping to 50% in the third and fourth years (with a limit of 20 times the value of the IAS) and to 25% (up to the limit of 10 IAS) in the fifth and final year. In the new scheme, which still has to be discussed and approved by the Assembly of the Republic, where the parties that support the current Government do not have a majority, there is a reduction in IRS rates by one third, with the exception of those that apply to the last bracket -- where people who earn employment income above €81,199 per year are found. Thus, in the first bracket of taxable income (€7,703 per year), young people up to 35 years old will pay a rate of 4.4% instead of the 13.25% paid by most people; in the second bracket the applicable rate will be 6.0% instead of 18% and in the third it will be 7.67% instead of 23% - and, according to the Government, most of the beneficiaries of the measure will be up to this level and will be around 370 thousand. This reduction by one third of the rates continues up to the 8th bracket, in which case the rate applicable to people up to 35 years old is 15% (compared to 45% for most taxpayers above that age group). The new Young People's IRS is granted to all workers up to 35 years old, regardless of their level of qualifications, and may be used for almost two decades -- considering a person who starts working at 16 years of age. Also Read: Criticism of the Young People's IRS? "Left believes that taxes should not be lowered" (Portuguese version)