INSIGHTS · INVESTMENT · JUNE 2026
Non-resident property buying costs in Porto, explained
The honest, sourced cost picture for a non-resident buying a €350k–€800k apartment in Antas — every rate named, with the worked estimate marked indicative.
Key findings
- 01A non-resident pays a flat 7.5% IMT on a residential purchase under Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026, with no exempt first bracket — unlike the resident progressive scale that starts at 0% up to €106,346
- 02Imposto do Selo is 0.8% of the price; a Portuguese mortgage adds a further 0.6% stamp on the loan (0.5% if the term is under 5 years)
- 03IMI is an annual 0.324% in Porto, charged on the VPT (the tax authority's rateable value, usually well below price), so the euro amount depends on the unit, not the asking price
- 04A finished residential sale is IVA-exempt for the buyer — do not add 23% to a Privilege Gardens price
- 05Built only from these rates, an illustrative non-resident all-in lands near 9% of price (versus roughly 6% for a resident), before any counsel-gated refund or relief
Why it matters: Most buyers in Antas are non-resident, and the single biggest one-off cost — IMT — is charged differently for them. Knowing the rates before you sign turns a vague 'plus taxes and fees' into a number you can budget.
If you are buying a new-build in Antas as a non-resident, the upfront taxes and fees add roughly 9% to the price — not the 6% a Portuguese resident pays for a primary home. A non-resident pays a flat 7.5% IMT; a resident follows a progressive scale. The single biggest line is IMT, the transfer tax, which is now charged at a flat 7.5% for a non-resident acquirer (Portal das Finanças, art. 17 CIMT, 2026). The other big surprise is the one that isn't there: IVA adds nothing for the buyer of a finished home.
I'm Inês, an accountant working with the Privilege Gardens finance team, so read the disclosure at the end. This is information, not legal advice — every rate below is the published one, and where the honest answer is "it depends on your situation," I say so.
What a non-resident pays: the short answer
For a cash purchase, four costs make up almost the whole bill. IMT (the transfer tax) at a flat 7.5%; Imposto do Selo (stamp duty) at 0.8%; the Casa Pronta deed-and-registry fee of about €375; and an independent lawyer at a typical 1% to 1.5% (Lexidy, 2026). On a €375,000 apartment that is roughly €35,000 — close to 9% of the price. A resident buying a primary home pays nearer 6%, because their IMT follows a progressive scale instead of the flat rate.
IMT: the flat rate for non-residents
IMT is the largest one-off cost, and it is where the resident–non-resident gap lives. Under Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026 (reported in force from 25 May 2026), a non-resident buying urban residential property pays a flat 7.5% from euro one, with no exempt bracket and no reduction. The official tax-authority table now states the rate is "always of 7.5% in the acquisition of urban property … whenever the acquirer is non-resident" (Portal das Finanças, art. 17 CIMT, 2026). On a €375,000 purchase that is €28,125 in transfer tax alone.
A resident buying a permanent home is taxed on a marginal scale, not a flat rate. The first band up to €106,346 is exempt at 0%, then 2% applies up to €145,470, rising through higher bands (PwC Guia Fiscal 2026). For the same €375,000 home a resident's IMT works out near €16,237 — about €11,900 less than the non-resident pays. That gap is the headline number for an overseas buyer.
| IMT band (value taxed) | Resident marginal rate | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|
| up to €106,346 | 0% (exempt) | 7.5% flat |
| €106,346 – €145,470 | 2% | 7.5% flat |
| €145,470 – €198,347 | 5% | 7.5% flat |
| €198,347 – €330,539 | 7% | 7.5% flat |
| €330,539 – €660,982 | 8% | 7.5% flat |
The resident bands and deductions are the official 2026 scale (Portal das Finanças, art. 17 CIMT); the non-resident column is the single flat rate from the same article. A resident's IMT is "valor × marginal rate − the band deduction"; the non-resident simply multiplies the price by 7.5%.
