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IMI Exemption Calculator

Not everyone pays IMI on the home they live in: Portuguese law provides two exemptions for the main permanent residence. One is permanent, for households with low income and little property; the other lasts 3 years and protects those who buy or build a first home within certain limits. This calculator checks both at once, from the home’s taxable value, the household’s income and your municipality’s rate, and shows how much IMI you stop paying each year.

The VPT (taxable patrimonial value) is on the caderneta predial at the Portal das Finanças; it is not the purchase price. For the total VPT add every rural and urban property of the whole household, home included.

The household's total gross income, before deductions: what the IRS return shows. Your municipality's rate (between 0.3% and 0.45%) is on the municipality's site or the Portal das Finanças.

3-year exemption: yearly saving
€332.50
Annual IMI without exemption
€332.50

No permanent exemption (article 11.º-A of the IMI Code): it requires household gross income up to €17,295.59 and a total VPT of all properties up to €75,198.20, at the same time.

You qualify for the temporary 3-year exemption (article 46.º of the Tax Benefits Statute): you pay no IMI from 2026 to 2028, a saving of €997.50. On a purchase it is applied automatically; the home must become your main permanent residence within the following 6 months.

How this result is reached

Permanent exemption (article 11.º-A, IMI Code)
Household gross income (limit €17,295.59)€45,000.00 · over the limit
Household total VPT (limit €75,198.20)€95,000.00 · over the limit
Temporary 3-year exemption (article 46.º, EBF)
Home's VPT (limit €125,000.00)€95,000.00 · within the limit
Previous year's gross income (limit €153,300.00)€45,000.00 · within the limit
IMI years exempt2026–2028
Saving over the 3 years€997.50

The permanent exemption is recognised by the tax authority every year on its own initiative; the 3-year one is automatic on purchase and, for construction or works, is requested at the tax office within 60 days after the 6-month move-in deadline.

The 3-year exemption can only be granted 2 times to the same household and can be extended by 2 more years by decision of the municipal assembly.

In both regimes the home must be the main permanent residence, proven by the fiscal domicile, and the household's IRS and IMI filings must be up to date.

Out of scope: the other exemptions (urban rehabilitation, the article 46.º(3) rental variant, entities), the emigrant rule and the autonomous regions' rules. Computing the IMI itself, with the family deduction, is the IMI calculator.

Indicative values, based on the 2026 legal limits. The exemption decision belongs to the tax authority. This information does not replace the law and is not tax advice.

The two exemptions, side by side

The permanent exemption of article 11.º-A of the IMI Code is aimed at low-income households with low-value property: while the conditions hold, the IMI on the main home (and on rural land) is not charged, year after year. The temporary exemption of article 46.º of the Tax Benefits Statute (EBF) is aimed at anyone who buys, builds, enlarges or improves a home to live in: it lasts 3 years, whatever the income up to the legal limit. The two have different conditions and you can qualify for both at the same time; in that case the permanent one is worth more, because it does not expire.

Permanent exemption: the two 2026 limits

Article 11.º-A requires two conditions at once. First: the household’s total gross income cannot exceed 2.3 times the annual value of the IAS; with the 2026 IAS at €537.13 per month (€7,519.82 per year), the limit is €17,295.59. Second: the global taxable value (VPT) of all the household’s properties, rural and urban, home included, cannot exceed 10 times the annual IAS, that is, €75,198.20 in 2026. What counts is the gross income (before deductions) of the whole household, and the whole property portfolio, not just the home you live in.

Permanent exemption: automatic, with one duty

There is no application: the tax authority recognises this exemption on its own initiative, every year, by crossing the IRS return with the property register. The flip side is that recognition depends on your filings being in order: if any member of the household misses the deadline for the IRS return (or any IMI declarations due), the exemption is lost for that year (article 11.º-A(5)). The exemption also covers shares of undivided inheritances, for the heirs who meet the conditions.

Temporary 3-year exemption: the conditions

Article 46.º of the EBF exempts for 3 years urban properties built, enlarged, improved or acquired for consideration as the main permanent home. The conditions: the property’s taxable value cannot exceed €125,000, and the household’s total gross income in the previous year cannot exceed €153,300 (it is the gross income, not the taxable income many sites still cite: the current wording comes from Law 12/2022). The home must become the taxpayer’s or the household’s residence within 6 months of the purchase or the end of the works, proven by the fiscal domicile.

Temporary exemption: automatic on purchase, on request otherwise

When you buy the home, the exemption is recognised automatically by the tax authority from the data it holds (the deed and the IMT declaration), with no application. For construction, enlargement or improvement you must apply: the request goes to the local tax office within 60 days after the end of the 6-month deadline to move in. A late request does not kill the exemption, but shortens it: it starts in the year of the request and ends when it would have ended had the deadlines been met.

