Buying a home in Portugal

Buying a home involves three things at once: the contract, the taxes and, for most people, the loan. This guide follows the order in which they happen. If you want to rent instead, see the guide to renting a home, which is not repeated here.

Taxes and lending limits change often. The figures below are the 2026 ones, taken from the official pages; confirm them at the same source before you decide.

Before you start looking

• NIF. The IMT declaration asks for the tax number of buyers and sellers. See the NIF guide.
• A bank account in Portugal. The price, the loan and the taxes go through it. See the bank account guide.
• Tax residence. If you are not a tax resident in Portugal, IMT is different (below). Tax residence is an IRS question, covered in the taxes and IRS guide.

The steps of a purchase

1. Promissory contract (contrato-promessa). This is the agreement in which the parties commit to completing the sale later. Under article 410 of the Civil Code, a promise to enter into a contract that requires a document is valid only if it is in a document signed by the party who commits, or by both if it is bilateral. When the promise is to transfer a building or a unit in one, the document must contain the in-person recognition of the signatures and a certification, by whoever recognises them, that the occupancy licence or building licence exists. Ask to see the licence before you sign.

2. Deposit (sinal). It is common to hand over a sum as a deposit. Under article 442, if the person who paid it fails to perform for a reason attributable to them, the other party may keep it; if the failure is the other party’s, the payer may demand double. The same article lets the non-defaulting party instead ask for specific performance of the contract. These consequences are serious, so read the clauses on deadlines and withdrawal carefully, and get legal advice if anything is unclear.

3. Property documents. The legal situation of the property is shown in the permanent property certificate (certidão permanente predial), which lists all registrations on the property, is always up to date and includes pending registration requests. The simplified property information shows who owns the property and whether there are mortgages, seizures or other charges. Both are requested through the Registry services on the Justice portal. The property’s tax-register details (type, location, article number) appear in the caderneta predial.

4. Taxes. IMT and stamp duty are paid before the purchase itself (see the next section).

5. Deed or authenticated private document. Article 875 of the Civil Code says the sale of real estate is valid only if made by public deed or authenticated private document. At a Casa Pronta counter you can handle several acts linked to the purchase and registration at one place, including the mortgage loan contract. To use it, bring the civil and tax identification of buyers and sellers, the property’s technical file (if there is one), the deed showing the occupancy licence or its exemption (for buildings built after 7 August 1951, or before that date but with later alterations) and the energy certificate. According to the service, for a process involving one property a single registration act costs 375 euros and more than one act (for example a purchase with bank financing) costs 700 euros, and each additional property costs another 50 euros (2025 amounts; confirm at a Casa Pronta counter). Appointments are booked online.

6. Land registry. A property registration request can be made online. At Casa Pronta, registration is part of the same visit. If the purchase is done another way, agree with whoever prepares the document who requests the registration and when.

Taxes on the purchase

Buying a property triggers IMT (the municipal property transfer tax) and stamp duty. According to the Tax Authority leaflet, the request for assessment is, as a rule, made by the buyer before the purchase.

What it is calculated on. IMT is charged on the value of the act or contract or on the property’s tax value, whichever is higher.

2026 rates (mainland). Circular Letter no. 40129/2026, of 6 January 2026, publishes the practical tables. For a permanent home:

Value subject to IMT	Marginal rate
Up to 106,346 euros	0%
Over 106,346 up to 145,470	2%
Over 145,470 up to 198,347	5%
Over 198,347 up to 330,539	7%
Over 330,539 up to 660,982	8%
Over 660,982 up to 1,150,853	6% (flat rate)
Over 1,150,853	7.5% (flat rate)

The circular’s table has a deduction amount for each bracket, and the leaflet’s formula is: value × marginal rate − deduction. For a 110,000-euro home, IMT is 110,000 × 2% − 2,126.92 = 73.08 euros. In the Azores and Madeira, and for housing that is not a permanent home, other tables apply (Tables III to VI of the circular).

Stamp duty. The rate is 0.8% of the value used as the basis for IMT (item 1.1 of the General Table). On the 110,000-euro home, that is 880 euros.