Imposto do Selo: stamp duty, plus more if you finance
Stamp duty is the predictable one. Imposto do Selo on the property transfer is 0.8% of the higher of price or VPT, and it is identical for residents and non-residents (Portal das Finanças — Tabela Geral do Imposto do Selo, 2026). On a €375,000 purchase that is €3,000.
If you take a Portuguese mortgage, a second stamp applies to the loan itself: 0.6% where the term is 5 years or more, or 0.5% for a term of 1 to under 5 years (Portal das Finanças — Tabela Geral do Imposto do Selo, 2026). A cash buyer skips this line entirely.
IVA: why a finished home adds nothing
This is the surprise that cuts the other way. The sale of a finished residential property is exempt from IVA: Article 9 of the IVA Code provides that "the sale of real estate is an operation exempt from VAT" (Portal das Finanças, art. 9.º CIVA, 2026). The developer carries IVA on construction and it is already embedded in the price on the brochure. So do not add 23% to a Privilege Gardens asking figure — the transfer is taxed through IMT and stamp duty, not through VAT on the buyer.
IMI: the annual tax, on the rateable value
IMI is the recurring tax you pay each year you own. Porto kept its urban IMI rate at 0.324% for 2026 (idealista, 2026), within the legal 0.30%–0.45% band. The important detail is the base: IMI is charged on the VPT — the rateable value the tax authority assigns to each unit — not on the price you paid, and the VPT is usually well below the purchase price.
Because the VPT is set per unit and is unknown until the authority values your apartment, the honest figure is the rate and the method, not a euro amount someone quotes you up front. A resident's permanent home qualifies for a reduced 0.27% rate in Porto (ECO, 2025); a non-resident investor pays the standard 0.324%. AIMI, the wealth surcharge, only starts above €600,000 of VPT per person (PwC Guia Fiscal 2026), so a single sub-threshold unit pays €0 of it.
Notary, registration and legal fees
Two fees finish the picture. The deed and Land Registry are handled through the Casa Pronta one-stop service at a published fee of about €375 for a cash purchase, more if a mortgage is registered (IRN — Custos dos serviços, 2026). On top, an independent conveyancing lawyer is standard practice for a foreign buyer and typically costs 1% to 1.5% of the price (Lexidy, 2026); treat that as a market norm that varies, not a fixed tariff. A non-EU buyer may also need a fiscal representative, which is a small recurring cost rather than a purchase cost.
The worked estimate (indicative, not a quote)
Putting only the published rates together, here is an illustrative all-in for a €375,000 Antas apartment, cash. It is asking-based and pre-fee-variation — a method you can re-run, not a guaranteed total.
| Resident (primary home) | Non-resident | |
|---|---|---|
| IMT | €16,237 (progressive) | €28,125 (7.5% flat) |
| Imposto do Selo 0.8% | €3,000 | €3,000 |
| Casa Pronta deed + registry | ~€375 | ~€375 |
| Conveyancing lawyer (~1%) | ~€3,750 | ~€3,750 |
| IVA (buyer-side) | €0 (embedded) | €0 (embedded) |
| All-in one-off | ≈ €23,360 (~6.2%) | ≈ €35,250 (~9.4%) |
Source: Rates from Portal das Finanças (CIMT art. 17, TGIS, CIVA art. 9), idealista, IRN and Lexidy, 2026 — illustrative, asking-based, pre-fee.
The non-resident pays roughly €11,900 more, almost all of it in IMT (Portal das Finanças, art. 17 CIMT, 2026). As a share, that is about 9.4% of price for the non-resident against 6.2% for the resident — a 3-point gap that is worth budgeting for from the first conversation.
The honest limits
This page is deliberately narrow. It gives you the published rates and an indicative total, and it stops short of the parts that depend on your personal situation.
And the residency point that catches many buyers: property no longer earns a Golden Visa. The real-estate route was abolished by the "Mais Habitação" law in October 2023 (Global Citizen Solutions, 2026), and a purchase never triggers a visa by itself. If residency is the goal, that is a separate D7 or D8 application with its own income test.