Three years, plus two, twice in a lifetime

The legal period is 3 years, counted from the year of acquisition or completion, inclusive: buying in 2026 exempts the IMI of 2026, 2027 and 2028. The municipal assembly can extend the exemption by 2 more years, by a decision communicated to the tax authority by 31 December to apply the following year; not all municipalities do it, so the calculator shows the 3 years guaranteed by law. And there is an important brake: this exemption can only be granted twice to the same taxpayer or household, over a lifetime (article 46.º(11)).

What the exemption is worth

The value of each exemption is the IMI you stop paying: the property’s taxable value multiplied by your municipality’s rate, which for urban property sits between 0.3% and 0.45% (article 112.º of the IMI Code; the exact rate is on the municipality’s site or the Portal das Finanças). A home with a VPT of €95,000 in a municipality at 0.35% pays €332.50 a year: the 3-year exemption is worth €997.50, and the permanent one is worth those €332.50 in every year the conditions hold.

What stays out of this estimate

The calculator checks the two main-home regimes; computing the IMI itself, with the family deduction for dependants, is the IMI calculator, and the taxable value used in the sums is the one on the caderneta predial, which you can estimate with the VPT calculator. Out of scope: the other exemptions in the Tax Benefits Statute (urban rehabilitation, cultural-interest buildings, public and public-utility entities), the article 46.º variant for new homes intended for residential rental, the emigrant rule, the surcharge on vacant buildings and the autonomous regions’ own rules.

Worked example

Imagine a couple buying their first home in 2026: a VPT of €95,000, joint gross income of €45,000 and a municipal rate of 0.35%. The permanent exemption does not apply: the income exceeds the €17,295.59 limit and the VPT exceeds €75,198.20. The temporary exemption does apply: the VPT is below €125,000 and the income below €153,300, so the couple pays no IMI for 2026, 2027 and 2028. Since the annual IMI would be €95,000 × 0.35% = €332.50, the exemption is worth €997.50 over the 3 years, plus €665 if the municipality has decided the 2-year extension.

Frequently asked questions

Who qualifies for the permanent IMI exemption?
Households whose total gross annual income does not exceed 2.3 times the annual IAS (€17,295.59 in 2026) and whose total property holdings, adding the taxable value of every rural and urban property of the household, do not exceed 10 times the annual IAS (€75,198.20 in 2026). It covers the main permanent home and rural land, and lasts while both conditions hold (article 11.º-A of the IMI Code).
Do I have to apply for the permanent exemption?
No. The tax authority recognises it on its own initiative every year, from the IRS return and the property register. But beware: if any household member misses the IRS or IMI filing deadlines, the exemption is not granted for that year.
What are the conditions of the 3-year exemption when buying a home?
Two: the property’s taxable value (VPT) cannot exceed €125,000 and the household’s total gross income in the previous year cannot exceed €153,300. In addition, the home must become the main permanent residence, with the fiscal domicile there, within 6 months of the purchase or the end of the works (article 46.º of the Tax Benefits Statute).
Is the 3-year exemption automatic?
On a purchase, yes: the tax authority applies it automatically from the deed and the IMT declaration, with no application. For construction, enlargement or improvement you must request it at the tax office, within 60 days after the end of the 6-month deadline to move in.
How many times can I use the 3-year exemption?
Twice at most, over a lifetime, per taxpayer or household (article 46.º(11) of the Tax Benefits Statute). If you have already benefited on two homes, the third pays IMI from the first year, even within the limits.
Can the 3-year exemption be extended?
Yes, by 2 more years, but only if your municipal assembly so decides and communicates it to the tax authority by 31 December, to apply the following year. It is not an automatic right: it depends on the municipality’s decision.
Is the income limit the taxable income or the gross income?
In both regimes what counts is the household’s total gross income, before deductions. In article 46.º, the current wording (Law 12/2022) uses gross income up to €153,300; many older articles still cite taxable income, but that is no longer the rule in force.
I bought the home mid-year. When does the 3-year exemption start?
In the year of the acquisition itself: IMI is owed by whoever owns the property on 31 December, so buying in 2026 with the exemption means paying no IMI for 2026, 2027 and 2028, billed in each following year.
What if the VPT rises above €125,000 during the 3 years?
The limit is checked against the taxable value at the time: if a revaluation lifts the VPT above the limit during the period, the benefit ceases, because tax benefits lapse when their conditions stop holding. The same goes for the permanent exemption if the household’s income or property exceed the limits.

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Author: Thorben Rasmus Idel · Reviewed by: Nahar Geva · Last reviewed: 2026-08-01