Buying property in Portugal in 2026: costs, taxes, mortgages and the new non-resident rules

A Portuguese purchase has two contracts that matter: the CPCV (Contrato-Promessa de Compra e Venda, the binding promissory contract where you pay a deposit) and the deed (escritura, or a certified private document), which is where ownership actually transfers. Everything else is preparation for one or the other.2 sources

The usual order is: get a NIF (your Portuguese tax number), hire your own lawyer, make an offer, run due diligence, sign the CPCV and pay the deposit, obtain mortgage approval if you need one, pay IMT and stamp duty, sign the deed and register the purchase. Casa Pronta lets you sign the deed and register ownership and any mortgage at a single counter.3 sources

Timelines are set by your contract, not by law. A clean cash purchase can close within weeks of the CPCV; with a mortgage, allow for the bank's valuation and approval before you commit to a deed date in the CPCV.2 sources

Hire your own lawyer, not one recommended by the seller's side. Your lawyer checks the registry and tax records, drafts or reviews the CPCV, chases the condominium debt declaration and attends the deed. Fees vary widely, so ask for a fixed written quote that says what is included, and remember VAT at 23% is added on top.2 sources

Estate agents (mediadoras imobiliárias) must hold a licence from IMPIC, the regulator, shown as an AMI number on their adverts and contracts. Check it on IMPIC's public register. In a normal sale the agent is hired, and paid, by the seller; if someone asks you for a fee as a buyer's agent, get the terms in writing before you agree.2 sources

If you need a mortgage, speak to two or three banks before you make an offer and get a written pre-approval. Every bank must assess your income and existing debts against Banco de Portugal's limits, so a pre-approval tells you early how much you can really borrow.2 sources

Non-residents can buy on the same legal terms as residents. You need a NIF; and if you live outside the EU or EEA, Portuguese tax law requires a fiscal representative resident in Portugal, unless you sign up for electronic notifications from the tax authority (Portal das Finanças or the Morada Única Digital service).2 sources

You do not have to fly in for the deed. You can sign a power of attorney (procuração) before a Portuguese consulate, or before a local notary with an Apostille under the Hague Convention, so your lawyer can sign the CPCV and deed for you. A real-estate power of attorney should identify the property, the acts allowed (promissory contract, purchase, mortgage) and the price limits.2 sources

The big 2026 change for non-residents is tax, not paperwork: a flat 7.5% IMT on homes, explained in its own section below. Run the numbers before you make an offer, because the difference on a €400,000 home is over €10,000.2 sources

Four documents tell you whether a property is what the seller says it is. The certidão permanente (land registry certificate, on Predial Online) shows the owner and any mortgages, seizures or easements. The caderneta predial (tax matrix record) shows the official tax value (VPT) and use. The licença de utilização (use licence from the Câmara Municipal) shows what the building may legally be used for. The certificado energético (energy certificate) gives the energy class.4 sources

The deed cannot be signed without some of these. Casa Pronta requires the parties' civil and tax ID, the energy certificate and, for buildings constructed after 7 August 1951, a reference to the use licence or its exemption.1 source

For apartments, ask for the condominium debt declaration. Since 2022 the seller must request from the building administrator a written statement of the flat's charges and any debts, and it must accompany the deed. If you sign the deed waiving that declaration, you take on the seller's debts to the condominium.1 source

Check preemption rights. A tenant who has rented the property for more than two years has a legal right of first refusal and must be notified by registered letter, with 30 days to answer. Public bodies with preemption rights are notified through the Casa Pronta announcement, which costs €15.2 sources

Any money you hand the seller under a CPCV is presumed by law to be a sinal (deposit), even if the contract calls it a down payment. That presumption carries teeth: if you back out, the seller keeps it; if the seller backs out, you can claim double what you paid.1 source

Instead of taking the penalty, the innocent party can ask a court to enforce the sale (execução específica). For buildings and flats, that right cannot be excluded by the contract. A CPCV for a building also needs the signatures recognised in person and a certification that the use or construction licence exists.1 source

If you are borrowing, insist on a mortgage condition: a clause letting you cancel and recover the deposit if the bank refuses the loan by a set date. Without it, a refused mortgage is your default, and the sinal is lost.2 sources