IMT for young buyers. Article 9 of the IMT Code exempts the first purchase of a permanent home by someone aged 35 or under who is not a dependant for IRS purposes in the year of purchase and did not own residential property on the date of transfer or at any point in the previous three years. On the mainland the exemption is total up to 330,539 euros; above that, 8% applies (less the deduction amount) up to 660,982 euros. For stamp duty, the exemption takes the form of a deduction capped at 2,644.31 euros. For a couple, each spouse files their own declaration for half the property and the conditions are checked individually. The benefit is lost if the property is not used as a permanent home within six months, or if it is put to another use (for example letting) in the following six years, or if you are treated as an IRS dependant at any point in those six years, with the exceptions listed in the leaflet.

Non-resident buyers. Article 17(10) of the IMT Code sets a rate of 7.5% on the purchase of housing by a non-resident, with no exemption or reduction. The rule does not apply to someone who is already a Portuguese tax resident. Someone who becomes a tax resident within two years, or lets the property as housing under the conditions in the law (letting within six months of the purchase, at rent within the legal limits, for at least 36 months in the first five years), can ask the Tax Authority to refund the difference, within six months of becoming resident or signing the lease.

How to declare and pay. Submit the IMT Modelo 1 declaration on the Portal das Finanças (Cidadãos > Serviços > Modelo 1 do IMT), through the e-Balcão or at a tax office by appointment. You need the details of sellers and buyers (including NIF, tax address and marital status), the property’s details from the caderneta predial and the value of the act. Once you submit it, two payment documents are generated, one for IMT and one for stamp duty, to be paid on the same day or the next working day, and always before the purchase.

IMI. The annual municipal property tax (IMI) is owed by whoever appears in the tax registers as owner, usufructuary or holder of the surface right on 31 December. For urban property the law provides rates of 0.3% to 0.45%, set each year by the municipal assembly, which may also apply increases or reductions in certain cases (article 112 of the IMI Code). It is paid in May if the total is no more than 100 euros; in May and November between 100 and 500 euros; and in May, August and November above 500 euros. The payment reference is under “Consultar Notas de Cobrança” on the Portal das Finanças.

The mortgage

The FINE. Decree-Law no. 74-A/2017 requires the bank to give you the European Standardised Information Sheet (FINE) at two moments: when you simulate the loan, based on the data you provided, and when it tells you the loan is approved, with the features of the approved credit. The FINE shows the APRC (TAEG), the nominal annual rate (and its breakdown, if any), fees, required insurance and other costs, the loan amount and the total to repay, and the frequency and amount of instalments. Ask more than one bank for a FINE and compare them on the APRC and the total amount.

Protection periods. Under article 13 of Decree-Law no. 74-A/2017, the bank stays bound by its contract offer for at least 30 days, and the consumer cannot accept it during the first seven days of that period, so that there is a minimum reflection period before the contract. If the loan needs a guarantor, the guarantor receives the FINE and the draft contract and has the same reflection period.

Banco de Portugal limits. Macroprudential Recommendation no. 1/2026 applies to new contracts whose solvency assessment takes place from 1 August 2026. It is addressed to lenders, who apply it in their assessment, and sets maximum values:

• LTV (loan amount over the lower of the price and the property valuation): up to 90% for a permanent home, and 80% for other purposes;
• DSTI (monthly instalment on all loans over monthly income net of taxes and Social Security contributions): up to 45%, with room for exceptions on up to 10% of the credit each lender grants in each half-year;
• term: up to 40 years for borrowers aged 35 or under, and up to 35 years for older borrowers. With several borrowers, the age of the oldest counts.

These limits are ceilings, not guarantees: the bank assesses each person’s solvency and may lend less. The property valuation is done by a certified valuer.

Stamp duty on the loan. Item 17.1 of the General Table sets rates for the use of credit depending on its term; for a term of five years or more the rate is 0.60%. Ask the bank how this cost appears in the FINE.

If you are not a resident. Ask each bank whether it lends to non-residents, which documents it requires, what deposit it asks for and on what terms, and compare the FINEs you receive.

After the purchase

On top of the price, expect IMI every year and, once you move in, the household bills.

To find a counter near you, see Where to go, and to fit the purchase among your other steps, the Path assistant. The glossary explains terms used in these processes.