Do non-residents pay more IMT in Portugal now?

This is the single biggest change for foreign buyers in 2026, and it is also the one advisers still describe differently, so treat it as a rule to confirm with a lawyer before you sign.

What the rule says

Instead of the progressive brackets (zero up to 106,346 euros, then 2 to 8 percent), a buyer who is not a Portuguese tax resident pays a flat 7.5 percent on urban residential property. On a 300,000 euro flat that is 22,500 euros rather than the roughly 10,542 euros a resident buying a permanent home would pay, so the gap is close to 12,000 euros.

The two ways to get the money back

The decree provides for a refund of the difference if, after the purchase, you either:

1. become a Portuguese tax resident within two years of the deed, or
2. sign a moderate rent lease within six months of the deed and keep the property let under that scheme for at least three of the following five years.

The cancellation request must reach the tax authority within six months of the qualifying event, so diarise it the day you qualify rather than waiting for your accountant to notice.

Why you will read contradictory things

Until late 2025 this measure was described as a proposal inside the Construir Portugal package, awaiting approval. Articles written then say it may happen. Sources updated after May 2026, including imtcalc and Pearls of Portugal, describe it as in force from 25 May 2026. Some buyer agents now quote total non resident acquisition costs of 10 to 12 percent of the price, up from the 7 to 10 percent that used to be standard, precisely because of this rate.

What it does not change

Residents buying a second home, building land at 6.5 percent and rural property at 5 percent keep their own rules. Stamp duty stays at 0.8 percent for everyone, and IMI afterwards is unaffected by your residency status: 0.3 percent in Lisbon, 0.324 percent in Porto for 2026.

If you are moving to Portugal anyway, the sequence matters: establishing tax residency first, or within the two year window, is worth real money.

See the numbers in context in our buying property guide.