Buying property in Portugal as a foreigner

Portugal places no nationality restriction on buying property. Residents and non-residents follow the same steps. What has changed is the cost and the promise around the purchase: property no longer leads to a golden visa, and since May 2026 most non-resident buyers of homes pay a flat 7.5% transfer tax. Here is what a broker must explain in October 2026.

The short version

1. Foreigners can buy freely. The buyer needs a NIF (tax number), and buyers living outside the EU or EEA must appoint a tax representative to get one.
2. A lawyer or solicitor should check the caderneta predial, the certidão permanente and the licences before any deposit.
3. The usual sequence: CPCV (promissory contract) with a sinal (deposit), then the deed and registration.
4. The buyer pays IMT (transfer tax) and 0.8% stamp duty. On a permanent own home, IMT starts at 0% up to €106,346 in 2026.
5. Since 25 May 2026, non-residents buying a home pay a flat 7.5% IMT, with refund routes.
6. Owners then pay yearly IMI, and AIMI on residential property above €600,000.
7. The golden visa stopped accepting property on 7 October 2023. A purchase gives no residence right.
8. Mortgage limits are 90% of value for a permanent own home and 80% for other purposes, and banks are often stricter with non-residents.

Who buys and where

INE counted 8,471 home purchases by buyers with a tax address abroad in 2025, worth €3.4 billion. That was down 13.3%, the third yearly fall in a row (idealista, March 2026). Buyers based in the EU paid an average of €335,640, those from elsewhere €470,277, against €234,120 for residents.

• The Algarve took 29.7% of non-resident purchases by number and 42.4% by value.
• Grande Lisboa took 12.5% by number.

In Lisbon, Cascais and the Algarve, a broker who cannot run this process in English loses clients.

Step 1: NIF, tax representative and bank account

The NIF is needed to sign the CPCV, pay the taxes, sign the deed and take a mortgage. gov.pt says it is free. Residents apply at a tax office. According to Global Citizen Solutions (October 2026), buyers living outside the EU or EEA must appoint a tax representative in Portugal to obtain it. Start this the day the client decides to buy.

A Portuguese bank account makes the rest simpler: traceable payment of the deposit and price, direct debits for IMI and condominium fees, and any mortgage.

Step 2: checks before the deposit

Literacia Financeira lists the documents to check before the CPCV:

• Caderneta predial: the tax record from the Tax Authority. It shows the tax registry number, the description and areas, the owners and the tax value (VPT) on which IMI is charged. The owner downloads it free on the Portal das Finanças, and it is valid for 12 months.
• Certidão permanente: the land registry certificate. It shows the owners and any mortgages, seizures, usufructs or easements, plus court actions. DECO gives the price as €15 online, valid for six months. The caderneta and the certidão are complementary: one is fiscal, the other legal.
• Licença de utilização: the council’s use licence. Homes built before 7 August 1951 need a council certificate instead. Since 2024 it no longer has to be shown at the deed, but Literacia Financeira advises making it a condition of the CPCV. From 1 October 2026, the deed must state whether the property has an urban planning title, or the sale can be annulled.
• Ficha técnica da habitação: the technical file for homes licensed after 30 March 2004.
• Energy certificate: required to sell or rent. ComparaJá notes it lasts ten years for homes and that selling without one can bring fines of €250 to €3,740 for individuals.
• A condominium declaration that no fees are owed, and the seller’s plan to cancel any existing mortgage at the deed.

Compare the areas and layout with the documents. Literacia Financeira warns that unlicensed extensions can leave the buyer with a home the bank will not fully finance.

Step 3: CPCV, sinal and deed

1. CPCV. The promissory contract must be written, with signatures certified in person by a notary, lawyer or solicitor, who must confirm that a use or construction licence exists. Without that certification it is invalid (Literacia Financeira, October 2026).
2. Sinal. The law sets no amount; 10% to 20% is common. A buyer who walks away loses it. A seller who defaults pays it back double, or the buyer can ask a court to order the sale, a right that cannot be waived in a property CPCV.
3. Keys before the deed are a decision, not a courtesy. Handing over the keys with the CPCV is treated as a transfer, so IMT becomes due then.
4. Deed and registration. IMT and stamp duty are paid before the deed. The deed can be signed before a notary, through a solicitor or lawyer, at a bank, or at a state Casa Pronta counter, which also registers the purchase.

A normal CPCV only binds the seller personally. If the seller sells to someone else, the buyer gets the double deposit, not the home. For long timelines, a large deposit or a seller with debts, Literacia Financeira explains that the promise can be given real effect and registered, at a higher cost.

