The CMVM Wants Tax-Free Investment Accounts for Savers Who Stay In for Three Years, With Gains Exempt on Up to 250,000 Euros

Portugal's securities regulator wants savers to be able to invest in shares, bonds and exchange-traded funds and pay no tax on the gains, as long as they keep their money in a dedicated account for at least three years. The Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (CMVM) has drafted the scheme and sent it to the government, its chairman, Luís Laginha de Sousa, told the business daily ECO in an interview published on Tuesday.

The proposal is for an Individual Savings and Investment Account (Conta Individual de Poupança e Investimento, or CIPI). It has been with the government since the end of June. Because it changes tax rules and the regime of administrative offences, it would need a law passed by parliament.

How the account would work

• Two parts: a cash account where money goes in, and a securities account holding what is bought with it. France's PEA and Finland's equity savings account use the same structure.
• Three years: the clock starts when the account is opened, not with each new deposit. After three years, all gains inside the account, both capital gains and dividends, are exempt. Losses stay with the investor.
• A 250,000 euro ceiling: the exemption covers the income earned on up to 250,000 euros of invested capital. There is no annual limit, so a saver could put the whole amount in at once.
• Trading inside is tax-free: holders could buy and sell as often as they like; tax only arises when money leaves the account.
• Early exit costs: taking money out before three years would bring penalties, except in situations the law would set out.
• One account each: one holder per account and one account per person. To change bank, the account is closed at one institution and opened at another.
• Children: Laginha de Sousa is open to minors holding an account, run by a responsible adult.

What could go in

Eligible assets would be regulated, supervised instruments such as shares, bonds and ETFs from Portugal, the rest of the EU and the wider OECD, so a fund of US shares would qualify. Crypto-assets would be excluded, as Brussels recommends, and so would retirement savings plans (PPR). The bank or broker would report the tax information to the Finance Ministry directly, as already happens with deposits.

The proposal does not cap fees, but says costs must be fully transparent and no higher than what the institution already charges for equivalent services.

How it compares

The three-year holding period is shorter than the five years required in France and in Italy's PIR plans. The 250,000 euro ceiling is higher than France's 150,000, Italy's 200,000 and Finland's 100,000. According to the CMVM chairman, accounts of this kind already operate in 13 EU countries; the European Commission has recommended that member states create them as part of its Savings and Investments Union.

The CMVM has not calculated the loss of tax revenue. "We did not, but the government certainly will," Laginha de Sousa told ECO, arguing that at first the money would come mainly from bank deposits, which yield little tax. At the end of August, households held 204.2 billion euros in deposits at an average rate of close to 1.6 percent.

Where it stands politically

Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento told parliament in July that the government was preparing a broad savings plan with several mechanisms, and that it could include these accounts, which were in the governing coalition's election programme. He gave no date. A separate Liberal Initiative bill for tax-free accounts of up to 20,000 euros a year was rejected on 3 July, with only Chega and the Liberals voting for it.

The government's 2027 State Budget is due in parliament by the end of this week. Until a law is actually passed, nothing changes for savers, and any offer of a "tax-free CIPI" before then should be treated with suspicion: the CMVM has warned that investment scammers now arrive with AI video.