Who is exempt from IMT?

Find out in which situations you can request exemption from paying Municipal Property Transfer Tax (IMT)?

When buying a house, it's important to know which associated taxes you will have to pay. However, there are certain situations in which you can take advantage of tax benefits, for example with regard to the Municipal Property Transfer Tax (IMT). Bearing in mind that this amount can vary greatly depending on the purchase price of your home, you can save some money if you are able to claim this exemption.
What is IMT?

The Municipal Property Transfer Tax (IMT) is a tax levied when you buy a property. It applies to the taxable value (VPT) or the value declared at the time of the deed. Regardless of the magnitude of these values, the tax is always levied on the higher value. It should be noted that this tax is paid when the deed is signed for the purchase of a property.


Under what conditions can you request exemption from IMT?

There are various situations in which you can benefit from exemption from IMT. Here are the cases in which the exemption applies:

If you want to buy an apartment or villa for your own permanent residence, you can also benefit from this exemption as long as the taxable value or the value declared at the time of the deed does not exceed 92,407 euros. This figure only applies to mainland Portugal. Please note that you should always check these minimum values, as they may be updated.
 

Properties acquired for rehabilitation works can also take advantage of this IMT exemption. However, in order to access this tax benefit, whoever acquires the property must begin the respective rehabilitation works within a maximum period of six months from the date of acquisition of the property. It should be noted that in order to benefit from this exemption, a number of conditions must be met. To make sure it applies to you, check the legislation. Therefore, the exemption from paying IMT cannot be combined with other similar tax benefits.
 

Acquisitions of buildings for resale, subject to certain conditions, are exempt from IMT, as long as the purpose of the acquisition is resale and the resale takes place within a maximum of three years from the date of purchase. Thus, the exemption in question can be operated through the reimbursement of IMT at the time of the respective resale, or applied immediately at the time of acquisition. However, in the latter case, certain legal requirements must be met. In addition, the IMT Code also provides for other circumstances in which the exemption may lapse, one of them being the possibility of giving a “different destination” to the resale itself.





Source: idelaistanews