Should you buy before or after becoming Portuguese tax resident? The 7.5% IMT maths (2026)

What changed on 25 May 2026?

Decree-Law 97/2026 added paragraph 10 to article 17 of the IMT Code (IMT is the property transfer tax the buyer pays before the deed). When the buyer of an urban property used only as a home is not tax resident in Portugal, IMT is always 7.5% of the whole price, and “no exemption or reduction” applies.

Residents pay a sliding scale instead, with separate tables for a main home (habitação própria e permanente, your own and permanent home) and for other homes. Everyone, resident or not, also pays 0.8% stamp duty on the price.

There are three exceptions to the 7.5% rate (article 17(10)):

Exception	What you pay	What you must do
(a) You were Portuguese tax resident at any time before	The normal scale at the deed	Nothing extra; the rule has no time limit
(b) You become Portuguese tax resident within two years of buying	7.5% at the deed, then the difference is cancelled	Apply within six months of becoming resident
(c) Within six months you let the home at a moderate rent (≤ €2,300 a month in 2026), and it is let for at least 36 of the first 60 months	7.5% at the deed, then the difference is cancelled	Apply within six months of signing the lease

For (b) and (c), the tax authority “cancels, at the request of the taxpayer” the difference (article 17(11)). Nothing is automatic. Miss the six-month application window (article 17(12)) and the extra tax stays paid.

How much more does a non-resident pay?

2026 IMT tables (Lei 73-A/2025), cash purchase, IMT only:

Price	€300,000	€500,000	€700,000	€1,000,000	€1,500,000
Non-resident (7.5% flat)	€22,500	€37,500	€52,500	€75,000	€112,500
Resident, main home	€10,542.04	€26,236.65	€42,000	€60,000	€112,500
How it is worked out	7% − €10,457.96	8% − €13,763.35	6% flat	6% flat	7.5% flat
Resident, second home	€11,605.50	€27,300.11	€42,000	€60,000	€112,500
How it is worked out	7% − €9,394.50	8% − €12,699.89	6% flat	6% flat	7.5% flat
Extra cost vs resident main home	€11,957.96	€11,263.35	€10,500	€15,000	€0
Extra cost vs resident second home	€10,894.50	€10,199.89	€10,500	€15,000	€0
Stamp duty 0.8% (everyone)	€2,400	€4,000	€5,600	€8,000	€12,000

Two things stand out. The gap is broadly €10,000–€15,000 from €300,000 to €1,150,853. Above €1,150,853 residents pay a flat 7.5% too, so at €1.5 million the gap is zero and residence makes no difference to IMT. Check your own price in the buying cost calculator.

Which rate is the refund worked out at?

The refund is the difference between the 7.5% paid and “the amount that would result from the rates in paragraph 1”. Paragraph 1 contains both the main-home and the second-home tables. The law does not say which applies.

There is a catch for people who buy first and move later. The main-home rates are lost if the home is not used as your own and permanent home within six months of buying (IMT Code, article 11(8)(b)). If you become resident 14 months after the deed, the tax authority may well refund you only down to the second-home rate. On a €500,000 home that is €10,199.89 back rather than €11,263.35. The tax authority has not published guidance on how it calculates these refunds.

What does paying 7.5% up front and reclaiming actually cost?

Even when the refund works, the money is tied up. The timeline is: deed, then up to 24 months to become resident, then up to six months to apply, then however long the tax office takes to decide.

Price	€300,000	€500,000	€700,000	€1,000,000
Extra IMT paid at the deed	€11,957.96	€11,263.35	€10,500	€15,000
Refund at main-home rate	€11,957.96	€11,263.35	€10,500	€15,000
Refund at second-home rate	€10,894.50	€10,199.89	€10,500	€15,000
Interest forgone at 3% a year for two years (on the extra IMT)	€717	€676	€630	€900
Cost if you never qualify for the refund	€11,957.96	€11,263.35	€10,500	€15,000

So if you are sure you will move within two years and you apply in time, buying first costs you a few hundred euros of interest, plus about €1,000 at €300,000–€500,000 if the refund is capped at the second-home rate. The real risk is the last row: plans change, a partner’s job falls through, or the six-month window is missed.

When do I count as tax resident?

