IMT calculator 2026: Portugal property transfer tax and stamp duty

What is IMT tax in Portugal?

IMT (Imposto Municipal sobre as Transmissões Onerosas de Imóveis) is Portugal's property transfer tax. The buyer pays it once, on any paid transfer of a property, and it must be settled before the deed is signed: the notary or lawyer will not complete without proof of payment. The tax office collects it and the money goes to the municipality where the property is. It is charged on the higher of the price and the property's tax value (VPT). On top of IMT the buyer pays 0.8% stamp duty on the same base. The seller pays neither: the seller's tax is capital gains tax on any profit.

How much IMT does a non-resident pay compared with a resident?

A non-resident pays 7.5% of the whole price on a home. A resident works out IMT from a table: price × marginal rate − a fixed deduction, with separate tables for an own and permanent home (habitação própria e permanente) and for other homes. Cash purchases on the mainland, 2026:

Between about €300,000 and €1,150,853 the non-resident pays roughly €10,000 to €15,000 more. Above €1,150,853 residents also pay a flat 7.5%, so at €1,200,000 the gap is zero. With a mortgage, add 0.6% of the loan: a non-resident buying at €500,000 with a €250,000 mortgage pays €37,500 + €4,000 + €1,500 = €43,000 in taxes.

Who pays the 7.5% non-resident rate?

Decree-Law 97/2026 (20 May 2026) added paragraph 10 to article 17 of the IMT Code. It sets IMT at 7.5% "with no exemption or reduction" when the buyer of an urban property used only as a home is not tax resident in Portugal. The decree sets no start date of its own, so it took effect on 25 May 2026, the fifth day after publication, under the general rule in Lei 74/98.

• Residence, not nationality. Residence means tax residence under article 16 of the IRS Code: broadly, more than 183 days in Portugal in a 12-month period, or a home there that you keep as your habitual residence. A British or American buyer already living in Portugal pays the resident tables.
• Former residents are excluded. If you were Portuguese tax resident at any time before, you pay the normal tables (article 17(10)(a)). The law sets no time limit.
• Homes only. Rustic land stays at 5% and other urban property, such as shops, offices and building plots, at 6.5%, whoever buys.
• Couples. The tax authority's circular 40131/2026 (4 September 2026) says that for spouses married under a community-of-property regime, 7.5% applies only if both are non-resident and neither has ever been resident. Unmarried co-owners, and spouses with separate property, are assessed one by one on their own share.

The common mistake. Until 24 May 2026 a non-resident paid the same sliding scale as a resident buying a second home: €27,300.11 on €500,000. Many IMT calculators online still use that rule. Since 25 May 2026 the same buyer pays €37,500. The 7.5% replaces the table; it is not a surcharge on top of it. A second mistake is the 10% rate for buyers in tax havens: article 17(4) applies it only to companies based in, or controlled from, a blacklisted jurisdiction. Article 17(7) excludes individuals, so a person living in a blacklisted territory pays 7.5% on a home like any other non-resident.

Can you get the 7.5% back if you become resident?

Yes, in two cases, but only if you ask (article 17(10)(b)–(c) and 17(11)–(12)):

The tax authority cancels the difference between the 7.5% you paid and the tax under the normal tables. Circular 40131/2026 says the request is made as a reclamação graciosa (an administrative complaint) filed through the Portal das Finanças or a tax office. For a married couple under community of property, it is enough that one spouse becomes resident.

The law does not say which table the refund is measured against. The main-home rates are normally lost if you do not live in the home as your permanent home within six months of buying (IMT Code article 11(8)(b)), so someone who moves after, say, 14 months may be refunded only down to the second-home table. On €500,000 that is €10,199.89 back rather than €11,263.35. The tax authority has not published guidance on this point. For the full trade-off see buy before or after becoming resident.

What are the 2026 IMT tables?

Brackets from the 2026 State Budget (Lei 73-A/2025), as set out in the tax authority's practical tables, circular 40129/2026. Find the band for the price, multiply by the rate and subtract the deduction. The flat bands apply to the whole price.

Table I: own and permanent home, mainland

Table III: other homes (second homes, lets), mainland

Flat rates

IMT is charged on the price in the deed or the property's tax registration value (valor patrimonial tributário, VPT), whichever is higher (article 12(1)).

Do Madeira and the Azores have different IMT rates?

