IMT Jovem (2026): the under-35 exemption from IMT and stamp duty in Portugal
A buyer aged 35 or under buying a first home to live in permanently pays no IMT up to €330,539 on the mainland, or €413,174 in Madeira and the Azores, and no stamp duty up to €330,539. Between that limit and €660,982 (€826,228 in the islands) IMT is charged only on the part above the limit, at 8%, and stamp duty is 0.8% of the part above €330,539, in the islands too. The relief is lost if the home is let or given another use within 6 years.
Key facts
- Who: aged 35 or under on the deed date, not an IRS dependant that year, first purchase of a home (CIMT art. 9(2)).
- Not available to anyone who owned a home, or part of one, at any time in the 3 years before buying (CIMT art. 9(3)).
- Full IMT exemption up to €330,539 on the mainland and €413,174 in Madeira and the Azores in 2026.
- Stamp duty relief: a deduction of up to €2,644.31, so no stamp duty up to €330,539 (Stamp Duty Code art. 7-A).
- Couples are assessed spouse by spouse on their half, so one can qualify and the other not (CIMT art. 9(4)).
- The relief is lost if the home is not lived in within 6 months or gets another use within 6 years (CIMT art. 11(8)).
How much does a buyer under 35 save on a €300,000 home?
On the mainland, a buyer aged 30 buying a first home for €300,000 to live in pays €0 IMT. A buyer aged 40 buying the same home pays €10,542.04. Stamp duty relief comes on top, explained below.
| Line | Kind | Amount | Estimate range | Share of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMT (property transfer tax), buyer aged 35 or under | Tax | €0 | 0.00% | |
| Stamp duty (Imposto do Selo, 0.8%), buyer aged 35 or under | Tax | €0 | 0.00% | |
| Lawyer (market rate) | Fee, estimate | €3,750 | €3,000 to €6,000 | 1.25% |
| Deed and land registration (Casa Pronta) | Fee, estimate | €375 | €375 to €700 | 0.13% |
| Taxes | €0 | 0.00% | ||
| Fees, typical | €4,125 | €3,375 to €6,700 | 1.38% | |
| Total on top of the price | €4,125 | €3,375 to €6,700 | 1.38% |
The calculator’s “first-time buyer” box stands for the legal test: a first purchase, and no home owned in the previous 3 years.
Who qualifies for IMT Jovem?
The exemption is in article 9(2) of the IMT Code, added by Decree-Law 48-A/2024 and in force since 1 August 2024. All of these must hold:
- the buyer is aged 35 or under on the date of the deed;
- the buyer is not a dependant of someone else for IRS (income tax) in the year of purchase;
- it is the buyer’s first purchase of a home, and the home is bought exclusively as the buyer’s own permanent home (habitação própria e permanente);
- the buyer does not own, and has not owned at any time in the previous 3 years, a residential property or a share or partial right in one (CIMT art. 9(3)).
The buyer files the Modelo 1 IMT declaration before the deed even though no IMT is due, and claims the exemption on it (CIMT art. 19(3)).
What are the IMT Jovem limits in 2026?
The young buyer table (CIMT art. 17(1)(b)) has a 0% first band, then 8%, then the same single rates as everyone else:
IMT (property transfer tax), buyer aged 35 or under
The taxable value (the higher of the price and the official value) times the rate of its band, minus that band's deduction.
| Value | Rate | Minus |
|---|---|---|
| up to €330,539 | 0% | €0 |
| €330,539 to €660,982 | 8% | €26,443.12 |
| €660,982 to €1,150,853 | 6% | €0 |
| over €1,150,853 | 7.5% | €0 |
Applies when it is for your main home; the buyer is aged 35 or less; the buyer is a first-time buyer; the buyer is tax-resident.
First own permanent home, buyer aged 35 or under (IMT Jovem). Kept only if you move in within 6 months and keep it as your own permanent home for 6 years (CIMT art. 11(8)).
- up to €330,539: no IMT;
- from €330,539 to €660,982: 8% of the part above the first limit (the table writes it as 8% of the value minus a deduction);
- above €660,982: a single 6% on the whole value, the same as a buyer over 35, so there is no saving.
In Madeira and the Azores every limit is 25% higher: no IMT up to €413,174, partial relief up to €826,228.
