IMI comes every year. The exemption only comes if you ask.
Buying here involves two taxes that newcomers mix up constantly. IMT is paid once, at purchase. IMI comes back every year for as long as you own the place.
IMT gets discussed endlessly before the deal. IMI is the one that surprises people the following spring.
It is charged on a value you have never seen
IMI is not calculated on what you paid. It is calculated on the VPT — valor patrimonial tributário, the tax authority's own valuation, which sits on your caderneta predial.
The VPT is usually well below market price, which is why the bill is often smaller than people fear. It is also why you cannot estimate IMI from the purchase price: look up the actual number before you budget.
Urban property: 0.3% – 0.45% of VPT. Each município sets its own rate inside that band and publishes it yearly.
Rural land: 0.8%.
Example: a flat with a VPT of €120,000 in a council charging 0.35% costs about €420 a year.
The exemption is not automatic — this is the part that costs money
There is a temporary exemption for a property that is your own permanent home. It runs for three years, and some municípios extend it by two more.
It is granted only if you request it. Nobody applies it for you, and no letter arrives reminding you. This is the single most expensive thing people do not know about IMI.
Temporary exemption (3 years), conditions:
VPT of the property up to €125,000
household annual income up to €153,300
usable a maximum of two times per household
There is also a permanent exemption for low-income households — relevant for pensioners, and the reason some older owners genuinely pay nothing:
Permanent exemption, conditions:
household gross annual income up to 2.3 × IAS — €17,295.59 in 2026
VPT of the home up to €66,500
It can be requested even if you owe money to the State.
Both are requests, not entitlements that switch themselves on. If an elderly parent bought a modest home and nobody filed anything, that is worth checking this week rather than next spring.
When you pay
The tax authority issues a collection note, but treat the postbox as unreliable — especially with a foreign name, a recent move, or a building without proper letterboxes. Portal das Finanças is where the bill really lives.
Up to €100: one payment, by 31 May.
€100 – €500: two instalments, by 31 May and 30 November.
Over €500: three instalments, by 31 May, 31 August and 30 November.
Instalments are optional — you may pay the whole amount at once.
Miss a deadline and interest and penalties follow. Set up direct debit, or put 31 May in the calendar permanently.
AIMI: probably not you
There is an additional tax, AIMI, on top of IMI for owners of high-value property portfolios. It is aimed at substantial holdings, and a single ordinary home does not reach it. If you own several properties, confirm your position with an accountant — thresholds change and are not worth guessing.
Three things to do
1. Find your VPT on the caderneta predial — that is the number the tax is built on.
2. If this is your permanent home and the VPT is under €125,000, request the exemption. It will not appear by itself.
3. Check Portal das Finanças every spring, and set up direct debit so a lost letter never becomes a penalty.
Bottom line: IMT is when you buy, IMI is every year you own. The bill is smaller than most people expect, and the exemption is larger — but only for those who ask for it.
General information, not tax advice. Rates and thresholds current at publication; municipal rates vary — confirm yours with your município and on Portal das Finanças.
Guidance, not legal or tax advice — verify your case with official sources.