Yes for residents. Under Lei 21/90 every bracket limit in the autonomous regions is 25% higher, which lowers the tax. A resident buying a €500,000 main home pays €22,795.78 in Madeira or the Azores against €26,236.65 on the mainland. The non-resident 7.5% rate is a single rate with no regional exception in the law, and circular 40131/2026 was sent to Madeira's regional tax director as well.

Table IV: own and permanent home, Madeira and the Azores

Table VI: other homes, Madeira and the Azores

What is IMT Jovem, and can a foreign buyer use it?

Since 1 August 2024 (Decree-Law 48-A/2024), a buyer aged 35 or under pays no IMT on a first own and permanent home up to €330,539 in 2026 (€413,174 in Madeira and the Azores), and 8% only on the part above that up to €660,982 (IMT Code articles 9(2)–(4) and 17(1)(b)). Above €660,982 the normal 6% and 7.5% flat rates apply, so there is no saving. Conditions: 35 or under on the deed date, not claimed as a dependant on someone else's tax return that year, no residential property owned at the deed date or in the previous three years, and living there as your main home within six months. Couples are assessed separately, each on half.

Stamp duty relief follows: the 0.8% is reduced by up to 0.8% of €330,539, which is €2,644.31 (article 7-A of the Stamp Duty Code). In Madeira and the Azores the calculator uses the regional limit, €3,305.39; that is our reading of the regional tables, not confirmed by the tax authority. At €300,000 an eligible buyer pays €0 in purchase taxes; at €500,000, €13,556.88 IMT and €1,355.69 stamp duty. The calculator gives no stamp duty relief above €660,982, where the Stamp Duty Code wording is not explicit; check this with your lawyer.

A non-resident cannot use IMT Jovem, because the 7.5% rule excludes every exemption. Whether a young buyer who later becomes resident is refunded down to the IMT Jovem table is not addressed by the law or by guidance.

How much stamp duty do you pay when buying?

• 0.8% of the price on every purchase (Stamp Duty Table item 1.1), resident or not, charged on the same value as IMT.
• 0.6% of the loan for a mortgage of five years or more (item 17.1.3), usually deducted by the bank when the loan is drawn. Loans of one to five years pay 0.5%.
• 4% stamp duty on mortgage interest (item 17.3.1), collected by the bank with each instalment for the life of the loan. The calculator does not include it.

When and how is IMT paid, and who pays it?

The buyer pays IMT (IMT Code article 4) and the purchase stamp duty. Both are assessed before the deed (article 22(1)). You, your lawyer, or the notary or Casa Pronta desk handling the deed files the IMT declaration (Modelo 1) on the Portal das Finanças; the assessment comes with a payment reference. Since Decree-Law 97/2026 you have until 30 days after the assessment to pay; if you miss that, the assessment lapses and must be issued again (article 36(1)). The deed is not signed without proof of payment, so most buyers pay a few days before. Declare the correct residence status in the Modelo 1: a later refund needs a separate request, and nothing happens automatically.

What else does buying cost?

IMT and stamp duty are the largest costs, but not the only ones. The government's Casa Pronta service charges €375 for a deed and registration without a mortgage and €700 with one. Many foreign buyers also pay a lawyer, often 1–2% of the price plus 23% VAT. The seller normally pays the estate agent. The buying cost calculator adds these to the taxes above, and the guide to buying property in Portugal covers the NIF, the promissory contract (CPCV) and the deed step by step.

Key points

• Since 25 May 2026 non-residents pay a flat 7.5% IMT on homes, with no exemptions (IMT Code art. 17(10), Decree-Law 97/2026): €37,500 on €500,000 against €26,236.65 for a resident's main home.
• Anyone who was Portuguese tax resident before pays the normal tables. A married couple under community of property pays 7.5% only if neither spouse is or ever was resident.
• Becoming resident within two years, or letting at up to €2,300 a month, lets you reclaim the difference; you must apply within six months.
• Above €1,150,853 (€1,438,566 in Madeira and the Azores) everyone pays 7.5%, so residence makes no difference.
• Stamp duty is 0.8% of the price plus 0.6% of a mortgage. IMT is paid before the deed, within 30 days of assessment.
• The 10% rate for tax havens applies only to companies, never to individuals.

General information, not tax advice. Confirm your IMT position with a lawyer before you sign the promissory contract. Updated 28 September 2026.