How much IMT does a young buyer pay at different prices?
| Price | Taxes | Fees, typical | Total on top | Estimate range | Share of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €200,000 | €0 | €2,875 | €2,875 | €2,375 to €4,700 | 1.44% |
| €300,000 | €0 | €4,125 | €4,125 | €3,375 to €6,700 | 1.38% |
| €330,539 | €0 | €4,506.74 | €4,506.74 | €3,680.39 to €7,310.78 | 1.36% |
| €400,000 | €6,112.57 | €5,375 | €11,487.57 | €10,487.57 to €14,812.57 | 2.87% |
| €500,000 | €14,912.57 | €6,625 | €21,537.57 | €20,287.57 to €25,612.57 | 4.31% |
| €660,982 | €29,078.98 | €8,637.28 | €37,716.26 | €36,063.80 to €42,998.62 | 5.71% |
| €800,000 | €51,755.69 | €10,375 | €62,130.69 | €60,130.69 to €68,455.69 | 7.77% |
Not confirmed: highlighted figures include Stamp duty (Imposto do Selo, 0.8%), buyer aged 35 or under, above €660,982.
| Price | Taxes | Fees, typical | Total on top | Estimate range | Share of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €200,000 | €5,142.04 | €2,875 | €8,017.04 | €7,517.04 to €9,842.04 | 4.01% |
| €300,000 | €12,942.04 | €4,125 | €17,067.04 | €16,317.04 to €19,642.04 | 5.69% |
| €330,539 | €15,324.08 | €4,506.74 | €19,830.82 | €19,004.47 to €22,634.86 | 6.00% |
| €400,000 | €21,436.65 | €5,375 | €26,811.65 | €25,811.65 to €30,136.65 | 6.70% |
| €500,000 | €30,236.65 | €6,625 | €36,861.65 | €35,611.65 to €40,936.65 | 7.37% |
| €660,982 | €44,403.07 | €8,637.28 | €53,040.35 | €51,387.89 to €58,322.71 | 8.02% |
| €800,000 | €54,400 | €10,375 | €64,775 | €62,775 to €71,100 | 8.10% |
Does IMT Jovem also cover stamp duty?
Yes. Article 7-A of the Stamp Duty Code gives the same buyers a deduction from the 0.8% stamp duty on the purchase. The deduction is capped at the stamp duty on the first-band limit of the young buyer table, which the Tax Authority’s leaflet gives as €2,644.31. That cap is the stamp duty on a €330,539 home, €2,644.31. So a qualifying buyer pays no stamp duty up to €330,539, and 0.8% on the part of the price above it. The deduction covers every purchase under the young buyer table (CIMT art. 17(1)(b)), and that table has no upper limit, so the calculator also applies it above €660,982, where the table no longer saves any IMT. It highlights that line, because the Government’s gov.pt service page for the exemption says the opposite, that above the 8% band stamp duty is due on the full value; the stamp duty guide explains.
The Tax Authority’s leaflet (January 2026) works this example: a couple, both aged 30, buying their first home on the mainland for €400,000 pay €5,556.88 in IMT and €555.69 in stamp duty, split equally between them. The calculator gives this for one buyer:
| Line | Kind | Amount | Estimate range | Share of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMT (property transfer tax), buyer aged 35 or under | Tax | €5,556.88 | 1.39% | |
| Stamp duty (Imposto do Selo, 0.8%), buyer aged 35 or under | Tax | €555.69 | 0.14% | |
| Lawyer (market rate) | Fee, estimate | €5,000 | €4,000 to €8,000 | 1.25% |
| Deed and land registration (Casa Pronta) | Fee, estimate | €375 | €375 to €700 | 0.09% |
| Taxes | €6,112.57 | 1.53% | ||
| Fees, typical | €5,375 | €4,375 to €8,700 | 1.34% | |
| Total on top of the price | €11,487.57 | €10,487.57 to €14,812.57 | 2.87% |
The cap is the same in Madeira and the Azores. Article 7-A ties it to the young buyer table in the IMT Code, whose first band ends at €330,539, and the islands’ higher IMT limits come from the regional tables the Tax Authority builds under Lei 21/90. The leaflet gives the €2,644.31 cap as one figure, next to the islands’ IMT limits.
What if only one of the buyers is under 35?
Each spouse is checked and taxed separately, on half the home (CIMT art. 9(4)), and each files their own Modelo 1 IMT. The Tax Authority’s leaflet works the case of a couple aged 32 and 36 buying for €400,000: the 32-year-old pays IMT on their half under the young buyer table (€2,778.44) and stamp duty only on half the excess over €330,539 (€277.85); the 36-year-old pays the normal own-home IMT on their half (€9,118.33) and the full 0.8% on it (€1,600).
The calculator works out one buyer at a time. For a mixed couple, the leaflet’s method is to run the young buyer and the older buyer separately on the full price and take half of each.
When is the exemption lost?
The exemption, and the stamp duty relief with it, are lost, and the tax becomes due, if (CIMT art. 11(8); Stamp Duty Code art. 7-A(3)):
- the buyer has not moved into the home as their permanent residence within 6 months of buying;
- within 6 years the home is given another use, for example let out. Three events do not count: selling the home; a change in the household (marriage, civil union, divorce or separation, a new dependant) while the property stays a home; a job move more than 100 km away while the property stays a home;
- the buyer becomes an IRS dependant at any time in those 6 years.
Can a non-resident or a foreigner use IMT Jovem?
Nationality does not matter; the conditions above do. Tax residence does. Since 25 May 2026 a buyer who is not tax resident in Portugal pays a flat 7.5% IMT on housing, with no exemption or reduction (CIMT art. 17(10)). A young buyer who becomes tax resident within 2 years can then ask for the difference back, which the non-resident buyers guide explains. A buyer who has been tax resident in Portugal before is not charged the flat rate.
What this guide does not cover
- Mortgage support for young buyers, such as the public guarantee on bank loans.
- Regional housing programmes in Madeira and the Azores.
- The annual property tax (IMI) and any exemption from it.
- Buying a share of a home other than through marriage or a joint purchase.
Questions people ask
Who qualifies for IMT Jovem?
A buyer aged 35 or under on the date of the deed, buying a home exclusively as their own permanent home, who is not a dependant for IRS in that year and has not owned a residential property, or part of one, at any time in the previous 3 years (CIMT art. 9(2) and (3)).
What is the IMT Jovem limit in 2026?
The full exemption applies up to €330,539 on the mainland and €413,174 in Madeira and the Azores (Tax Authority Ofício Circulado 40129/2026). Above that, up to €660,982 (€826,228 in the islands), IMT is 8% of the part above the limit. Above €660,982 there is no IMT saving.
Does IMT Jovem also exempt stamp duty?
Yes, through a deduction capped at €2,644.31, which is the 0.8% stamp duty on €330,539. A qualifying buyer pays stamp duty only on the part of the price above €330,539, in Madeira and the Azores as well (Stamp Duty Code art. 7-A; Tax Authority leaflet, January 2026).
What if only one of us is under 35?
Each spouse is assessed separately on their half of the home (CIMT art. 9(4)). The spouse who qualifies gets the young buyer rates on their half; the other pays the normal own-home rates on theirs. Each files their own Modelo 1 IMT declaration.
What happens if I rent out or sell the home within 6 years?
Letting it, or any other use than the buyer's permanent home, within 6 years ends the exemption and the tax becomes due. Selling the home does not. A change in the household or a job move more than 100 km away also does not, while the property stays a home (CIMT art. 11(8)).
Sources
- Código do IMT, article 9 (exemptions for homes, IMT Jovem)Portal das Finanças (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira)
- Código do IMT, article 11 (when exemptions are lost)Portal das Finanças (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira)
- Código do IMT, article 17 (rates, including the young buyer table and the non-resident rate)Portal das Finanças (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira)
- Código do Imposto do Selo, article 7-A (young buyers)Portal das Finanças (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira)
- Os meus direitos e deveres na aquisição de um prédio (leaflet, January 2026), section IMT JovemAutoridade Tributária e Aduaneira
- Ofício Circulado 40129/2026: IMT practical tables from 1 January 2026 (tables II and V)Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira
- Pedir isenção do IMT e do Imposto de Selo (service page, updated 27 March 2026)gov.pt, Government of Portugal (service of the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira)
Behind the figures
Every amount on this page is worked out by the engine from rule files that cite these pages.