This is the cost half of a larger buying question. The step-by-step of contracts, deposits and the deed is set out in our guide to the buying process in Antas, and the off-plan-specific protections — staged payments, the bank guarantee, milestone checks — are covered in buying off-plan safely in Porto.
A note on our interest
We sell apartments in Antas, so we have an interest in how this reads. That is exactly why every rate here points to the official source — the IMT and stamp tables at the Portal das Finanças, the Porto IMI rate via idealista, the Casa Pronta fee at the IRN — and why the worked total is labelled indicative rather than dressed up as a quote. Where the honest answer is "confirm with your lawyer," I have said so.
What is the IMT rate for a non-resident buying in Portugal?
A flat 7.5% on the acquisition of urban residential property, applied from euro one with no exempt bracket, under Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026 (in force May 2026). That contrasts with the resident progressive scale, which starts at 0% up to €106,346 and rises through 2%, 5%, 7% and 8% marginal bands. IMT is the largest single one-off cost of buying, so the resident–non-resident difference is the figure to plan around.
How much are the total costs on top of the price for a non-resident?
Built only from the published rates — 7.5% IMT, 0.8% Imposto do Selo, the Casa Pronta deed and registry fee, and a typical 1% to 1.5% lawyer's fee — an illustrative non-resident all-in lands near 9% of the price for a cash purchase. A resident buying a primary home pays closer to 6%, because their IMT follows the progressive scale. Treat any total as indicative and confirm your own figures with a Portuguese tax lawyer.
Do I pay IVA (VAT) when I buy a finished apartment in Portugal?
No. The sale of a finished residential property is exempt from IVA under Article 9 of the IVA Code, which states the operation is 'exempt from VAT'. The developer bears IVA on construction and it is already embedded in the price you see, so you should never add 23% to a Privilege Gardens asking figure. The transfer is taxed through IMT and Imposto do Selo instead, not IVA.
How much is IMI, the annual property tax, in Porto?
Porto's urban IMI rate for 2026 is 0.324%, charged each year on the VPT — the rateable value the tax authority assigns to the unit, which is typically well below the purchase price. Because the VPT is set per unit and is unknown until the authority values it, the honest answer is the rate and the method, not a fixed euro amount. A resident's permanent home qualifies for a reduced 0.27% rate; a non-resident investor pays the 0.324% urban rate.
Does buying an apartment in Porto give me residency or a Golden Visa?
No. Buying property no longer qualifies for a Golden Visa — the real-estate route was abolished by the 'Mais Habitação' law in October 2023 — and a purchase never triggers any visa on its own. Residency in Portugal runs through separate visa routes (such as the D7 or D8), which have their own income tests and are decided by AIMA, not through property. Buying a Privilege Gardens apartment grants no residency.
Is the extra non-resident IMT ever refundable?
A relief exists in the decree for buyers who become Portuguese tax resident within a set window or who let the unit within controlled rent limits, which can bring the 7.5% back toward the progressive result. The precise mechanics — the qualifying lease term, the claim window — are not yet settled in a consolidated tax-authority instruction, so this article does not state them as fixed rules. Confirm your eligibility and the current conditions with a Portuguese tax lawyer before relying on any refund.
Sources & method
- Portal das Finanças — Código do IMT art. 17.º (resident scale + non-resident flat 7.5%), 2026
- Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026, de 20 de maio (non-resident IMT) — Diário da República
- Portal das Finanças — Tabela Geral do Imposto do Selo (0.8% transfer; 0.6%/0.5% mortgage)
- Portal das Finanças — Código do IVA art. 9.º (residential sale exempt from VAT)
- idealista — IMI 2026 (Porto urban rate 0.324%)
- ECO — Porto holds IMI at 0.324% / 0.27% for permanent homes (Dec 2025)
- PwC Guia Fiscal 2026 — IMT scale and IMI/AIMI deductions
- IRN / Justiça.gov.pt — Casa Pronta fees (deed + Land Registry)
- Lexidy — buying property in Portugal (lawyer / due-diligence norms)
- Global Citizen Solutions — Golden Visa real-estate route abolished (Mais Habitação, Oct 2023)