Portuguese Property Transfer Tax Code (CIMT) in English
The Código do IMT sets the tax a buyer pays on Portuguese property: what counts as a transfer (including promissory contracts and share deals), the taxable value, the 2026 rate tables, the 10% rate for listed jurisdictions, the new 7.5% rate for non-residents buying housing, exemptions such as the young-buyer exemption, and when the tax is paid. Article by article, in English, with the official Portuguese alongside.
Every article of the Code
Nine chapters, from what is taxed to the duties of notaries and registries.
- 6ExemptionsIsenções
- 7Exemption for the acquisition of property for resaleIsenção pela aquisição de prédios para revenda
- 8Exemption for acquisitions of immovable property by credit institutionsIsenção pela aquisição de imóveis por instituições de crédito
- 9Exemption for the acquisition of property intended exclusively for housingIsenção pela aquisição de prédios destinados exclusivamente a habitação
- 10Recognition of exemptionsReconhecimento das isenções
- 11Lapse of exemptionsCaducidade das isenções
- 12Taxable valueValor tributável
- 13Special rulesRegras especiais
- 14Valuation under the CIMIAvaliação nos termos do CIMI
- 15Acquisitions treated as gratuitous and as for considerationAquisições consideradas a título gratuito e oneroso
- 16Reference date for the taxable property valueAplicação temporal do valor patrimonial tributário
- 19Initiative for the assessmentIniciativa da liquidação
- 20Content of the returnConteúdo da declaração
- 21Competence for the assessmentCompetência para a liquidação
- 22Time of the assessmentMomento da liquidação
- 23Assessments based on official documentsLiquidações com base em documentos oficiais
- 24Right of pre-emptionDireito de preferência
- 25Contracts for a person to be nominatedContratos para pessoa a nomear
- 26Disposals of a share in an inheritanceAlienações de quinhão hereditário
- 27Assessment of property not entered in the property registerLiquidação relativa a prédio omisso
- 28Transfer of part of a property or of a fraction of a cadastral parcelTransmissão de fracção de prédio ou fracção de parcela cadastral
- 29Change in the possessors of propertyMudança nos possuidores de bens
- 30Excessive taxable property valueValor patrimonial tributário excessivo
- 31Additional assessmentLiquidação adicional
- 32De minimis exemption (isenção técnica)Isenção técnica
- 33Compensatory interestJuros compensatórios
- 34Lapse of the exemption – request for assessmentCaducidade da isenção - Pedido de liquidação
- 35Expiry of the right to assessCaducidade do direito à liquidação
- 41Taxpayer safeguardsGarantias
- 42Ex officio review of the assessmentRevisão oficiosa da liquidação
- 43Standing to file an administrative complaint or a judicial challengeLegitimidade para reclamar ou impugnar
- 44Cancellation where the act or event did not take placeAnulação por acto ou facto que não se realizou
- 45Proportional cancellationAnulação proporcional
- 46Refund of taxReembolso do imposto
- 47Refund irrespective of cancellationReembolso independentemente da anulação
- 48Duties of cooperation of the courtsObrigações de cooperação dos tribunais
- 49Duties of cooperation of notaries and other entitiesObrigações de cooperação dos notários e de outras entidades
- 50Acts relating to immovable property subject to registrationActos relativos a bens imóveis sujeitos a registo
- 51Obligations of the services of the Ministry of Foreign AffairsObrigações dos serviços do Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros
- 52Non-acceptance of documents or titles relating to transfersNão atendimento de documentos ou títulos respeitantes a transmissões
- 53Delivery of property by executors and estate administratorsEntregas de bens por parte dos testamenteiros e cabeças-de-casal
- 54Supervisory duties of public authorities in generalObrigações de fiscalização das autoridades públicas em geral
Key property tax terms
Tax terms follow our Personal Income Tax Code and Corporate Income Tax Code translations.
- IMT → property transfer tax (IMT)
- Municipal tax on transfers of immovable property for consideration, paid by the acquirer before the deed (Articles 1, 4 and 36).
- valor patrimonial tributário (VPT) → taxable property value
- The tax-office valuation of the property; IMT is charged on the higher of this and the price (Article 12).
- habitação própria e permanente → own permanent residence
- The use that qualifies for the lower housing table and the young-buyer exemption (Articles 9 and 17).
- taxa marginal / média / única → marginal / average / flat rate
- The housing tables apply marginal rates up to EUR 660,982 and a flat rate on the whole value above it (Article 17).
- regime fiscal claramente mais favorável → listed jurisdiction
- Buyers domiciled in, or controlled from, a jurisdiction on the Portuguese list pay 10% with no exemption (Article 17(4)).
- quotas / partes sociais → quota interests / holdings
- Acquiring 75% or more of a company that owns Portuguese property can itself be taxed (Article 2(2)(d)).
How this translation is made and checked
The Portuguese text
The Portuguese column is the consolidated text published in the Diário da República, up to Decree-Law No. 97/2026. Before translation every line was checked against the consolidation kept by the Tax and Customs Authority and, where they differed, against the amending acts, on 26 October 2026.
The English text
Each provision is translated separately and aligned with its Portuguese counterpart, then checked by a second tax translator for rates, bands, exemptions and their conditions, deadlines and cross-references.
What it is not
This is not an official or certified translation and not tax advice. Stamp duty of 0.8% is charged on the same acquisitions under a separate code.
Property tax in Portugal, calculated before you sign
The rate depends on what you buy, who buys it and why: own home, investment, company, non-resident or listed-jurisdiction buyer. Send us the deal and we will work out IMT, stamp duty and the options.