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Tax

A Galp petrol station with its red-and-white canopy and a fuel-price board beside a road in the Algarve, Portugal, under a clear blue sky

Undeclared Fuel Imports Have Cost the State an Estimated €1.1 Billion in Tax Since 2023, an Industry Study Warns

An industry study estimates that fuel entering Portugal without being properly declared for tax has cost the State about €1.1 billion in lost ISP and VAT over three years — roughly €460 million in 2025 alone. It is a fuel-sector estimate, not an official tally, but the Government has already tighten

The Portugal Brief 09 Jul 2026

Porto City Hall (Câmara Municipal do Porto), a grand early-20th-century building with a clock tower, seen across the Avenida dos Aliados

Portuguese Municipalities' Surplus Swells 84% on Property-Transfer and Tourist Taxes, as Council Debt Edges Up Again

Portugal's municipalities ran a combined surplus of about €492 million in 2025, up 84%, on the back of a 24% jump in property-transfer tax and a near-doubling of tourist-tax revenue. But council debt rose for a second straight year, and seven town halls breached their legal limit.

The Portugal Brief 08 Jul 2026

An abandoned, roofless stone house in Portugal overgrown with vegetation under a blue sky

Buying a Ruin to Rebuild Will Not Shelter Your Home-Sale Gains From IRS, the Tax Authority Rules

The Tax and Customs Authority has ruled that buying a property classified as a ruin does not count as reinvestment for the IRS capital-gains exemption, because a ruin cannot be a permanent home at the moment of purchase. Here is what the rule requires — and how to avoid the trap.

The Portugal Brief 06 Jul 2026

A veterinarian in blue scrubs examines a small white Maltese dog with a stethoscope on a clinic table

Portugal's Veterinarians Press Parliament to Cut the 23% VAT on Pet Care Toward 6%

The Order of Veterinary Surgeons is launching a national petition to force Parliament to debate the 23% VAT on companion-animal care, four times the 6% charged for farm animals. It wants 6%, calls the gap a 'fiscal injustice', and says a cut would cost just EUR 19.5 million.

The Portugal Brief 06 Jul 2026

A cluster of traditional Portuguese townhouses in Porto with terracotta-tiled roofs and painted and granite facades under a grey sky

Paying the IMI Municipal Property Tax in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to Taxable Property Values, the 0.3%–0.45% Municipal Rates, the May–August–November Instalments, the Low-Income and Own-Home Exemptions and the AIMI Surcharge

If you own property in Portugal, the annual IMI municipal tax arrives every year without you filing a thing. A practical 2026 guide to how it is calculated on your property's taxable value, the 0.3%–0.45% municipal rates, the May–August–November instalments, who is exempt, and the AIMI surcharge on

The Portugal Brief 05 Jul 2026

A stack of euro banknotes of various denominations spilling from a white envelope onto a wooden surface

Portugal's Tax Authority Claws Back a Record €1.55 Billion in Enforced Collection as Fraud Tip-Offs Drop 21%

The Tax Authority recovered a decade-high €1,550.2 million through enforced collection in 2025, up 10% on the year, with VAT leading at €523.6 million, per the fraud-and-evasion report sent to Parliament. Tax-fraud tip-offs fell 21% to 5,710, even as criminal cases opened rose 6% to 5,184.

The Portugal Brief 04 Jul 2026

The ornate historic reading room of a library with gilded arches and shelves of leather-bound books

Government Sweetens Cultural Patronage Tax Breaks to 140% and Overhauls the Museums and Monuments Agency

A Guimaraes Council of Ministers package raises the cultural patronage tax deduction from 130% to 140%, widens eligible activities, and creates a National Patronage Platform. It also gives museum staff a 60-euro availability supplement, enlarges the National Culture Council, and earmarks 17.5 millio

The Portugal Brief 04 Jul 2026

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