Selling Portuguese property as an Irish resident (2026)

Which country taxes the gain?

Both. Portugal taxes the gain because the property is in Portugal. Ireland taxes it because a person who is resident or ordinarily resident and domiciled in Ireland pays capital gains tax (CGT) on disposals of assets wherever they are (section 29 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, Revenue Tax and Duty Manual 02-03-01). The 1993 treaty between the two countries gives Portugal the first right to tax and makes Ireland give a credit for the Portuguese tax.

	Portugal	Ireland
Right to tax	First right, as the country where the property is (treaty article 13(1))	Taxes Irish-resident, Irish-domiciled people on worldwide gains
Share of gain taxed	50%	100%
Inflation relief	Yes, coefficient on purchase price if held more than 24 months	Only for assets owned before 2003 (indexation relief)
Currency	Euros	Euros, so no exchange-rate gain or loss
Rate	12.5% to 48%, set by your worldwide income	31% for disposals from 7 October 2026 (33% before)
Tax-free amount	None	€1,270 personal exemption a year
Relief for the other country’s tax	Not applicable	Credit for Portuguese tax, capped at the Irish CGT on the same gain (treaty article 23(1)(a))
Tax year	Calendar year	Calendar year

How does Portugal tax an Irish resident?

As a non-resident of Portugal, you are taxed on 50% of the gain at Portugal’s progressive rates (article 43 of the IRS Code). The rate is set by adding your worldwide income, including your Irish salary or pension, to the taxable half of the gain, then applying the average rate to the half gain only. The flat 28% rate for non-residents’ property gains was abolished from 1 January 2023, so ignore anyone who still quotes it.

Nothing is withheld when you sell. You declare the sale on the Portuguese return (Modelo 3, Annex G) between 1 April and 30 June of the following year and pay by 31 August (article 97 of the IRS Code). Because Ireland is in the EU, you do not need a Portuguese fiscal representative, though you still need a Portuguese tax number (NIF) and access to the Portal das Finanças, or someone who files for you. The full method, brackets and inflation coefficients are in our guide to capital gains tax for non-residents.

What does Ireland charge, and what changed in Budget 2027?

Irish CGT on most gains is now 31%. Budget 2027 cut the rate from 33% to 31% for disposals made on or after 7 October 2026; Revenue’s rate table already shows 33% for disposals from 6 December 2021 to 6 October 2026 and 31% after (Revenue, “How to calculate CGT”). The 33% rate stays for Irish development land, which does not affect a Portuguese home. Budget measures are confirmed in the annual Finance Act, so check the final text if your sale falls close to the date.

Disposal date	Irish CGT rate on most gains
6 December 2021 to 6 October 2026	33%
From 7 October 2026	31%

Timing matters because Revenue treats the time of disposal as usually the contract date, not the completion date. In Portugal a sale normally has two stages: the promissory contract (CPCV) and the deed (escritura). Which of the two counts as “the contract” for Irish purposes, and whether a conditional contract moves the date, is a question for your Irish adviser. Law firm Maples notes that conditional contracts are a difficult area under the new rate.

Other Irish rules that apply:

• Personal exemption. Each individual can deduct €1,270 of chargeable gains a year.
• Allowable costs. Purchase price, purchase and sale costs (solicitor, auctioneer or estate agent fees) and money spent that added value to the property (“enhancement expenditure”) can be deducted.
• No inflation relief for recent buyers. Indexation relief only applies if you owned the asset before 2003. Most Irish owners of Portuguese property bought later, so the Irish gain is usually larger than the Portuguese one, which uses Portugal’s inflation coefficient.

What if I am Irish resident but not Irish domiciled?

Different rules apply. An individual who is resident or ordinarily resident in Ireland but not domiciled here is taxed on gains from foreign assets only on the amount received in Ireland (the remittance basis), and losses on foreign assets are not allowable (Revenue Tax and Duty Manual 02-03-01). If you keep the proceeds of a Portuguese sale outside Ireland, Irish CGT may not arise at all. Domicile is a legal concept separate from residence; take advice before relying on it.

