IMT and Stamp Duty when buying a home
In an onerous acquisition, the budget should consider IMT (the municipal property transfer tax) and Imposto do Selo (Stamp Duty), unless a relief applies. As a rule, the base is the higher of the relevant contract value and the VPT (tax registered value). The assessment should reflect the buyers' situation, the nature of the property and the purpose of the acquisition. [1]
Calculate these amounts before making an offer. Add to the budget the down payment, the costs of formalisation and the financing charges, if any.
How the IMT calculation works
Article 17 of the CIMT (the IMT code) distinguishes tables and rates. For a purchase as a main permanent home on the mainland, outside special regimes, the 2026 table starts with a bracket up to €106,346 at a zero rate. In the progressive brackets, the marginal rate is not simply applied to the whole price. [2]
Location in the Autonomous Regions, the use of the house, tax residence and the buyer's conditions can change the calculation. Keep the assumptions of the simulation together with the result.
Assumptions
Tax resident in Portugal · Mainland · Main permanent home · Outside IMT Jovem and other reliefs · VPT below the price
Excluding financing, formalisation and registrations. The official assessment prevails over the simulation.
Example of a €300,000 purchase
Consider a person tax-resident in Portugal, outside IMT Jovem and other reliefs, buying a home on the mainland as their main permanent residence. Assume a price of €300,000, a lower VPT and no other particularities.
Under the 2026 table, the illustrative calculation is: €198,347 at the average rate of 1.7274%, plus €101,653 at the marginal rate of 7%. The rounded result is approximately €10,541.96 of IMT. The official assessment prevails over the simulation. [2]
Stamp Duty on the acquisition, without relief, would be €2,400, at 0.8%. The two taxes together would total approximately €12,941.96, excluding financing, formalisation and registrations. [3]
If there is a mortgage
Using credit has its own Stamp Duty treatment. Under the rule in item 17.1.3 of the table, for a term of five years or more the rate is 0.6%, without prejudice to any specific applicable regime. [3]
Illustrative example: on a €240,000 loan covered by that rule, the tax on the use of credit would be €1,440. This amount is different from the Stamp Duty on the acquisition. Confirm the breakdown in the bank documentation.
Who should look at IMT Jovem
The regime requires, among other conditions, being up to 35 years old at the transfer, not being a dependant for IRS in that year and meeting the rules on first acquisition and residential ownership in the previous three years. In 2026, the full IMT exemption limit on the mainland is €330,539; above that, a specific framework applies. Checking age alone is not enough. [2, 4]
In a purchase by two people, the conditions must be analysed for each buyer. Ask for the simulation to identify the Stamp Duty position as well, without presuming that any IMT relief eliminates every item of the transaction.
A note for non-resident buyers
The regime introduced in 2026 provides for a 7.5% IMT rate for certain residential acquisitions by non-residents, with exceptions and mechanisms of its own, namely related to residence and letting. Nationality, by itself, does not answer the question of tax residence. [5]
Anyone buying from abroad should obtain a simulation framed to their situation and the date of the deed, rather than automatically using the general residential table.
When to pay and which documents to keep
The IMT Modelo 1 return allows the tax to be assessed. Before the deed, confirm the details are correct and present proof of payment or of the applicable relief. The tax authority indicates payment on the day of assessment itself or within the following 30 days, failing which the assessment lapses. [1]
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the figures from a purchase made last year
Run a new simulation. Brackets, regimes and assumptions may be different.
Does the bank necessarily finance the taxes
Do not consider them covered without express confirmation. Include them in the calculation of your own funds.
Are IMI and IMT the same tax
No. To organise the budget, separate the costs of acquisition from the costs of holding the property.
Does a purchase with two owners simply split the tax in half
The simulation must respect the shares and conditions of each buyer, especially when only one meets the requirements for a relief.
Sources
Next step
When preparing your purchase with the Valle team, gather the assumptions needed to estimate the total cost of the transaction and confirm the tax component with the responsible professional.
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