Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted significant attention in the field of solar-driven photo-catalysis. Recently, a porphyrin ruthenium-based MOF (Ru-TBP-Zn) has shown highly efficient co-catalyst-free photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under visible light in neutral water. Certainly, a system with such features is of great interest for the design of MOF-based photocatalysts. In this work, we have conducted Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulations to provide insights into the unique electronic and optical properties of Ru-TBP-Zn. To do so, we propose two structural models that resolve the coordination of the ruthenium atoms in the metal backbone of Ru-TBP-Zn, both in agreement with the experimental observations. UV/Vis spectra calculations allow identifying the importance of the chargetransfer bands. According to our simulations, two possible charge transfer mechanism can co-exist: the direct photo-induced electron transfer from the porphyrin to the ruthenium upon light absorption, and the relaxation of the visible-light active excited states of the porphyrin to the low-lying ligand-to-metal charge transfer states. Analysis of the photo-generated charge carriers predicts a repulsive interaction energy indicating a low electron-hole recombination rate, required for multi-electron transfer processes such as HER. The understanding of the electronic properties and charge transfer mechanism in Ru-TBP-Zn paves the way for designing efficient porphyrin-based MOFs for photocatalysis.