Taxes on owning
IMI and AIMI, the municipal rate, the exemptions, and the tax value all of it depends on.
IMI (annual property tax)
The yearly tax on the tax value, at a municipal rate between 0.3% and 0.45%.
Over 200 municipalities charge the 0.3% minimum; Lisbon 0.3%, Cascais 0.35%, Oeiras, Cartaxo and Vila Real de Santo António the 0.45% maximum. Rural land: 0.8%.
Payment: up to €100 in May; €100 a 500 in May and November; above €500 in May, August and November.
AIMI (additional property tax)
An annual tax on the sum of residential tax values above €600,000 per owner.
Rates: 0.7% up to €1M, 1% from 1 to 2M, 1.5% above. Couples filing jointly double the thresholds. Companies: 0.4% with no allowance.
Assessed in June, paid in September. Not deductible against rental income.
Municipal IMI rate
The percentage each council sets, between 0.3% and 0.45%, applied to the tax value.
Decided yearly by the municipal assembly and notified to the tax authority by 31 December. More than two hundred municipalities charge the 0.3% minimum.
Some also run a family reduction based on dependants, and surcharges on derelict or ruined buildings.
IMI exemption
A temporary exemption for low-value primary homes, and a permanent one for low-income households.
The temporary exemption applies to a primary home whose tax value is under the legal ceiling, and has to be claimed within the period following occupation. Claimed late, it is lost entirely.
The low-income exemption is granted automatically from the data on the income-tax return.
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.
Calculated with the CIMI formula: base value per m² (€712.50 in 2026) × area × coefficients for use, location, quality and age. It's on the caderneta predial, available from Portal das Finanças.
Typically 40 a 70% of market value. Using the price instead of the VPT to estimate IMI doubles the answer.
It's updated automatically every 3 years. If yours looks inflated (many date from the 2012 revaluation) you can request a reassessment: if it drops, IMI drops permanently.
Tax-value assessment
The procedure that fixes the tax value. An owner can request it when the figure looks out of date.
It applies the CIMI formula: base value per m², area, and coefficients for use, location, quality and age, carried out by a tax-authority surveyor.
Many tax values still date from the 2012 general revaluation. Requesting a reassessment can cut IMI permanently, but it can also raise it, so estimate first.
Location coefficient
The multiplier in the tax-value formula that captures the area: access, services and the local market.
It ranges from 0.4 to 3.5 and is set for homogeneous zones within each municipality. It is the coefficient that most separates two identical properties in different places.
It is revised periodically, and an upward revision raises IMI without anything having changed about the property.
Caderneta predial (property tax record)
The property's tax document: registration number, tax value, area, layout and owners.
Free from Portal das Finanças. Required for any deed, lease and mortgage application.
Always check the VPT on the caderneta before running IMI or IMT numbers.
The other groups
General information based on current legislation. Not tax or legal advice.