Vets Hand Parliament a Petition to Cut VAT on Pet Care From 23 to 6 Percent: What a Vet Bill Costs Now and Why 7,500 Signatures Matter

The Ordem dos Médicos Veterinários (OMV), the vets' professional order, is handing the Assembleia da República a petition on Thursday asking for VAT on veterinary care for pets to fall from 23 percent to 6 percent. According to the Ordem's statement, reported by Lusa via RTP, it had gathered about 8,000 signatures by Tuesday.

The petition, titled "Redução do IVA dos Serviços Médico Veterinários para 6%", sits on parliament's own petitions platform. When we checked at 11:00 on Thursday, that page showed 6,658 online signatures, none yet recorded as delivered on paper, and a total of 6,659. The Ordem has not said how the rest of its figure was collected, and parliament still has to validate the count.

Why 7,500 signatures matters

Under the petitions law (Lei n.º 43/90, as amended in 2020), a petition signed by more than 7,500 citizens must be debated in a plenary session of parliament. That debate does not end in a vote on the petition itself, but any MP or parliamentary group can table a bill based on it and ask for the two to be debated together.

The Ordem says it met the parties represented in parliament in recent weeks to press for the cut to be written into the 2027 State Budget, which MPs are now examining. Its president, Pedro Fabrica, said the parties now have the chance to show their priorities on an issue that touches an estimated 2.2 million households with at least one pet.

What VAT pet owners pay today

Vet services only get the reduced rate when they serve farming. The tax authority's binding rulings (ruling 15157 and ruling 6022) say work such as vaccinating livestock falls under the 6 percent rate for agricultural services. Vet work that does not contribute to farming fits none of the reduced-rate lists, so it carries the standard 23 percent.

• Consultations, vaccines, surgery and neutering for a dog or cat: 23 percent.
• Veterinary medicines: 6 percent, as medicines for therapeutic or preventive use, according to ruling 6022.
• Pet food: excluded from the reduced rate for animal feed, according to the tax authority's ruling 26325. The petition does not cover food.

As an illustration, a vet bill of 100 euros before tax costs 123 euros today and would cost 106 euros at 6 percent.

What you can claim back now

Vet invoices already count towards an IRS (income tax) deduction. Under Article 78-F of the IRS code, you can deduct 15 percent of the VAT on vet services and 35 percent of the VAT on veterinary medicines. Both count towards a 250 euro cap per household, shared with restaurants, hairdressers, car repairs and, since this year, books and culture. It applies only to invoices that carry your NIF (tax number) and that the vet reports to the tax authority.

The petition arrives a day after parliament passed two laws banning keeping pets permanently chained or on balconies.