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Claiming the Under-35 IMT and Stamp Duty Exemption in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

Buying your first home at 35 or younger? Who qualifies for the IMT and stamp duty relief, the value limits, how to claim it, and how you can lose it.

The Portugal Brief 8 min read

Claiming the Under-35 IMT and Stamp Duty Exemption in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You are 35 or younger and buying your first home in Portugal to live in.
  • You are buying alone, with a partner, or with a partner who does not qualify.
  • You are moving to Portugal and want to know how tax residence affects the relief.

Not for you if: you are over 35, or buying a second home or a home to let. Read Property Taxes in Portugal for Residents and Foreign Owners instead.

Updated October 2026. Since May 2026, a buyer who is not tax resident in Portugal pays a flat 7.5% transfer tax on a home, with no exemption. This includes young buyers, unless one of the exceptions below applies.

If you are 35 or younger on the day you sign the deed, and you are buying your first home to live in, you can skip the two purchase taxes. These are IMT, the property transfer tax, and stamp duty (imposto do selo). In 2026 you pay neither on a home worth up to €330,539. Between €330,539 and €660,982 you pay tax only on the part above €330,539. Above €660,982 there is no relief.

The relief is not automatic: you claim it on the IMT declaration before the deed. Nationality does not matter.

What you save

Buyers normally pay IMT on a sliding scale, plus 0.8% stamp duty. Both are charged on the price or the property's tax value (VPT), whichever is higher.

Price of your first homeIMTStamp duty
Up to €330,539NoneNone
€330,539 to €660,9828% on the part above €330,5390.8% on the part above €330,539
Over €660,982Full IMT (6% of the whole value, or 7.5% over €1,150,853)Full 0.8%

Example: a €300,000 flat. A buyer who does not qualify pays €10,541.96 in IMT and €2,400 in stamp duty. If you qualify, you pay nothing, a saving of €12,941.96.

Example: a €400,000 flat. If you qualify, you pay €5,556.88 in IMT (8% of €69,461) and €555.69 in stamp duty. A buyer who does not qualify pays €18,236.69 in IMT and €3,200 in stamp duty.

The value limits change each year with the State Budget. The figures above are the 2026 limits. Older pages still quote €316,772 or €324,058; those were the 2024 and 2025 limits.

Who qualifies

You qualify only if all of these are true:

  • You are 35 or younger on the date of the deed. Your age when you sign the promissory contract does not count.
  • You are buying an urban home (a flat or a house), not land or a building plot.
  • The home will be your own permanent home (habitação própria e permanente), and nobody else on the deed will use it for anything else.
  • You do not own a home, or any share of one, and have not owned one at any time in the last three years.
  • Nobody claims you as a dependant on their income tax return in the year you buy.

Past ownership counts in any form. A share of a family home counts as owning a home. So does a flat you inherited and already divided, or a partial right such as usufruct or bare ownership. The tax office says a share in an inheritance that has not yet been divided does not stop you.

If you are still on a parent's tax return. You can still qualify if you file your own return for that year and nobody lists you as a dependant.

Buying with someone else

Married couples. If you are married with shared property (comunhão), the tax office checks each spouse separately, half each. Each of you files your own IMT declaration.

If only one of you qualifies. Say your partner is 38, or already owns a flat. Only the half that belongs to the qualifying buyer is relieved. The other half is taxed at the normal own-home rates.

Co-owners. All the buyers must use the home as a permanent home. If one co-owner will use it as a second home, none of you gets the relief.

If you are not yet tax resident in Portugal

Since May 2026, if you are not tax resident in Portugal, you pay a flat 7.5% IMT on a home. The law says no exemption or reduction applies. That includes the young buyer relief.

You pay the normal rates instead if one of these applies:

  • You were treated as tax resident in Portugal at some point before.
  • You become tax resident within two years of buying.
  • You let the home at a rent within the government's affordable limits, starting within six months, for at least 36 months in the first five years.

In the last two cases you pay 7.5% at the deed. You then ask Finanças to cancel the difference, within six months of becoming resident or signing the lease. If you are married with shared property, the 7.5% rate applies only if both of you are non-resident and have never been resident.

If you are moving to Portugal, the safest plan is to become tax resident before the deed. See Becoming a Tax Resident in Portugal.

How to claim it

You, your lawyer, or your solicitor do this before the deed.

  1. Get a Portuguese tax number (NIF). You need one to file anything. See Getting a NIF (Tax Number) in Portugal.
  2. File the IMT declaration (Modelo 1 do IMT) on the Portal das Finanças. State that the home will be your own permanent home, and enter the young buyer exemption codes.
  3. Married buyers each file one. If you are married with shared property, each spouse files a separate declaration.
  4. Pay anything due. If part of the price is above €330,539, Finanças issues a payment document for IMT and stamp duty. Pay it the same day or within 30 days, or the assessment lapses.
  5. Bring the proof to the deed. The notary or official needs the IMT document, even if it shows nothing to pay.

For an exchange or a split of property, you file through the e-balcão message service on the Portal das Finanças, or at a tax office.

The relief applies only to deeds signed from 1 August 2024. You cannot claim it back for an earlier purchase.

How you can lose it

The relief is checked again after you buy. You lose it, and owe the tax you skipped, if:

  • you do not move in as your permanent home within six months of buying;
  • within six years, you use the home for something else, such as letting it or holiday rental; or
  • within six years, someone claims you as a dependant on their tax return.

Selling is safe. Selling the home within six years does not cancel the relief. Nor does a change in your family (marriage, divorce, a new child), or a new job more than 100 km away, as long as the home stays a home.

Your tax address (domicílio fiscal) at the property is the proof that you live there. Update it with Finanças when you move in.

It is a once-only relief. It covers your first purchase. On your next home you pay the normal rates, even if you are still 35 or younger.

The state mortgage guarantee for under-35s

A separate scheme can help with the deposit. The state guarantees up to 15% of the price, so a bank can lend you up to 100%. You can use it together with the tax relief. You qualify only if all of these are true:

  • you are 18 to 35, with your tax address in Portugal;
  • you do not own a home, and have never used the guarantee before;
  • your income is no higher than the eighth income tax bracket;
  • your tax and social security payments are up to date;
  • every buyer is also a borrower on the loan;
  • the home costs €450,000 or less and will be your first permanent home.

The guarantee lasts up to ten years. Loans must be signed by 31 December 2026. Ask your bank whether it takes part. The bank still applies the normal lending limits. See Getting a Mortgage in Portugal.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming it is automatic. If the IMT declaration does not claim the exemption before the deed, you pay full tax.
  • Signing after your 36th birthday. Age is checked on the deed date. Plan the date with care.
  • Forgetting an old share. Any part of a home owned in the last three years rules you out.
  • Buying before you are resident. Since May 2026, a non-resident pays 7.5% with no young buyer relief.
  • Letting the home too soon. Renting it out within six years cancels the relief.

For the full buying process, see Buying Property in Portugal. Young workers may also qualify for a separate income tax relief. See Activating IRS Jovem Young Worker Tax Relief.

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules and value limits change each year; check the official source, or ask Finanças, before you sign.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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