Other clauses worth your lawyer's time: the deed deadline and who books it, what happens if a document is missing, the inventory of fixtures, the condition of the property at handover, existing tenants, and who pays condominium works already approved.1 source

Three taxes and fees dominate: IMT (the municipal property transfer tax), stamp duty of 0.8% on the price, and the deed and registration fee. If you borrow, add 0.6% stamp duty on a loan of five years or more. IMT is charged on the higher of the price and the property's VPT (its official tax value).3 sources

Which IMT table applies depends on use. A home that will be your permanent residence (habitação própria e permanente) uses the table below: 0% up to €106,346, then rates from 2% to 8% with a fixed deduction. Second homes and buy-to-let flats use a slightly higher table that starts at 1% and moves to the 6% flat rate from €633,931. Above €1,150,853 every residential purchase pays a flat 7.5%.1 source

Casa Pronta, run by the registries (IRN), charges €375 for a single registration act (for example, a cash purchase) and €700 when there are two (a purchase with a mortgage), plus €50 for each additional property. Interest on a loan for your own home is exempt from stamp duty; on other loans banks add 4% stamp duty to each interest payment.4 sources

Use the calculator below to estimate IMT, stamp duty on the price and the loan, Casa Pronta and an allowance for legal fees. Choose permanent home or second home, tick IMT Jovem if you qualify, and switch on the non-resident option to see the flat 7.5% rate.4 sources

If you are not a Portuguese tax resident when you buy a home, IMT is a flat 7.5% of the price (or VPT, if higher), with no exemptions or reduced rates. The rule is in Article 17(10) of the Código do IMT, added by Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026 of 20 May 2026, and applies to purchases from 25 May 2026. It covers urban property intended exclusively for housing, not shops, offices or land.3 sources

There are three ways out. The 7.5% does not apply if you have been a Portuguese tax resident at any time before. It is refunded in part if you become tax resident within two years of buying, or if within six months you let the home on a residential lease at a moderate rent (up to €2,300 a month in 2026, 2.5 times the minimum wage) and keep it let for at least 36 of the first 60 months.3 sources

The refund is not automatic. You must file a request (reclamação graciosa) within six months of becoming resident or of signing the lease, and the tax authority cancels the difference between the 7.5% and what the normal tables would have charged.2 sources

Couples are treated differently depending on how they own. For spouses married under a community-of-property regime, the 7.5% applies only if both are non-resident and neither has ever been resident; if either becomes resident within two years, the refund can be claimed. Co-owners and spouses with separate property are assessed one by one.1 source

The 7.5% rate does not override the 10% IMT charged to companies based in tax havens. Individuals are never subject to that 10% rate.1 source

If you are 35 or under on the day of the deed, are not claimed as a dependant on anyone's IRS return, and have not owned a home in the previous three years, your first permanent home is exempt from IMT up to €330,539. Between €330,539 and €660,982 you pay 8% only on the part above €330,539. Above €660,982 there is no relief.2 sources

You also get stamp duty relief: a deduction from the 0.8% purchase stamp duty of up to €2,644.31 (0.8% of €330,539). When a married couple buys as common property, the conditions are checked for each spouse separately on half the purchase, so if only one qualifies, only that half gets the relief.2 sources

The state guarantee (garantia pública) helps with the deposit. For buyers aged 18 to 35 with tax domicile in Portugal, income no higher than the 8th IRS bracket and no home of their own, the State can guarantee up to 15% of a price of up to €450,000, so participating banks can lend up to 100%. It covers contracts signed by 31 December 2026; no extension has been announced.2 sources

Demand has been strong. The overall guarantee ceiling was raised from €1.2 billion to €2.3 billion in increases in September 2025 and April 2026, and in September 2026 Despacho n.º 10855/2026 gave Novo Banco and Montepio another €100 million after their allocations ran out. Ask your bank whether it still has room before you sign a CPCV.1 source

Borrowing got dearer in 2026. The European Central Bank raised its deposit rate to 2.25% from 17 June and to 2.50% from 16 September 2026. On 2 October 2026 the Euribor stood at 2.598% (3 months), 3.058% (6 months) and 3.323% (12 months). Its next rate decisions are on 29 October and 17 December 2026.4 sources