How does the Ireland–Portugal treaty work?

The treaty was signed in Dublin on 1 June 1993, amended by a protocol signed on 11 November 2005, and modified by the OECD Multilateral Instrument (MLI). It covers Irish income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax (article 2(3)).

Article	What it says for a seller
6(1)	Income from immovable property in Portugal may be taxed in Portugal
13(1)	Gains by an Irish resident from selling immovable property in Portugal may be taxed in Portugal
13(2) (as amended 2005)	Gains on shares in a company whose value comes mainly from Portuguese property may also be taxed in Portugal; quoted shares are excluded
23(1)(a)	Portuguese tax on the same gain is allowed as a credit against Irish tax computed on that gain, subject to Irish credit rules

“May be taxed in Portugal” does not stop Ireland taxing the same gain; article 23 removes the double charge through the credit. Revenue’s foreign CGT relief guidance states that where Ireland has a treaty covering CGT, you can credit the foreign CGT against the Irish CGT due, but only up to the amount of Irish CGT you owe. Any excess Portuguese tax is not refunded and cannot be carried to another gain.

• If Portuguese tax is lower than Irish CGT, you pay the difference to Revenue.
• If Portuguese tax is higher, you pay no Irish CGT on that gain, but you get nothing back.

Does the exchange rate matter?

No. Portugal and Ireland both use the euro, so the purchase price, costs and sale price are the same figures on both returns. UK sellers face a currency effect that can swing their UK gain by six figures (see UK residents selling); Irish sellers do not. The only differences between the two gains come from the rules: the 50% inclusion and the inflation coefficient in Portugal, and the €1,270 exemption and full inclusion in Ireland.

Worked example: both taxes on one sale

A Dublin-based, Irish-domiciled sole owner bought an Algarve apartment in 2015 for €250,000, spent €30,000 on a new kitchen and bathrooms in 2019, and signs the contract and completes the sale in November 2026 for €480,000. Their Irish salary is €70,000. Purchase costs are an assumption for illustration. The Portuguese figures come from our calculator logic, using the 2026 tax table and the 2025 inflation coefficients (the 2026 table is due around November 2026).

Portugal

Step	Calculation	€
Sale price		480,000
Purchase price × 2015 coefficient	250,000 × 1.20	−300,000
Purchase costs (IMT, stamp duty, deed)	assumed	−15,000
Works in 2019	invoiced	−30,000
Agent 5% + 23% VAT	480,000 × 5% × 1.23	−29,520
Energy certificate		−200
Gain		105,280
Taxable half		52,640
Total for rate (half gain + €70,000 income)		122,640
Tax on total (2026 table)		47,479.93
Average rate	47,479.93 ÷ 122,640	38.71%
Portuguese tax	52,640 × 38.71%; no solidarity surcharge below €80,000	≈ 20,380

Ireland

Step	€
Sale price	480,000
Purchase price (no indexation: bought after 2003)	−250,000
Purchase costs	−15,000
Enhancement expenditure (2019 works)	−30,000
Sale costs (agent fee incl. VAT, energy certificate)	−29,720
Chargeable gain	155,280
Less personal exemption	−1,270
Taxable gain	154,010
Irish CGT at 31%	47,743.10
Less credit for Portuguese tax	−20,380
Irish CGT to pay	27,363

Total tax is €20,380 in Portugal plus €27,363 in Ireland, €47,743 in all, which equals the Irish CGT alone. Portugal takes about 19% of its gain; Ireland’s higher rate on a larger gain sets the overall cost.

Had the same disposal happened before 7 October 2026, Irish CGT at 33% would have been €50,823.30, and €30,443 would have been payable after the credit, about €3,080 more. Run your own figures in the selling calculator; it covers the Portuguese side, then apply the Irish steps above.

When do I pay and file in Ireland?

