From 1 July, Decreto-Lei 97/2026 cuts VAT on building or renovating a home to 6% from 23% — capped at a €660,982 sale price or €2,300 rent. Non-residents get a recoverable 7.5% transfer tax, self-builders can reclaim the difference, and moving out in year one triggers a 10% IMT surcharge.
Your rights as an employee in Portugal: contract types, the 14 salary payments, your payslip, hours, holidays, probation, notice, and severance.
On 1 July, Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho said the government had asked the ENSE regulator to explain why petrol and diesel barely moved even as crude fell about 10% — a 'rockets and feathers' gap she called something that 'has no reason to be.'
Immigrants whose Portuguese permits expire in July or August can now renew online, while AIMA leans on digital certificates that prove a lawful, pending status — and tenders a ~€208,000 rebuild of its crash-prone portal. Here is what to file and what to keep.
Having hit NATO's 2% of GDP target for the first time in 2025, Portugal is pitching its 380-plus defence firms to American investors. The sector's revenue has grown 20% in a decade, 40% of output is exported, and Lisbon wants rising military budgets to flow into domestic industry.
Portuguese wholesale electricity averaged about €41.9/MWh in early 2026 — while most of Europe sat above €90. Renewables supplied 78.5% of the grid, third-highest in Europe behind Norway and Denmark, with solar output up 25%. Cheap power, though household bills lag the spot market.
From 1 July, Portugal finally applies the EU's MiCA regulation to crypto. The Bank of Portugal handles authorisation and prudential oversight while the CMVM polices conduct, with fines reaching €5 million. A grandfathering window has closed, leaving only a handful of licensed operators.
