Glossary

The terms you'll meet at the notary, the bank and the tax office

Seventy-four terms, in nine groups, in plain English and with the 2026 rule.

Taxes on buying

What you pay in order to buy, and on what basis: transfer tax, stamp duty, the return that assesses them and the cost of the deed.

6 terms

Taxes on owning

IMI and AIMI, the municipal rate, the exemptions, and the tax value all of it depends on.

8 terms

Taxes on renting out

Income tax on rent: Category F, the reduced rates, the return, the receipts and short-term letting.

7 terms

Taxes on selling

Capital gains: how they are worked out, what you can deduct, and when reinvestment cancels them.

5 terms

Mortgages

Everything that appears in a Portuguese mortgage offer: the rates, the index, the insurance, the ratios and the paperwork.

14 terms

Contracts and registration

From the promissory contract to the deed and the land registry: the documents that make a purchase, and the rights that may be registered against a property.

13 terms

Renting out

The lease and its life: the tenancy regime, the deposit, the annual increase, termination and opposing renewal.

7 terms

Investment

The measures a deal is judged by: yield, cap rate, cash-on-cash, leverage, cashflow and vacancy.

8 terms

Residence and special regimes

Where you are tax resident, what changes if you are not, and the regimes that depend on it.

6 terms

74 terms, in plain words.

VPT (tax value (Valor Patrimonial Tributário))The value the tax office assigns to a property. It drives IMI, AIMI and, when higher than the price, the transfer tax.

Caderneta predial (property tax record)The property's tax document: registration number, tax value, area, layout and owners.

Certidão permanente (land registry extract)The legal record: who owns the property, mortgages, liens and other charges.

Ónus (registered charge)A charge on the property (mortgage, lien, usufruct) that follows it when ownership changes.

IMT (property transfer tax)The tax paid on purchase, charged on the higher of price and tax value, using progressive tables.

IMT Jovem (under-35 exemption)No transfer tax, stamp duty or registration fees up to €330,539 on a first primary home, up to age 35.

Imposto do Selo (stamp duty)Five separate charges in property: 0.8% on purchase, 0.6% on the mortgage, 4% on bank fees, 4% on interest of non-primary-home loans, and 10% of one month's rent on leases.

IMI (annual property tax)The yearly tax on the tax value, at a municipal rate between 0.3% and 0.45%.

AIMI (additional property tax)An annual tax on the sum of residential tax values above €600,000 per owner.

Categoria F (rental income tax)The income-tax category for rent. In 2026 four regimes compete, and the most favourable always applies.

Renda moderada (moderate rent)Rent up to 2.5 × the minimum wage. €2,300/month in 2026 on the mainland. Unlocks the 10% tax rate.

RSAA (affordable rental regime)Full income-tax exemption for affordable leases, in force since 1 September 2026. Rent limits still pending regulation.

Anexo F (rental income return)The annex of the Portuguese tax return where rent and deductible expenses are declared, per property.

Anexo G (capital gains)Where property sales are declared. 50% of the gain is taxed at progressive rates. For non-residents too.

Debt-service ratio (taxa de esforço)The share of net income going to loan payments. Banco de Portugal limit: 45%, with a rate shock.

LTV (loan-to-value)Loan divided by property value. Maximum 90% for a primary home, 80% for investment. On the lower of price and valuation.

TAEG (APRC) and MTICThe two legal measures for comparing loans: total yearly cost in % and total cost in euros.

Tax residenceThe country that taxes your worldwide income. Not your nationality, and it is what sets your transfer-tax rate when buying a home in Portugal.

Non-residentSomeone without tax residence in Portugal. Pays 7.5% transfer tax on housing and is taxed here only on Portuguese-source income.

Fiscal representativeThe person who receives tax-office notices on behalf of a taxpayer without a Portuguese address. Mandatory outside the EU and EEA.

NIF (Portuguese tax number)The Portuguese taxpayer number. Needed to buy, rent, open a bank account or pay any tax in Portugal.

Modelo 1 do IMT (transfer tax return)The return filed to assess transfer tax before the deed. The payment reference comes out of it.

Emolumentos (registry and notary fees)The fees for registry and notarial acts. Through Casa Pronta, one fixed price covers the deed and the registration.

Deed costsEverything paid on completion day beyond the taxes: deed, registration and, with a mortgage, valuation and bank fees.

Municipal IMI rateThe percentage each council sets, between 0.3% and 0.45%, applied to the tax value.

IMI exemptionA temporary exemption for low-value primary homes, and a permanent one for low-income households.

Location coefficientThe multiplier in the tax-value formula that captures the area: access, services and the local market.

Tax-value assessmentThe procedure that fixes the tax value. An owner can request it when the figure looks out of date.

Capital gains on propertyThe gain on a sale. For individuals, 50% is added to income and taxed at progressive rates.