Under article 16 of the IRS Code you are resident in a year if you:

• spend more than 183 days in Portugal in any 12-month period starting or ending in that year; or
• on any day of that period, have a home in Portugal in circumstances suggesting you intend to keep and live in it as your habitual residence.

Residence starts from the first day you are present on that basis (article 16(3)), so it can begin part-way through a year. Each spouse is tested separately (article 16(5)).

Practical points:

• Update the address on your NIF (tax number) record to your Portuguese address on the Portal das Finanças as soon as you move. That record is how the tax office sees you.
• If you rent in Portugal first and have moved, you may already be resident on the day you buy, and pay the normal scale from the start.
• Former residents: exception (a) covers anyone who was ever Portuguese tax resident. Keep proof, such as old IRS returns filed as a resident.

What if I am 35 or under? (IMT Jovem)

Since August 2024 (Decree-Law 48-A/2024), buyers aged 35 or under pay no IMT on their first own and permanent home up to €330,539 in 2026, and 8% only on the part above that up to €660,982 (IMT Code, articles 9(2) and 17(1)(b)). Stamp duty relief follows the same conditions but is capped at 0.8% of €330,539, or €2,644.31 (Stamp Duty Code, article 7-A). Conditions:

• you are 35 or under on the deed date;
• you are not claimed as a dependant on someone else’s IRS return in that year;
• you have not owned a residential urban property, or part of one, at the deed date or at any time in the previous three years (article 9(3));
• you live in it as your main home within six months and do not change its use for six years, except for sale and a few family or job reasons (article 11(8)).

Price	€300,000	€500,000	€700,000
IMT Jovem	€0	(500,000 − 330,539) × 8% = €13,556.88	€42,000 (6% flat; no relief above €660,982)
Non-resident	€22,500	€37,500	€52,500

Non-residents cannot use IMT Jovem, because the 7.5% rule excludes every exemption. If a young buyer becomes resident within two years, whether the refund is calculated down to the IMT Jovem table (also in paragraph 1) is not addressed by the law or by guidance. For an under-35 buyer, moving first is usually worth far more than for anyone else: up to €22,500 at €300,000.

Is renting first worth it just to save IMT?

Compare the IMT gap with what you would spend renting until you are resident:

	Buy now as non-resident, reclaim later	Rent 6 months, buy as resident
Extra IMT on €500,000	€11,263.35 paid, refundable if you qualify	€0
Rent at €2,000 a month (example)	–	€12,000, not refundable
Price risk	Price fixed now	Prices rose 16.5% in the year to Q2 2026 (INE); a 2% rise on €500,000 is €10,000

If you would rent anyway while you search, buying afterwards as a resident is cheaper and simpler. If you have found the right house and are certain you will move within two years, buying now and reclaiming costs little. Renting only to avoid IMT rarely pays.

Decision table

Your situation	Usual best move
You have been Portuguese tax resident before	Buy whenever you like: normal scale
Moving within 12 months, house found	Buy now, move, apply for the refund within six months of becoming resident
Moving “in a few years”, or not sure	Treat the extra 7.5% as a cost you may not recover
Already renting in Portugal with your tax address here	Buy as a resident: normal scale, main-home rates if it will be your home
Buying above €1,150,853	Residence makes no difference to IMT
35 or under, first home	Become resident first; IMT Jovem can save up to €22,500
Buying to let long-term at ≤ €2,300 a month	Pay 7.5%, sign the lease within six months, apply within six months of the lease
Holiday home you will not live in	7.5% applies; no refund route unless you let at a moderate rent

Key points

• Since 25 May 2026 non-residents pay a flat 7.5% IMT on homes with no exemptions (IMT Code, article 17(10), added by Decree-Law 97/2026).
• The extra cost is about €10,000–€15,000 between €300,000 and €1,150,853; above that, residents pay 7.5% too.
• Anyone ever tax resident in Portugal before pays the normal scale.
• Become resident within two years, or let at a moderate rent within six months, and you can reclaim the difference, but only by applying within six months; the law does not say whether the refund uses the main-home or second-home rate.
• Buyers aged 35 or under lose IMT Jovem (0% up to €330,539) if they buy as non-residents.
• If you will rent while searching anyway, buying after you become resident is the cheaper route.