Buyer costs

IMT (property transfer tax). For 2026 the mainland brackets rose 2% (PwC Tax Guide 2026):

Purchase	IMT in 2026 (mainland)
Permanent own home	0% up to €106,346, then marginal rates of 2%, 5%, 7% and 8% up to €660,982, a single 6% up to €1,150,853, and 7.5% above
Second home	Starts at 1%, then the same steps
Other urban property	6.5%
Rural land	5%
Home bought by a non-resident, since 25 May 2026	Flat 7.5%

Notes:

• Young buyers. Buyers aged 35 or under buying a first permanent home pay no IMT or stamp duty up to €330,539, and only 8% IMT on the part above it up to €660,982 (Doutor Finanças).
• Non-residents. The flat 7.5% comes from Decree-law 97/2026. idealista reported in September 2026 that it does not apply to buyers who were tax resident in Portugal before. It can be refunded if the buyer becomes resident within two years, or lets the home at a moderate rent (up to €2,300 a month) within six months and for at least 36 months in the first five years.
• Azores and Madeira set their own bracket limits.

Stamp duty (Imposto do Selo). 0.8% of the price, plus 0.6% of a mortgage of five years or more.

Deed and registration. At Casa Pronta, Literacia Financeira gave fixed prices of €375 for a cash purchase and €700 with bank financing in September 2026. Private notaries or solicitors usually charge €200 to €500 plus registry fees. Lawyers set their own fees, so agree them in writing.

Worked examples

These use the rates above. A lawyer must confirm them for each deal.

Main home near Porto, €200,000, buyer resident in Portugal and over 35, cash. IMT: €3,542 (Literacia Financeira’s own example). Stamp duty 0.8%: €1,600. Casa Pronta: €375. Total: about €5,517, or 2.8% of the price.

Apartment in Lisbon, €400,000, non-resident buyer, cash, deed after 25 May 2026. IMT 7.5%: €30,000. Stamp duty 0.8%: €3,200. Casa Pronta: €375. Total: about €33,575, or 8.4% of the price, before the lawyer.

Villa in the Algarve, €800,000, buyer already resident, as a permanent home, with a €400,000 mortgage. IMT at the single 6% rate: €48,000. Stamp duty on the price: €6,400. Stamp duty on the loan 0.6%: €2,400. Casa Pronta with financing: €700. Total: about €57,500.

Yearly taxes after the purchase

• IMI: the municipal property tax, 0.3% to 0.45% of the tax value of urban property, set by each municipality (PwC).
• AIMI: individuals with residential property worth more than €600,000 (€1.2 million for couples filing jointly) pay 0.7% on the excess, rising to 1% and 1.5% on higher bands. Companies pay 0.4%, and entities in tax havens 7.5%.
• Rental income is taxed at 25% by default, and from 2026 at 10% for housing lets up to €2,300 a month under Decree-law 97/2026.
• Holiday lets need registration as Alojamento Local on the RNAL register. Since Decree-law 76/2024 municipalities decide, and Lisbon and Porto apply containment areas. Check before the client buys for that purpose.

Residence: the golden visa and IFICI

The property golden visa is gone. Law 56/2023 (Mais Habitação) removed real estate purchases from the investor visa from 7 October 2023. Global Citizen Solutions lists the remaining routes in October 2026, including €500,000 in a qualifying fund that does not invest in real estate, a company investment creating jobs, research funding and arts and culture funding. Do not market property as a route to residence.

Citizenship takes longer. Organic Law 1/2026, in force since 19 May 2026, raised the residence needed for naturalisation from five to seven years for EU and CPLP nationals and to ten years for others (ASAG).

NHR has been replaced. The non-habitual resident regime closed to new entrants after 2023. Its successor, IFICI, offers a 20% rate on qualifying Portuguese work income and an exemption on most foreign income for ten years, but only for people who move to Portugal for qualifying research or innovation work, register in advance and were not resident in the previous five years (Garrigues). It is not a general perk for retirees or investors.

Mortgages

Banco de Portugal’s limits, as summarised by Rankia in August 2026:

• Loan to value: up to 90% for a permanent own home and 80% for other purposes, on the lower of price or valuation.
• Debt service: the recommended cap fell from 50% to 45% of net monthly income from 1 August 2026.
• Term: up to 40 years for borrowers up to 35, and 35 years above.

Non-residents are treated more strictly. An idealista guide from May 2021 said banks usually lent non-residents 70% or 80%, and that non-residence is defined by tax residence, not nationality. Check current terms with each bank. In practice, a non-resident second-home buyer needs 20% to 30% of the price plus the taxes above from their own funds. Say this in the first meeting.

What a broker must explain

• The NIF and tax representative take time; start at once.
• The caderneta, certidão permanente and licence are checked before the CPCV, not after.
• What the sinal means for each side, and why keys before the deed trigger IMT.
• The IMT rate on the date of the deed, including the 7.5% non-resident rate and its refund routes, in a written estimate.
• The yearly IMI and AIMI, and the rules on holiday lets.
• That a purchase gives no visa.

Portuguese property taxes changed in May 2026 and change again each budget. This guide was checked on the date shown above. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. CloserPass is not affiliated with IMPIC, the Tax Authority or any Portuguese authority, notary or bank.

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