Most new Portuguese mortgages are now mixed-rate: fixed for the first years, then Euribor plus a spread. Mixed-rate loans made up 87% of new mortgages in August 2026, when the average rate on new loans was 3.0%, the highest since April 2025. INE puts the average interest rate across all outstanding home loans at 3.162% in August 2026.2 sources

Since 1 August 2026, Banco de Portugal's macroprudential recommendation limits new loans in four ways. Loan-to-value: up to 90% for a permanent home, 80% for other purposes, and the old 100% exception for buying bank-owned property is gone. Debt service: all your loan payments must not exceed 45% of net income (down from 50%), though each bank may exceed this for up to 10% of its lending. Term: up to 40 years if you are 35 or under, 35 years if older.3 sources

The 45% is measured after a stress test: banks add an interest-rate shock to variable and mixed-rate loans, 1.5 percentage points for loans over ten years, 1 point for five to ten years and 0.5 points up to five years. Banco de Portugal left the shock unchanged in 2026 and has said it wants these limits to become binding in law.3 sources

Use the calculator below to see your monthly payment, total interest, whether your loan fits the 90% or 80% limit, the longest term allowed for your age, and what happens to the payment if rates rise.3 sources

IMI (municipal property tax) is charged on the VPT, not the price, at a rate each Câmara Municipal sets between 0.3% and 0.45% for urban property (0.8% for rural land). Whoever owns the property on 31 December pays that year's IMI the following year: in May if €100 or less, May and November up to €500, and May, August and November above that.3 sources

Most councils charge the minimum. For tax billed in 2026, more than 200 of the 308 municipalities charged 0.3%, 31 lowered rates and 6 raised them. Oeiras jumped from the minimum to the 0.45% maximum. The rate is tripled for buildings vacant for over a year or in ruins, and in housing-pressure areas councils may add up to 100% for AL units and up to 25% for homes neither let nor lived in.4 sources

Relief exists. Councils may cut IMI on a family's permanent home by €30 (one dependant), €70 (two) or €140 (three or more). A permanent home with VPT up to €125,000, bought by a household with gross income up to €153,300, can be exempt for three years.2 sources

AIMI is a wealth-style surcharge on large holdings. Individuals pay 0.7% on the total VPT of their residential property above €600,000 (couples opting for joint assessment have the thresholds doubled), 1% on the slice above €1 million and 1.5% above €2 million. Companies pay 0.4% from the first euro.2 sources

Long-term residential rent is normally taxed at 25%, with lower rates for longer leases. Under Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026, rent from residential leases of up to €2,300 a month is taxed at 10% until 31 December 2029, with effect from 1 January 2026.2 sources

Short-term holiday letting is Alojamento Local (AL). Decreto-Lei n.º 76/2024 rolled back the 2023 Mais Habitação restrictions and handed councils the power to regulate AL, including containment areas where new registrations are restricted. Since 20 May 2026, EU Regulation 2024/1028 requires platforms to show each listing's registration number and to act on authorities' requests to remove non-compliant listings.4 sources

Lisbon's regulation (in force since December 2025) puts a parish in absolute containment when AL units reach 10% of permanent housing, and in relative containment between 5% and 10%. After 6,765 registrations without the required insurance were cancelled, the April 2026 review left Santa Maria Maior, Misericórdia and Santo António in absolute containment, moved São Vicente, Arroios and Estrela to relative containment, and took Avenidas Novas out of containment.3 sources

In absolute containment new registrations are banned save narrow exceptions; in relative containment they need the council's authorisation. AL registrations in containment areas are generally personal and do not pass to a buyer. Lisbon also monitors individual neighbourhoods, so check the exact address, not just the parish.2 sources

Porto's regulation (Regulamento n.º 1462/2024) treats a parish as a containment area when the AL ratio reaches 15%; it names Santo Ildefonso, Sé, Miragaia, São Nicolau and Vitória.1 source

Buying off-plan means signing a CPCV with a developer and paying staged deposits before the building has a use licence. Protect yourself with a precise specification, a deed deadline and penalties for delay, and ask how your deposits are protected if the developer fails, for example by a bank guarantee. Remember that the deed needs the use licence.2 sources

