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Moving abroad and buying a home (2026): does buying before you move cost more?

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In Portugal and England, buying before becoming tax resident costs more at the deed: a flat 7.5% IMT in Portugal, and a 2% stamp duty surcharge in England. Both give the extra back to a buyer who becomes resident within the time allowed: two years in Portugal, and a 183-day test within a year of completion in England. In Spain residence does not change the purchase taxes.

Key facts

  • Portugal: a non-resident pays a flat 7.5% IMT; the difference is refunded if they become tax resident within two years and ask within 6 months.
  • England: a non-resident pays 2% on top of stamp duty; it is refunded if the 183-day test is met within a year of completion, claimed within 2 years.
  • Spain: the same purchase taxes before and after the move.
  • England's 5% for owning another home counts a home kept in the country you are leaving.
  • This section covers purchase taxes only, not income tax, capital gains or residence permits.

Does buying before you move cost more?

In Portugal and England, at first. In Spain, no:

Portugal Spain England
Buying before becoming resident IMT at a flat 7.5% Same taxes as a resident 2% of the price on top of stamp duty
Refund after the move The difference from the normal rates, if resident within two years Nothing to refund The 2%, if the 183-day test is met within a year of completion
Claim deadline 6 months after becoming resident 2 years after completion

What does the move change on a €300,000 or £300,000 home?

Each country in its own currency, before and after the buyer becomes resident, for a home that will be their main home:

Before the move, paid at the deed After the move or after the refund
Portugal, €300,000 €24,900 €12,942.04
Madrid, €300,000 €18,000 €18,000
England, £300,000 £11,000 £5,000

What about the home you leave behind?

England is the only one of the three that taxes a purchase more because the buyer owns a home elsewhere. Its higher rates, 5% of the price, count a home anywhere in the world, so a buyer moving to England who keeps their old home pays them, unless the English home replaces it as their main home and the old one is sold within 3 years. Portugal and Spain look only at the home being bought.

Guides for each country

  • Moving to Portugal: the flat-rate IMT for non-residents, who is outside it, and the refund.
  • Moving to Spain: why residence does not change the purchase taxes, and the main-home reductions.
  • Moving to England: the 2% surcharge and its refund, the 5% for a home kept abroad, and first-time buyer status.

Does buying a home give residency?

No. Buying a home does not give a right to live in Portugal, Spain or the UK: Portugal and Spain have ended their property golden visas, and the UK has no visa based on buying a home. The guide does buying property give residency? has the laws, the dates and how each country decides tax residence.

Nationality does not change the purchase taxes either. The guides on buying as an American and buying in Spain or Portugal after Brexit cover what does change for buyers from outside the EU.

What this section does not cover

  • Income tax residence, the year of the move, and tax on selling the home you leave.
  • Visas and residence permits, beyond whether buying a home gives one.
  • Moving money between currencies.
Compare what a buyer pays before the move

Moving abroad

  • Does buying a home give residency or citizenship in Portugal, Spain or the UK? (2026)

    No. Buying a home does not by itself give a right to live in Portugal, Spain or the UK, or a path to citizenship. Portugal stopped accepting golden visa applications based on buying property from 7 October 2023 (Lei 56/2023), Spain abolished its investor visa, property route included, from 3 April 2025 (Ley Orgánica 1/2025), and the UK has no visa based on buying a home. Owning a home does not make the buyer tax resident either.

  • Moving to Portugal (2026): buying a home before or after you become tax resident

    A buyer who is not yet tax resident in Portugal pays IMT at a flat 7.5% on any home bought since 25 May 2026. If they become tax resident within 2 years, they can ask the Tax Authority, within 6 months of becoming resident, to refund the difference from the normal rates. A buyer who is already resident at the deed pays the normal rates straight away, and anyone who was tax resident in Portugal before is outside the 7.5% rule.

  • Moving to England and buying a home (2026): stamp duty before and after the move

    Someone who buys in England before becoming UK resident pays the 2% non-resident surcharge, and can claim it back within 2 years if they then spend 183 days in the UK within the time allowed. A buyer who still owns a home abroad also pays the 5% higher rates, unless that home was their main home and is sold within 3 years. Buyers who have never owned a home anywhere can get first-time buyer relief.

  • Moving to Spain and buying a home (2026): before or after you become resident

    Spain charges the same purchase taxes whether the buyer is resident or not. What changes the bill is whether the home becomes the buyer's main home: Madrid takes 10% off the tax on a main home up to €250,000, and Andalusia charges 6% instead of 7% up to €150,000. To keep those rates the buyer must move in within 12 months and live there for 3 years.

Questions people ask

Should I buy a home before or after moving abroad?

For purchase taxes, buying after becoming resident avoids paying an extra amount up front in Portugal and England. Buying before means paying 7.5% IMT in Portugal or a 2% surcharge in England at the deed, then claiming the difference back if the move happens in time. In Spain the timing makes no difference to the purchase taxes.

Does buying a home make me tax resident?

Not by itself in the purchase tax rules on this site. Portugal and England look at whether the buyer is tax resident, and England uses a count of days spent in the UK. Income tax residence has its own rules in each country, which this site does not cover.

Do I pay extra if I keep my old home when I move?

In England, yes: a buyer who still owns a home anywhere in the world pays the 5% higher rates, unless the new home replaces it and the old one is sold within 3 years. Portugal and Spain do not look at homes owned elsewhere.

Does buying a home give residency in Portugal, Spain or the UK?

No. Portugal stopped accepting golden visa applications based on buying property from 7 October 2023 (Lei 56/2023), Spain removed its investor visa from 3 April 2025 (Ley Orgánica 1/2025), and the UK has no visa based on buying a home.

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