Buying: IMT and stamp duty
IMT is charged on the higher of the price and the tax value (VPT), by slices. 2026 brackets for a main home of a Portuguese tax resident:
| Value | Rate |
|---|---|
| up to 106 346 € | 0 % |
| to 145 470 € | 2 % |
| to 198 347 € | 5 % |
| to 330 539 € | 7 % |
| to 660 982 € | 8 % |
| to 1 150 853 € | 6 % flat |
| above | 7,5 % flat |
Second homes and rentals pay 1 % from the first euro on the same upper brackets. Add stamp duty of 0,8 % and the registration fee (Casa Pronta 375 €, 700 € with a mortgage). A 300 000 € main home costs a resident about 10 540 € of IMT and 2 400 € of stamp duty.
Since 25 May 2026, a non-resident buyer pays 7,5 % flat on any home — 22 500 € on that 300 000 € purchase — unless they were previously tax resident here. The difference is refunded on request if the buyer becomes tax resident within two years or lets the home within six months at a moderate rent (2 300 € a month or less in 2026) for 36 of the first 60 months. A New Zealander investing from Auckland pays the 7,5 % and keeps it unless the property is let at a moderate rent.
- 10 540 € IMT on a 300 000 € main home (resident); 22 500 € for a non-resident investor
- 0,8 % stamp duty on every purchase — New Zealand has none
- 0,3 – 0,45 % IMI a year on the VPT, usually a third to a half of the price
- Half the gain taxed at sale, resident or not — New Zealand's bright-line does not exist here in reverse
Owning: IMI and AIMI
IMI: 0,3 % to 0,45 % of the VPT for urban property, set by each municipality (0,8 % rural), paid in May, or May and November, or May, August and November. Typical bill on a 300 000 € flat: 400–800 € a year — below most New Zealand council rates. The three-year exemption for a new main home (VPT up to 125 000 €, household income up to 153 300 €) is for residents only.
AIMI: 0,7 % on the sum of residential VPTs above 600 000 € per owner (1,2 million for a couple filing jointly), 1 % above 1 million, 1,5 % above 2 million; companies 0,4 % from the first euro. A non-resident owner pays it like anyone else.
Letting
Rent from a long-term lease is taxed at a flat 25 % of the net rent (IMI, condominium, insurance, repairs deductible; mortgage interest not), falling to 15 %, 10 % and 5 % for leases of five, ten and twenty years; the lease is registered with Finanças and carries stamp duty of 10 % of one month’s rent. Short-term lodging (alojamento local) needs a licence and is business income (35 % of turnover taxable in the simplified regime, 50 % in containment areas). A non-resident landlord appoints a fiscal representative and files the annual return with annex F.
A New Zealand-resident owner also declares the rent in New Zealand and credits the Portuguese tax under New Zealand’s foreign tax credit rules — no treaty is needed for that.
Selling
Portugal includes 50 % of the gain — price less indexed cost, purchase costs, improvements of the last twelve years and selling costs — in income at the progressive rates, for residents and non-residents alike since 2023. A resident’s main home is exempt if the proceeds buy another main home in Portugal or the EU/EEA within 36 months; a reinvestment in New Zealand does not qualify. New Zealand taxes a resident’s overseas property gain only through its own rules (bright-line does not reach foreign land; sales as part of a pattern of dealing may), and credits Portuguese tax where both apply.
Inheritance and gifts
No inheritance tax: transfers on death or by gift carry 10 % stamp duty on the VPT, and spouses, children, grandchildren and parents are exempt; 0,8 % stamp duty also applies to property transfers. New Zealand has no estate duty. A New Zealander can choose New Zealand law for the succession of Portuguese assets in a will under the EU Succession Regulation, avoiding Portuguese forced heirship.
Steps for a New Zealand buyer
NIF and fiscal representative
A non-resident from outside the EU needs a Portuguese tax representative; the NIF comes through them, before the promissory contract.
Bank account and funds
A Portuguese account for the deposit and the deed; transfers documented for the bank's compliance checks.
Promissory contract and deed
10 % deposit; IMT and stamp duty paid the day before completion; the 7,5 % rate applies unless you are already resident.
Afterwards
IMI from the following May; lease registration and annex F if letting; refund claim if you become resident within two years.
We act as fiscal representative, compute IMT and stamp duty before you sign, register the lease and file the annual IMI, AIMI and rental returns for owners abroad. Send us the listing.
Questions
Can I avoid the 7,5 % by buying through a company?
No. A company buying residential property pays the ordinary scale (10 % if controlled from a tax haven) but then AIMI at 0,4 % from the first euro, 25 % IRC on rents and gains, and the owner is taxed again on dividends. For a single property the individual route is cheaper even with the 7,5 %.
Is the moderate-rent refund available to a landlord who stays in New Zealand?
Yes: the refund condition is the letting, not residence — a lease within six months at or below the moderate-rent ceiling, kept for 36 months of the first five years, with the claim filed within six months of signing the lease.
How is the VPT set?
By Finanças from a formula (area, location, quality, age), usually well below market price; IMT uses the price when higher, IMI and AIMI use the VPT.
Sources and official references
- Código do IMT, artigo 17.º — 2026 brackets; n.º 10–12: 7,5 % for non-residents and the refund — checked 18.9.2026
- Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026, de 20 de maio — non-resident IMT rule; moderate rent 2,5 × minimum wage — checked 18.9.2026
- Tabela Geral do Imposto do Selo — 0,8 % on purchases; 10 % on gifts and inheritances; 10 % of a month's rent on leases — checked 18.9.2026
- Código do IMI, artigo 112.º (0,3–0,45 %), artigo 120.º (instalments); artigos 135.º-C/F (AIMI) — checked 18.9.2026
- Código do IRS, artigo 72.º (rents 25 %), artigo 43.º (gains at 50 %, residents and non-residents), artigo 10.º n.º 5 (main-home reinvestment) — checked 18.9.2026
- Inland Revenue — the bright-line test (2 years; main home excluded) and overseas income of New Zealand residents — checked 18.9.2026