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President Seguro Promulgates the Habitação Fiscal Package on Tuesday 12 May — 10% IRS Cap on Rents Up to €2,300, 6% IVA on Moderate-Price Construction and a First-Buyer IMT Exemption Hold Through 31 December 2029

President Seguro Promulgates the Habitação Fiscal Package on Tuesday 12 May — 10% IRS Cap on Rents Up to €2,300, 6% IVA on Moderate-Price Construction and a First-Buyer IMT Exemption Hold Through 31 December 2029

President António José Seguro promulgated the Government's housing fiscal package on Tuesday 12 May 2026, completing the legislative cycle that began with Law 9-A/2026 — the parliamentary authorisation passed on 6 March — and the Council of...
The Portugal Brief
Notaries in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the Notário, the Cartório, the Procuração, the Apostila and the Documento Particular Autenticado That Saves Foreign Residents Time and Money

Notaries in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the Notário, the Cartório, the Procuração, the Apostila and the Documento Particular Autenticado That Saves Foreign Residents Time and Money

Almost every paper transaction a foreign resident signs in Portugal — buying property, granting a power of attorney, drafting a will, validating a foreign document — passes through a notário. This is the field guide to the cartório, the procuração, the apostila and the DPA alternative.
The Portugal Brief
Banco de Portugal Forces Lenders to Refund €8.91 Million to Clients in 2025 as Cobranças Indevidas Drop From the €22 Million 2024 Outlier — Commissions Carry €8.24 Million of the Restitution

Banco de Portugal Forces Lenders to Refund €8.91 Million to Clients in 2025 as Cobranças Indevidas Drop From the €22 Million 2024 Outlier — Commissions Carry €8.24 Million of the Restitution

BdP's 2025 Behavioural Supervision Report shows banks returned €8.91M to clients — €8.24M in commissions and €670k in interest — after pricing, suitability and late-payment breaches surfaced. Complaints over account closures jumped 55% and fraud disputes 45%.
The Portugal Brief
Constitutional Court Strikes Down Portaria 230/2019 on the RNH 'Atividades de Elevado Valor Acrescentado' Table — Reserva de Lei Tributária Bars Government From Defining the 20% IRS-Beneficiary Professions, Says 21 April Acórdão

Constitutional Court Strikes Down Portaria 230/2019 on the RNH 'Atividades de Elevado Valor Acrescentado' Table — Reserva de Lei Tributária Bars Government From Defining the 20% IRS-Beneficiary Professions, Says 21 April Acórdão

Tribunal Constitucional, in an acórdão dated 21 April 2026 made public 14 May, rules Portaria n.º 230/2019 unconstitutional for defining the 'atividades de elevado valor acrescentado' that unlock the RNH 20% IRS rate — reserva de lei tributária forecloses the decree-defined table.
The Portugal Brief
Tribunal de Contas Detects 49 Oeiras Directors Operating 'Without Legal Legitimacy' — Auditoria de Apuramento de Responsabilidades Financeiras Walks Into the Ministério Público, Seixal Adds Six Years of Direção em Substituição Across Two Mandates

Tribunal de Contas Detects 49 Oeiras Directors Operating 'Without Legal Legitimacy' — Auditoria de Apuramento de Responsabilidades Financeiras Walks Into the Ministério Público, Seixal Adds Six Years of Direção em Substituição Across Two Mandates

TdC's Auditorias de Apuramento de Responsabilidades Financeiras land at the Ministério Público: 49 Oeiras directors held posts past the 90-day substituição cap, Seixal ran its leadership em substituição for six-plus years, and the financial-responsibility door is now open.
The Portugal Brief
IGAS Confirms Ex-SNS Director Gandra D'Almeida Breached Accumulation Rules at INEM and DE-SNS — 200k Euros at 50€/Hour, 70-Plus Weekly Hours, Payments Through His Own Company — No Sanction Because Military Status Sits Outside the LTFP

IGAS Confirms Ex-SNS Director Gandra D'Almeida Breached Accumulation Rules at INEM and DE-SNS — 200k Euros at 50€/Hour, 70-Plus Weekly Hours, Payments Through His Own Company — No Sanction Because Military Status Sits Outside the LTFP

IGAS's 8 May report concludes ex-SNS executive director António Gandra D'Almeida breached public-function accumulation rules at INEM and at DE-SNS — 200k+ euros earned, 70+ weekly hours, payments to own company. No sanction: military status keeps him outside the LTFP.
The Portugal Brief
Portugal's Direito ao Esquecimento for Mortgage and Consumer Insurance — Cancer Survivors Beyond 10 Years, Childhood Cases at 5, and the 2-Year Mitigated-Disease Threshold for HIV, Diabetes and Hepatitis C Now Live Under ASF Supervision

Portugal's Direito ao Esquecimento for Mortgage and Consumer Insurance — Cancer Survivors Beyond 10 Years, Childhood Cases at 5, and the 2-Year Mitigated-Disease Threshold for HIV, Diabetes and Hepatitis C Now Live Under ASF Supervision

Portugal's Direito ao Esquecimento (right to be forgotten) bars insurers from collecting or pricing on health histories that meet specific recovery thresholds — 10 years post-treatment for adults, 5 for under-21 cases, 2 years of continuous treatment for mitigated chronic conditions.
The Portugal Brief