Irish CGT has its own pay-and-file timetable, separate from income tax (Revenue, “When and how do you pay and file CGT”):

Disposal date	Pay Irish CGT by	File the CGT return by
1 January to 30 November (initial period)	15 December of the same year	31 October of the next year
1 to 31 December (later period)	31 January of the next year	31 October of the next year

Revenue lists two returns: Form 11, filed online through ROS, and the paper Form CG1. Late payment carries interest and a late return carries a penalty.

Who taxes what, and when?

This is the order of events for a sale completed in 2026. Portugal settles its bill months after Ireland’s payment deadline.

Sale completes	Irish CGT paid	Portuguese return (Annex G)	Portuguese tax paid	Irish return, credit claimed
1 Jan to 6 Oct 2026 (33%)	By 15 Dec 2026	1 Apr to 30 Jun 2027	By 31 Aug 2027	By 31 Oct 2027
7 Oct to 30 Nov 2026 (31%)	By 15 Dec 2026	1 Apr to 30 Jun 2027	By 31 Aug 2027	By 31 Oct 2027
1 to 31 Dec 2026 (31%)	By 31 Jan 2027	1 Apr to 30 Jun 2027	By 31 Aug 2027	By 31 Oct 2027
1 Jan to 30 Nov 2027 (31%)	By 15 Dec 2027	1 Apr to 30 Jun 2028	By 31 Aug 2028	By 31 Oct 2028

What if Portugal has not assessed the tax when Irish CGT is due?

This is the usual position. For a sale in 2026, Irish CGT is due by 15 December 2026, but the Portuguese tax is only assessed after the return filed between April and June 2027 and paid by 31 August 2027. By the time you file the Irish return on 31 October 2027, the Portuguese figure is known and the credit can be claimed on the return.

Revenue’s guidance does not say whether you may reduce the December payment by a credit for Portuguese tax that has not yet been assessed. Paying too little attracts interest. The cautious route is to pay the full Irish CGT by the deadline and claim the credit on the return; ask your adviser whether a lower payment based on a reliable estimate of the Portuguese tax is acceptable. Either way, keep cash aside for both bills: in the example, €47,743 out of the €450,280 net of selling costs.

Do I need a CG50 clearance certificate?

No, not for a Portuguese property. The Irish CG50A clearance regime applies to the sale of certain Irish assets, such as land and buildings in the State, worth more than €500,000 (or houses and apartments over €1 million since 2016). Without a certificate, the buyer must withhold 15% of the price (Revenue). A home in Portugal is not covered, and Portugal itself has no withholding on the seller’s gain, so the Portuguese buyer pays you the full price at the deed.

Are there other things to check?

• Main residence. Ireland’s principal private residence relief and Portugal’s own main-home reinvestment relief both depend on the property having been your main home. A holiday home normally qualifies for neither. If you once lived in the Portuguese property, take advice on both.
• Joint owners. Each owner reports their share of the gain in both countries, and each uses their own €1,270 exemption in Ireland.
• Homes bought before 1989. These are outside Portuguese CGT altogether, but Ireland still taxes the gain (with indexation relief for the period before 2003). With no Portuguese tax to credit, the Irish bill is the whole tax.
• Pensions and income. Moving to Portugal changes which country taxes your income; this guide only covers the sale of property while you live in Ireland.

Key points

• Portugal taxes 50% of the gain at 12.5% to 48%, set by your worldwide income; Ireland taxes the whole gain after a €1,270 exemption.
• Irish CGT is 31% for disposals from 7 October 2026 (Budget 2027), 33% before; the Irish disposal date is usually the contract date.
• The 1993 Ireland–Portugal treaty (article 23) gives a credit for Portuguese tax, capped at the Irish CGT on the gain, so you pay roughly the higher of the two.
• Both countries use the euro: no currency gain, no fiscal representative needed in Portugal.
• Irish CGT is due by 15 December (31 January for December sales), long before Portugal assesses its tax the following August.
• Non-domiciled Irish residents are taxed on foreign gains only when the proceeds are brought into Ireland.