Support measures for young people in housing are now in place. Clarify any doubts.

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With the exemption of taxes for young people when buying a house now in force, what are the biggest doubts?

With the increasing difficulty in accessing housing in Portugal in recent years, the new Government of Luís Montenegro has announced a package of measures aimed at supporting young people aged up to 35 to buy a house.

The various supports that will exempt young people from paying an entry fee on housing credit, as well as granting exemption from associated taxes, came into effect on August 1st.  

But what are the biggest questions facing this exemption? According to News at the Moment, this is one of the most eagerly awaited measures and will allow young people to be exempt from paying Municipal Property Transfer Tax (IMT) and Stamp Duty, having been promulgated and published in the Official Gazette recently.

What are the requirements that young people need to meet in order to access this support?   

Firstly, they need to be between 18 and 35 years old at the time of signing the house purchase deed. Being that they cannot be dependents for IRS purposes at the time, even if they are living with their parents at the moment.

Applies to tax residents in Portugal, regardless of Portuguese nationality. 

"The subjects who are owners of the right of property, or of a partial figure of this right, over urban residential buildings at the time of the transmission or at any time in the three previous years are excluded from the exemption provided for in the previous paragraph," it is written in the decree.

In the case of a couple, the decree clarifies that "the verification of the exemptions and the calculation of IMT related to the acquisitions provided in paragraph 2 [Article 9], of properties that will become common property of a couple, are carried out individually in relation to each spouse in equal parts, with each one presenting a declaration provided for in paragraph 1 of article 19."

In addition, in a video published on the social network X (formerly Twitter), the person in charge of the Youth and Modernization department explains that if one of the members of the couple is already a homeowner, they are entitled to a portion of the exemption: "Those who already own a house are not entitled to the exemption. In this case, there is a 50% exemption on the total value of the house".

Which houses allow access to the exemption?  

To have access to total tax exemption, young people can buy properties worth up to the 4th bracket of the IMT, that is, up to 316,772 euros. If the value exceeds that, but is up to 633,453 euros, they may be entitled to partial exemption, paying IMT at the rate corresponding to this bracket (8%).

In addition, to access the exemption, the houses to be purchased must be intended for own and permanent housing.  

And if the purpose of the house changes later?  

If, within a period of six years, the destination of the property is changed, young people lose the right to exemption and reduction of fees. This is the case if a different purpose is given to the house than the one that was the basis of the tax benefits concession.

However, there are some exceptions to this rule, namely in case of sale, change in the composition of the respective household, due to marriage or civil union, dissolution of marriage or civil union, increase in the number of dependents, or change of workplace to a distance greater than 100 km from the building, as long as the building remains exclusively for housing, as stated in Notícias ao Minuto.

In addition, know that if you own a property by inheritance, you will not be able to access this exemption.  

How to access?

According to a video published on the social network X (formerly Twitter), the Minister of Youth and Modernization of Portugal, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, explained that nothing needed to be done to be entitled to this support, since "IMT and Stamp Duty guides are issued, and if you are exempt the guides will come to zero".

If you are hitchhiking on the new support measures to buy a house, take advantage of the flow and save yourself from bureaucracy: The credit intermediaries of Poupança no Minuto take care of the entire process of collecting and comparing financing proposals from banks, and advise you on the best one, in a process without any cost to you. Simulate your new home loan with us now: