Buying property in Portugal: the process and its order
Portugal is not Spain with different vocabulary — the sequence itself is different. The preliminary contract binds earlier and harder, while a single state counter bundles three closing steps into one. Knowing this changes how you plan.
How does buying property in Portugal work, and in what order?
The Portuguese process starts with the NIF (tax number) and the question of whether you need a fiscal representative — optional for EU citizens since 2022, provided you accept electronic notifications. Then a bank account and a financing pre-assessment, then the property documents (Caderneta Predial, Certidão Permanente, Licença de Utilização, Ficha Técnica da Habitação), then the CPCV — the preliminary contract with a deposit, typically 10 % of the price. It is sharper than the Spanish arras: it also fixes the deadline for the escritura and is enforceable in court. Only then come the bank valuation and approval, then IMT and stamp duty, and finally the escritura and land registration — which in Portugal can be handled at the same counter. Here is where most buyers coming from Spain trip up: in Spain, ITP falls due after the escritura; in Portugal, IMT and stamp duty must be paid before it — without proof of payment, the notary won't sign (Article 49 CIMT).
What the IMT reform means for non-residents
With Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026 of 20 May 2026, Portugal added a new paragraph to Article 17 of the IMT code: anyone who is not tax resident in Portugal and acquires property intended exclusively for residential use pays a flat IMT rate of 7.5 % — without the usual progressive bands and without the deductions available to residents. The rule has applied since 25 May 2026, not from September as many guides claim by attaching a date from two other parts of the same law (the CIA and RSAA schemes). What counts is the date of the escritura — a CPCV signed earlier didn't lock in the old rate if the deed itself came after 25 May. IMT for non-residents in detail
The surcharge is not necessarily final: if you become Portuguese tax resident within two years of the purchase, or let the property for residential use at no more than €2,300/month for at least 36 months within six months of the purchase, you can reclaim the difference to the old rates afterwards. The 7.5 % is still due in full at the escritura either way — the refund follows later, on application.
One distinction that's easily missed: the flat rate applies only to residential property. Building land, commercial premises and rural plots stay on the normal graduated rates.
The Portuguese process in seven steps
NIF and the representative question
Nothing happens in Portugal without a NIF — no account, no contract, no deed. Unlike Spain, a second decision is attached to it immediately: the fiscal representative. Since Decreto-Lei 44/2022, EU, EEA and Norwegian citizens can do without one if they accept electronic notifications from the tax authority. Anyone resident outside the EU/EEA needs one as soon as they own property in Portugal. Applying for a NIF
Account and financing pre-assessment
Open a Portuguese account and clarify financeability in parallel — your type of income, the property type and your tax status determine which bank will underwrite at all. This pre-assessment belongs before the CPCV, not after it. Requirements in Portugal
Four documents, not two
Portugal requires its own set: the Caderneta Predial (tax register), the Certidão Permanente (land registry extract, accessed online via a code), the Licença de Utilização (use permit) and the Ficha Técnica da Habitação — a construction and materials data sheet with no Spanish equivalent. If the use permit is missing or does not match actual use, that is a reason to walk away, not a formality.
CPCV with deposit and financing clause
The CPCV binds you with a sinal of typically 10 %. If you walk away it is lost; if the seller walks away he owes double — and you can enforce the sale in court rather than merely reclaim money. The same contract sets the deadline for the escritura, usually 30 to 120 days. The lever is the financing clause: without it, a bank refusal costs you the deposit. The CPCV in detail
Valuation and binding approval
The bank commissions a valuation and finances the lower of purchase price and appraised value — you cover the difference from your own funds. You receive the standardised European pre-contractual information sheet before committing. The deadline agreed in the CPCV keeps running during this phase.
IMT and stamp duty
Before ownership transfers you pay IMT (a flat 7.5 % since 25 May 2026 for non-residents buying residential property) and Imposto do Selo at 0.8 % of the purchase price. Under Decreto-Lei 97/2026 the payment window is now 30 days from the payment slip being issued (previously: the day of the deed or the next working day) — that doesn't change the fact that the notary won't sign without proof of payment (Article 49 CIMT). The tax base is the higher of purchase price and the official rateable value (VPT) — which can exceed the price paid. IMT for non-residents
Escritura, registration, IMI
The escritura can take place before a notary, at the Conservatória, or at the state Casa Pronta counter — where the deed, the tax formalities and the land registration are handled in a single procedure. This is the most visible difference from Spain, where the escritura and the Registro run separately. Afterwards you pay annual IMI, plus AIMI above certain values.
Where the order genuinely differs
Buyers arriving from the Spanish process underestimate three points. First, the preliminary contract. The Spanish arras penitenciales is essentially a withdrawal rule with a price tag: whoever leaves, pays. The Portuguese CPCV is an enforceable contract — the aggrieved party can compel performance in court, not just claim money. That protects you better against a seller who backs out, but it also binds you more tightly. A CPCV without a financing clause is riskier in Portugal than arras without a condición suspensiva.
Second, the payment order. In Spain, ITP falls due after the escritura — the notary signs, the tax office collects later. In Portugal it's the reverse: IMT and stamp duty must be settled before the escritura, or the notary won't proceed. Buyers coming from Spain often budget the tax as a step after the notary appointment — in Portugal the money, including the 7.5 % for non-residents, has to be there beforehand.
Third, the ending. Casa Pronta bundles what runs consecutively in Spain. That noticeably shortens the phase after signing — but shifts the effort forward, because everything must be complete on the day.
When do I need to start what?
We deliberately do not quote fixed timelines per bank here — every case depends on creditworthiness, the property and the lender, and a false expectation does more harm than good. What can be generalised: the NIF, a Portuguese bank account and the escritura date are the hard predecessors. They are prerequisites, not formalities — without them neither the bank can give final approval nor can the deed be executed. Everything in between can run in parallel if you set it in motion early enough.
Because IMT falls due before the escritura, unlike Spain's ITP, the 7.5 % for non-residents belongs in your financial planning before you sign the CPCV — not shortly before the notary appointment. The payment slip is now valid for 30 days instead of one under Decreto-Lei 97/2026, which eases the logistics, but it doesn't change the underlying order. Already mid-process, CPCV signed and date fixed? Get in touch anyway — there's usually still something worth adjusting.
Frequently asked questions
Since when does the 7.5 % IMT rate apply to non-residents?
Can I get the surcharge back later?
What is the difference between the CPCV and the Spanish arras?
Do I need a fiscal representative in Portugal?
When are IMT and stamp duty payable?
What is Casa Pronta?
Does an early-signed CPCV lock in the old IMT rate?
Bank and purchase process from one hand
I guide you from the first bank assessment through the CPCV and its financing clause to the escritura — in German or English, with a lawyer on the ground.
Read more
The process in Spain
The same question for Spain — arras, condición suspensiva and the Registro.
Learn more → TaxIMT for non-residents
What the rate has cost since May 2026 — and how the refund works.
Learn more → ContractCPCV: the preliminary contract
Why the deposit without a financing clause is the costliest document in the process.
Learn more →