New housing can be cheaper to build in 2026. Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026 applies 6% VAT, instead of 23%, to construction and rehabilitation of homes sold as the buyer's permanent residence for up to €660,982, or let at up to €2,300 a month, for projects whose licensing started between 25 September 2025 and 31 December 2029. The rate took effect on 1 July 2026 (earlier by joint option of builder and client for VAT due from 1 January 2026) and ends on 31 December 2032.3 sources

If you buy such a home, the deed must say the reduced VAT was applied, and the sale must happen within 24 months of the use licence. You must make it your permanent home (by moving your tax address there) within six months and keep it exclusively as such for the next 12 months; otherwise you pay an extra 10% IMT on the taxable value, unless exceptional circumstances apply.2 sources

Renovations usually need a Câmara Municipal licence or prior notice, a qualified contractor, and sometimes condominium or heritage approval. Before buying a ruin or rural plot, get planning information confirming what can legally be rebuilt, and that water, power and road access are feasible.2 sources

VPT (valor patrimonial tributário) is the tax value Finanças gives every property using a formula: base cost per square metre, times area, use, location, quality and age coefficients. The location coefficient ranges from 0.4 to 3.5. IMI and AIMI are charged on the VPT, and IMT and stamp duty on the higher of VPT and price.3 sources

Because the age coefficient falls over time, an old valuation may be too high. Owners can ask for a new assessment three years after the last one, which sometimes lowers IMI.2 sources

Your bank commissions its own valuation from a registered appraiser, and lends against the lower of that value and the price. Check the VPT on the caderneta predial before you sign the CPCV, and ask the bank for an early valuation.3 sources

When you sell, only 50% of a property gain is taxed, at your progressive IRS rates (12.5% to 48% in 2026). Since 2023 the same 50% rule applies to non-residents, whose rate is set by reference to their worldwide income. The gain is the sale price minus the purchase price, purchase costs such as IMT and stamp duty, and documented improvement works, so keep every invoice.2 sources

Residents selling their permanent home can avoid tax by reinvesting the proceeds (net of the old mortgage) in another permanent home in Portugal or the EU within 24 months before or 36 months after the sale. Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026 adds a new exclusion, for sales in 2026 to 2029, when proceeds are reinvested in Portuguese homes let at up to €2,300 a month.2 sources

Portugal has no separate inheritance tax: inheritances and gifts are subject to 10% stamp duty, but spouses and unmarried partners, children and grandchildren, and parents and grandparents are exempt. A gift of property also pays 0.8% stamp duty.3 sources

Which country's succession law governs your estate is a separate question. Under EU rules it is usually the law of the country where you last lived, but you can choose the law of your nationality, even a non-EU nationality, in a will. EU rules do not decide inheritance tax.1 source

Prices are still rising fast, though more slowly. INE's house price index rose 16.5% year on year in Q2 2026 (17.8% in Q1) and 3.6% on the quarter; existing homes rose 18.0% and new homes 12.3%. Sales fell 6.4% to 40,142 homes worth €10.7 billion.2 sources

Foreign buyers are a small share of the market: 1,890 homes, about 4.7% of Q2 2026 sales, went to buyers with a tax address abroad, 10.3% fewer than a year earlier. The new 7.5% IMT applied from late May, so its full effect will only show in later quarters.2 sources

The 2027 State Budget (OE2027) had not been presented as of 5 October 2026; the government was still meeting parliamentary parties at the end of September. Nothing in it is law until it is approved and published, so treat reports of new housing measures as proposals.1 source

None of these are exotic. They happen because a buyer trusted a verbal assurance instead of a document or a clause.3 sources

At the deed you sign, the balance is paid, and ownership and any mortgage are registered. Bring ID, your NIF, proof that IMT and stamp duty were paid, the bank's paperwork and the property documents. Since Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026, an IMT assessment can be paid on the day or within the following 30 days.2 sources

Afterwards, move utilities into your name, update the condominium, insure the property and change the locks. If it is your permanent home, move your tax address there within six months. Keep the IMT and stamp duty receipts and improvement invoices: they reduce your taxable gain when you sell.2 sources