Two versions of a payroll rule or table overlap

Symptom

In Payroll › Configure (or in People › Contracts and departures, for the worker-student status), you register a new version of a rule or table. When you press Save, the Validation Error window opens and the record stays unsaved.

If what is refused is changing a rule that has already started, the case is different: I cannot change a payroll rule, rate or table that has already been used.

Message

Seen in Empresa Demonstração, Lda, in November 2026.

With the Payroll Administrator profile

Company size (Configure › Company), with a version from 01/01/2026 still open and a new one from 01/06/2026:

“The size of the company overlaps another period (01/01/2026). What happened: two sizes cannot be in force on the same day. How to fix it: end the previous period the day before this one starts.”

Category minimums (Configure › Law and calendars), with the same Source and the same Collective instrument. A different Legal reference does not make it another table:

“Category “Profissionais altamente qualificados” already has a minimum from the same source in force in that period (from 01/01/2026, BTE n.º 12/2026). Versions of the same source cannot overlap, and a new publication does not make it another instrument: close the previous one (“Valid until”) and start the new one the day after.”

Benefit rules (Configure › Pay item setup), when opening the line and using Duplicate, in the three-dot menu next to the title:

“The benefit rule “DEMO_SEGURO” overlaps the version from 01/01/2026. What happened: two versions of the same rule cannot be in force on the same day. How to fix it: end the previous version the day before this one starts.”

Worker-student status (People › Contracts and departures), for the same employee, from 01/09/2026 to 31/07/2027 and then from 01/06/2027 to 31/07/2028:

“Employee name already has a worker-student status in those dates. What happened: two school years overlap. How to fix it: end the previous school year the day before this one starts.”

With the Administrator profile

The Payroll Administrator has no New in the Income tax withholding tables and does not open the lists in Settings › Payroll (see point 4 of What to check).

Income tax withholding tables (Configure › Social security and income tax), with the same territory, category and table, the situation Covers: single, no dependents ticked, start on 01/07/2026 and the brackets filled in:

“Table I overlaps table I (from 01/01/2026) for the situation “não casado, sem dependentes”: two tables cannot be in force on the same date for the same territory, income category, disability and family situation. Close the previous table's “Valid until” or change the dates.”

On a new table, with two bracket lines added without changing the Limit kind or the Monthly remuneration limit (€):

“Table I has two “Até” rows with the same limit — brackets must be strictly increasing and never overlap.”

With no bracket lines at all, the refusal is this one, not the overlap one. Add the brackets first:

“Table I is incomplete: it has 0 “Até” row(s) and 0 “Superior a” row(s). What happened: a withholding table needs at least one “Até” bracket and exactly one final “Superior a” bracket, as printed in the order (despacho); otherwise some remunerations have no bracket. How to fix it: add the missing brackets (or keep the table archived while you fill it in).”

Duty of information checklist (in Settings › Payroll, Duty of information: checklist), with item a and start on 01/07/2026:

“Item “a” already has a version in force in that period. What happened: two versions of the same item cannot overlap. How to fix it: close the previous version the day before the new one starts.”

Holiday allowance methods and Batch closing controls (also in Settings › Payroll). The control was refused when using Duplicate, in the three-dot menu:

“There is already a holiday allowance method from the same source in that period (from 01/01/2026). How to fix it: close the previous one's “Valid until” or change the dates.”

“The control “NIF do trabalhador” already has a version in force in those dates (from 01/01/2026). What happened: two versions of the same control cannot overlap. How to fix it: end the other version the day before this one starts.”

The refusals for versions of a pay item are in I cannot save a pay item.

Verified causes

• The previous version is open. Without Valid until, a version applies forever, and any new version starting later falls inside it. This was the case for almost all the messages above.
• The start of the new version falls within the period of the previous one. The refusal also appears with Valid until filled in, if the date is later than the start of the new one. For the worker-student, the school year starting on 01/06/2027 falls within the one ending on 31/07/2027.
• You used Duplicate, in the three-dot menu. The copy carries the same dates as the original, and fiscaldoo refuses it straight away, without giving you time to change the date. For a benefit rule with new dates, start with New.

What to check

1. In the list, look for the versions of the same record (the same category, table, item, code or employee) and read the Valid from and Valid until columns.
2. The date the message gives (for example, “from 01/01/2026”) is the start of the version the new one clashes with. Open that one.
3. In the Income tax withholding tables, compare territory, income category, person with a disability and situations ticked in Covers. Only what matches on everything clashes.
4. If the message talks about a holiday allowance method, a batch closing control or a duty-of-information item, the list is not in Payroll › Configure. The Administrator opens it in Settings › Payroll, with the Open the list button on each line, without developer mode. The Payroll Administrator has no Settings: ask the Administrator.

What this check does not see in category minimums

The refusal compares the category, the Source and the Collective instrument. In the example, with the same category and the Source Collective agreement (IRCT) table, one minimum from a Collective contract (contrato coletivo) and another from a Company agreement (acordo de empresa) were both saved without a warning, open and at the same time. If the new table replaces the previous one and the instrument is of another type, close the previous one with Valid until even if fiscaldoo does not ask for it.

How to fix it

In the Company size example, the version from 01/01/2026 had 12 employees and the new one, from 01/06/2026, has 15.

1. In the Validation Error window, press Close and then Discard all changes (icon next to Save). The new version is not saved.
2. In the list, open the previous version (the one from 01/01/2026).
3. In Valid until, write the day before the new one starts (31/05/2026) and press Save.
4. Press New, write Valid from 01/06/2026 and Average workers 15, and press Save.

In the other lists the path is the same. When there is no next version, change the dates of the one you are registering.

Expected result

The list now has the two versions one after the other, with no day in common and no day missing. In the example, 01/01/2026 to 31/05/2026 with 12 employees and 01/06/2026, with no end, with 15. In both, Size is Small company (10 to fewer than 50).

When to contact support

• The message gives a start date that you cannot find in any version in the list.
• You closed the previous version on the day before and the refusal continues.
• fiscaldoo does not let you save Valid until on the previous version: first see the article on rules already used.

Information to send

• The full text of the message and the list where it appeared.
• The Valid from and Valid until dates of both versions.
• The profile you logged in with.