Property taxes in Portugal in 2026: IMT, stamp duty, IMI and AIMI

Updated: 30 October 2026 · RE/MAX Extra

Property taxes in Portugal split into one-off taxes, paid by the buyer on the sale, and annual taxes, paid by the owner. Below is each tax with its rate, base and a worked example. The figures have been checked against the tax codes on the Portuguese tax authority's website (Portal das Finanças) as worded in October 2026.

Which taxes you pay and when

IMT: tax on purchase

IMT (Imposto Municipal sobre as Transmissões Onerosas de Imóveis) is charged on the higher of two amounts: the contract price or the property's tax value, the valor patrimonial tributário. That is what Article 12 of the IMT Code says. The tax value is set under the rules of the IMI Code and appears on the property's tax register extract (caderneta predial).

Non-residents: flat 7.5%

Decree-Law No. 97/2026 of 20 May added paragraph 10 to Article 17 of the IMT Code. When a non-resident buys a home, the rate is always 7.5% on the full amount, and no reliefs or exemptions apply. There are three exceptions:

• the buyer is recognised as a Portuguese tax resident under Article 16 of the IRS Code;
• the buyer becomes a Portuguese tax resident within two years of the purchase;
• within six months, the home is let as a residence at a rent no higher than the limit in this decree, and stays let for at least 36 months during the first five years.

In the second and third cases you still pay 7.5% on the sale. The buyer then applies to the tax authority and is refunded the difference between the tax paid and the amount on the normal scale. The application must be made within six months of the date they became resident or signed the rental contract.

The rule is in its first year. Before signing the promissory contract (CPCV), check with a lawyer or tax adviser how the tax authority will apply it in your situation.

Tax residents: progressive scale

For residents, the rate depends on whether the home will be their main residence (habitação própria e permanente). The scale from Article 17 of the IMT Code:

Rates up to 8% work in bands; the top two are flat and apply to the whole amount. For this the tax authority publishes practical tables: the tax equals the amount multiplied by the band's rate, minus a fixed deduction (parcela a abater). Working it out by hand, band by band, gives the same result.

Example 1. A resident buys a main home for €300,000. The price falls in the 7% band, where the deduction is €10,457.96: €21,000 − €10,457.96. Total IMT: €10,542.04. Using the average rates in paragraph 3 of Article 17 gives 8 cents less, because they are rounded.

Example 2. A resident pays the same €300,000 for a home that won't be their main residence. The band is the same, 7%, but here the deduction is €9,394.50: €21,000 − €9,394.50. Total IMT: €11,605.50.

Example 3. A home for €700,000. The price is above the €660,982 limit, so a resident pays a flat 6% on the full amount: €42,000. A non-resident pays 7.5%: €52,500.

Relief for buyers aged up to 35

Article 9 of the IMT Code exempts a first purchase of a main home if the buyer is no older than 35 on the date of the sale and isn't listed as a dependant on a tax return. The relief isn't available to anyone who owned residential property on the date of the sale or in the previous three years. The exemption is full up to €330,539; on the part between €330,539 and €660,982, you pay 8%. For example, at a price of €400,000 the tax is 8% of €69,461, or €5,556.88. The relief doesn't extend to non-resident buyers paying the flat 7.5%.

Land, commercial property, companies

• rural land (prédios rústicos): 5%;
• other urban property, such as commercial, and other acquisitions for consideration: 6.5%;
• a buyer with a tax address in a jurisdiction on Portugal's list of preferential tax territories, or a company controlled by such a party: 10%. This rule does not apply to individuals.

Payment deadline

Under Article 36 of the IMT Code as worded in 2026, the tax is paid on the day the tax authority assesses it or within the next 30 days. If it isn't paid on time, the assessment lapses.

Stamp duty

Stamp duty (Imposto do Selo) on a property purchase is 0.8% of the value. This is item 1.1 of the General Stamp Duty Table. On €300,000 it comes to €2,400, on €700,000 to €5,600. The rate is the same for residents and non-residents. If you buy with a mortgage, stamp duty is also charged on the loan amount; the calculation is in “Mortgages in Portugal for non-residents”.

IMI: annual tax

The owner pays IMI (Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis) every year. It is based on the property's tax value, not the purchase price. The rates are set by Article 112 of the IMI Code:

• urban property: from 0.3% to 0.45%; each municipality sets the actual rate every year, sometimes separately for each freguesia (civil parish). If the municipality hasn't told the tax authority its rate by 31 December, the minimum of 0.3% applies the following year;
• rural land: 0.8%;
• urban property left empty for more than a year or in ruins: three times the rate;
• property owned by companies from preferential tax jurisdictions: 7.5%; this does not apply to individuals.

Example. A flat with a tax value of €200,000. At 0.3% the tax for the year is €600; at 0.45% it is €900.

Rates in the municipalities of Lisbon, Porto, Setúbal and the Algarve, surcharges for empty homes and in areas of urban pressure, reliefs and a worked example are collected in “The cost of owning property in Portugal”.

The tax is paid in instalments, and the number depends on the amount (Article 120 of the IMI Code):

AIMI: surcharge on high-value property

AIMI (Adicional ao IMI) is charged on the combined tax value of all the owner's urban property in Portugal as of 1 January. The total leaves out anything registered as commercial, industrial, for services or “other”. That leaves homes and building plots. Homes in the state rental support programme (Programa de Apoio ao Arrendamento) and property exempt from IMI in the previous year are also left out.

An individual deducts €600,000 from the total. They pay 0.7% on the rest. If the total tax value exceeds €1,000,000, the part between €1 million and €2 million is taxed at 1% and the part over €2 million at 1.5%. These thresholds are measured on the whole total, before the €600,000 deduction (Articles 135.º-C and 135.º-F). Companies pay 0.4% with no deduction. The deduction doesn't apply to homes empty for more than a year or derelict homes: their tax value is taxed in full.

Example. Someone owns two flats with tax values of €500,000 and €400,000. The total is €900,000, leaving €300,000 after the deduction. AIMI for the year is 0.7% of €300,000, or €2,100. If the total were no more than €600,000, there would be no surcharge.

What it comes to on a €300,000 purchase

Completion and registration costs come on top of these amounts. The whole process, from tax number to registration of ownership, is described in “How to buy property in Portugal as a foreigner”. To pay taxes and sign the contract you need a tax number: “NIF and a bank account in Portugal for foreigners”. For the tax on any profit when you later sell (mais-valias, capital gains), see “Tax when selling property in Portugal”.

Where to start

You can check prices in the RE/MAX Extra catalogue: flats in Lisbon, houses in Cascais and new developments across Portugal. If you'd like help finding a property, get in touch.

This article is for information only and is not legal or tax advice. Rates and rules change — always check official sources and a professional before a transaction.