Costs of buying at auction in Portugal: IMT, Stamp Duty and registration

What you pay on top of the price

The price you offer at an auction is not the total cost. Before bidding, add at least three items: IMT (property transfer tax), Stamp Duty (Imposto do Selo) and land registration (registo predial).

The cost calculator runs these numbers for a specific amount.

IMT: on the sale price

IMT is the Municipal Tax on Onerous Transfers of Real Estate (Imposto Municipal sobre as Transmissões Onerosas de Imóveis). The buyer pays it.

What value it is charged on

In an ordinary purchase, IMT is charged on the higher of two values: the price or the taxable property value (valor patrimonial tributário, VPT), which is the property's value for tax purposes (IMT Code, article 12(1)).

Auctions have a special rule. Rule 16 of paragraph 4 of the same article says that the value of assets "acquired through judicial or administrative auction is the price stated in the act or contract". So in a judicial sale or a tax sale, the tax is calculated on the price at which the asset was sold, even if the VPT is higher.

This rule does not apply to property bought from banks or at private auctions. There the general rule applies: price or VPT, whichever is higher.

Which rate applies

The rates are in article 17 of the IMT Code. They change with the type of property and what you will use it for:

• Main and permanent home. A table of bands, with an exemption up to the limit of the first band (article 9).
• First home of people aged 35 or under. A separate table, with an exemption up to a higher value, for those who meet the conditions in article 9(2) to (5).
• Other housing (second home, rental). A table of bands, with no exemption in the first one.
• Rural property. A flat rate of 5%.
• Other urban property (shops, warehouses, building land) and other purchases. A flat rate of 6.5%.

The band limits are updated almost every year. This guide therefore does not reproduce them: check the current tables on the article 17 page of Portal das Finanças.

How the bands work

In the housing tables, each band has a marginal rate and an average rate. When the value exceeds the first band, it is split in two: one part equal to the limit of the highest band that fits within it, taxed at that band's average rate, and the excess, taxed at the marginal rate of the next band (article 17(3)). For the highest values, the tables set a single rate on the whole amount.

Cases with their own rules

• Share of a property. When buying an undivided share (quota-parte), the rate is the one matching the overall value of the property, applied to the value of the share bought (article 17(6)). See buying a share of a property.
• Non-resident buyers. Since the amendment made by Decree-Law 97/2026, article 17(10) sets a 7.5% rate on housing bought by non-residents, with exceptions. See buying at auction in Portugal as a foreigner.
• Tax havens. The rate is 10% when the buyer is an entity domiciled in a territory with a more favourable tax regime (article 17(4) and (7)).

Illustrative example. A shop (non-residential urban property) is sold at auction for €100,000. IMT is 6.5% of €100,000: €6,500. Stamp Duty is 0.8%: €800. Total tax: €7,300, plus registration.

When it is paid

Article 36(3) of the IMT Code gives 30 days from the signing of the record of sale, when assets are transferred by "judicial or administrative auction and sale".

In practice it is unwise to wait. The transfer title (título de transmissão), the document that makes you the owner, is only issued once the price is paid and the tax obligations are met (CPC, article 827; CPPT, article 256(5)).

The assessment of the tax, meaning its calculation and the issue of the payment document, is requested from the Tax Authority. The enforcement agent or the tax office running the sale will tell you which documents are needed.

Stamp Duty: 0.8%

Buying real estate attracts Stamp Duty of 0.8%, under item 1.1 of the General Stamp Duty Table. It is assessed and paid together with IMT.

The value it is charged on follows the IMT Code rules (Stamp Duty Code, article 9(4)). In a judicial or tax sale it is therefore the sale price.

IMT exemptions and Stamp Duty exemptions are separate regimes. A purchase exempt from IMT because it is a main and permanent home may still pay the 0.8% Stamp Duty. Confirm the applicable exemptions with the Tax Authority.

Land registration

With the transfer title, the property is registered in the buyer's name at the land registry (conservatória do registo predial).

• In court sales, the enforcement agent reports the sale to the registry, which registers the purchase and, of its own motion, cancels the registrations of rights that lapsed with the sale, such as mortgages and seizures (CPC, article 827(2)).
• In Tax Authority sales, the cancellation of lapsed registrations is ordered by the tax office, if the buyer has not requested it earlier (CPPT, article 260).
• Deadline. Registration must be requested within two months of the date of the title. After that, the fee is doubled (Land Registry Code, articles 8-C and 8-D).

The registration fee (emolumento) is set by the Fee Regulation for Registries and Notaries. Check the amount in force with the Institute of Registries and Notaries (IRN) or at a land registry office.

What you do not pay

• Notarial deed. There is no deed (escritura) or certified private document. The transfer title is issued by the enforcement agent or the tax office.
• A fee to bid. Bidders on e-Leilões pay nothing for using the platform (FAQ).

Auctions run by private auction houses and sales by banks may carry buyer commissions and the usual costs of an ordinary purchase. The terms of each sale state them.

Costs that depend on the property

These costs appear in no table, but they weigh on the total:

• Vacating the property. If the property is occupied and is not handed over voluntarily, enforced delivery is a step that has a cost. See occupied property.
• Regularisation and works. Properties are sold without warranty and may lack a use permit. Regularising them falls to the buyer.
• Condominium. For an autonomous unit (a flat in a building), ask the condominium manager about debts and approved works. Charges falling due after the transfer belong to the new owner (Civil Code, article 1424-A).
• Borrowing. If you finance the purchase, add valuation, bank fees, taxes on the loan and registration of the mortgage. See mortgages for auction property.
• IMI. From the purchase onwards, you pay the annual Municipal Property Tax (Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis).
• Documents. The land registry certificate, the tax record (caderneta predial) and other certificates have small costs, but they exist.

A simple sum before bidding