Glossary

Key IMT and stamp-duty terms, shown in both English and Portuguese.

IMT (Municipal Property Transfer Tax) · IMT (Imposto Municipal sobre as Transmissões Onerosas de Imóveis): A one-off municipal tax on transfers of property for value, paid by the buyer before the deed is signed.
Stamp duty · Imposto do Selo: A tax on legal acts and documents. On a purchase it is 0.8% of the taxable value (TGIS verba 1.1), plus a charge on any mortgage (verba 17).
Taxable value (VPT) · VPT (Valor Patrimonial Tributário): The tax authority's rateable value of a property. IMT and stamp duty are charged on whichever is higher, the price or the VPT.
Own permanent home (HPP) · Habitação própria e permanente (HPP): A dwelling that is the buyer's main and permanent residence. It uses a lower IMT table with an exempt first band.
IMT Jovem (young buyers' relief) · IMT Jovem: Relief for a first own permanent home bought by people aged 35 or under: both IMT and the 0.8% acquisition stamp duty are exempt up to a ceiling (€330,539 on the mainland in 2026) and charged only on the excess above it.
Non-resident · Não residente: For IMT, a buyer who is not tax-resident in Portugal. Since 2026 they pay a flat 7.5% on housing (CIMT art. 17.º n.º 10), unless an exception applies.
Tax haven · Paraíso fiscal: A jurisdiction on Portugal's blacklist. An entity domiciled there pays a flat 10% IMT (art. 17.º n.º 4); this does not apply to individuals.
Rate and deduction · Taxa e parcela a abater: IMT is progressive: tax = value × the band's marginal rate − a fixed deduction that keeps the bands continuous.
Flat rate · Taxa única: For high-value property the progressive bands give way to a single flat rate applied to the whole value.
Co-ownership & the totality rule · Compropriedade e a regra da totalidade: When several buyers acquire the whole property in one deed, the rate is set by the total value and applied to each share (art. 17.º n.º 6 a) — buying together gives no band-splitting advantage.
Deed · Escritura: The notarial contract that transfers the property. IMT and stamp duty must be paid before it is signed.
Moderate rent · Renda moderada: A rent within the limits of Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026. A non-resident who lets the home at moderate rent can reclaim the 7.5% surcharge down to ordinary rates.
Tax Authority (AT) · Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (AT): Portugal's tax and customs authority, which assesses and collects IMT and stamp duty.
IMI (Municipal Property Tax) · IMI (Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis): An annual municipal tax for owning property, charged on the VPT (typically 0.3–0.45% a year for urban property, set by each municipality). Separate from the one-off IMT paid when buying.
AIMI (Additional to IMI) · AIMI (Adicional ao IMI): An extra annual tax on high-value property holdings, above a VPT threshold. Most single homes are not affected.
Tax base (base tributável) · Base tributável: The value IMT and stamp duty are charged on: the higher of the purchase price and the VPT.
Co-ownership (compropriedade) · Compropriedade: Buying a property in shares among several buyers. Under the totality rule the rate is set on the whole value and applied to each buyer's share, so splitting a purchase gives no bracket advantage.
CPCV (promissory contract) · CPCV (contrato-promessa de compra e venda): The contrato-promessa de compra e venda — a binding pre-agreement to buy and sell, signed before the final deed, at which the deposit (sinal) is usually paid. IMT is due before the deed, not the CPCV.
Tax resident (residente fiscal) · Residente fiscal: Someone tax-resident in Portugal. Residents pay the ordinary progressive IMT rates — in contrast to a non-resident, who pays a flat 7.5%.