Reinvestment reliefThe exclusion that applies when sale proceeds go into another primary home, or, until 2029, into a property let at a moderate rent.

Currency devaluation coefficientThe factor that indexes the purchase price for inflation when computing a gain. Only applies above 24 months of ownership.

Deductible costs on a saleWhat reduces the gain: purchase taxes and costs, value-adding works from the last 12 years, and the costs of selling.

Energy certificateMandatory to sell or let, rated A+ to F. Valid for 10 years on a home.

TAN (nominal annual rate)The loan's interest rate, without fees or insurance. On a variable loan it is Euribor plus the spread.

SpreadThe margin the bank adds to the index. The only negotiable part of the rate.

EuriborThe rate at which European banks lend to each other. The index behind almost every Portuguese mortgage.

Fixed rateInterest that does not move for the contracted period. Costs more at the start and removes the risk of rises.

Mixed rateFixed for the first years, variable after. The compromise most new contracts end up taking.

Principal repaymentPaying down capital. In an instalment it is the part that is not interest; as an early repayment, it is capital paid outside the schedule.

Interest-only periodA period paying interest only. The instalment falls, the outstanding capital does not.

ESIS (European Standardised Information Sheet)The document setting out every condition of the loan, in the same format across the European Union.

Bank valuationThe surveyor's estimate for the lender. If it comes in under the price, the loan is measured against it.

Mortgage life insuranceCover the bank requires to secure the outstanding capital. Not required by law. Required by the contract.

RemortgagingMoving the loan to another bank. Worth it when the saving over the remaining term beats the cost of moving.

CPCV (promissory contract of sale)The contract that fixes the deal before the deed: price, deadline, and what happens if either side walks away.

Deposit (sinal)The sum paid on the promissory contract. If the buyer walks, they lose it; if the seller walks, they repay double.

ArrasThe classical name for the deposit, still used in contracts. In Portuguese law, arras and sinal are the same thing.

Public deedThe act that transfers ownership, before a notary, registrar or lawyer empowered to authenticate.

DPA (authenticated private document)An alternative to a notarial deed, authenticated by a lawyer, solicitador or chamber of commerce. Same effect.

Land registrationRecording the purchase at the registry. Without it, the acquisition is not enforceable against third parties.

Use licenceThe council document stating what the property may be used for. Required for buildings later than 1951.

Technical housing fileThe property's technical description, required for buildings licensed after March 2004.

UsufructThe right to use a property and take its fruits, while ownership belongs to somebody else.

Right of first refusalA third party's right to buy on the same terms. Tenants and municipalities can hold it.

LeaseThe contract granting use of a property for rent. Notified to the tax office and subject to stamp duty.

NRAU (urban tenancy regime)Law 6/2006, governing urban leases: term, renewal, termination and the annual rent update.

Security depositThe sum held as security at the start of a lease. No legal cap, but two months is the custom.

Electronic rent receiptThe receipt issued on Portal das Finanças for each rent payment. It pre-fills the landlord's tax return.

Rent update coefficientThe number INE publishes each year that caps the annual rent increase.

Alojamento local (short-term letting)Providing temporary accommodation. Taxed under business income, with mandatory registration and municipal rules.

Termination (denúncia)How an open-ended lease is ended. Subject to notice and, for a landlord, to statutory grounds.

Opposing renewalHow a fixed-term lease is ended at the end of its term. Requires notice fixed by statute.

GuarantorSomeone who guarantees the tenant's obligations, answering with their own assets.

Gross yieldAnnual rent divided by purchase price. The figure listings quote, and the less informative of the two.

Net yieldAnnual rent after tax and all costs, over the capital invested. The comparable number.

YieldWithout a stated basis, an advertised yield is almost always the gross one.

Cap rateNet operating income over property value. A valuation metric, not a measure of personal return.

Cash-on-cash returnAnnual cashflow over the equity actually put in. The measure for a buyer using credit.

LeverageUsing credit to buy more than equity alone would allow. It multiplies return and risk in equal measure.

CashflowWhat is left each month after everything: rent less instalment, taxes, building fees, insurance, vacancy and maintenance.

VacancyThe share of the year with no tenant. Assuming zero is the commonest mistake in investment arithmetic.

NHR (non-habitual resident)The tax regime for new residents. Closed to new entrants since 2024 and replaced by a narrower one.

Golden visaResidence by investment. Since 2023 it is no longer granted for buying property.

Containment zone (short-term rentals)Areas where short-term rental registrations exceed 5% (relative) or 10% (absolute) of homes. In Lisbon it's decided at neighbourhood level.

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Every term here turns up in a listing or a deed. The extension puts a number on them: on a listing at the largest portals, one click opens the transfer tax, the stamp duty, the Category F rate, and that freguesia's short-term-rental containment.

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