I'm confused about property taxes in Portugal...

This calculator makes no sense to me:

https://portugalbuyersagent.com/portuga … alculator/

If I enter house cost €100,000.00 then it shows property tax being only €951.86

If I enter house cost €200,000.00 then it shows property tax being €6,512.81

I do not understand the above!? Why it there such a massive difference between a house that cost about 100k more?

Also €6,512.81 property tax on a house that cost only about 200k is extremely expensive!! In Arizona for example it would be only about $1,200/year [link under review] ... not €6,512.81 which is about $6.967.77... yikes!

Hi Juliet,

The simulator in your link is the ( IMT tax + stamp duty ), which is what the buyer pays when he signs the deed for the property, and it is paid only once.

It's not IMI tax (property tax rate/year). Some information here about IMI yearly tax about property:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 54#5194500

(Post #4)

The amount of IMI tax payable can be split over the year into 2 or 3 payments without any interest:

Up to 100 euros: single payment, paid in May;

More than 100 euros and less than 500 euros: two payments, made in May and November;

Over 500 euros: three payments, made in May, August and November.

    Hi Juliet,The simulator in your link is the ( IMT tax + stamp duty ), which is what the buyer pays when he signs the deed for the property, and it is paid only once.It's not IMI tax (property tax rate/year). Some information here about IMI yearly tax about property:https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 54#5194500(Post #4)The amount of IMI tax payable can be split over the year into 2 or 3 payments without any interest:Up to 100 euros: single payment, paid in May;More than 100 euros and less than 500 euros: two payments, made in May and November;Over 500 euros: three payments, made in May, August and November.        -@JohnnyPT

Thanks so much, whoops! Sorry I see I was looking at wrong calculator. I got IMI and IMT mixed up. So the IMT is only paid once (it's like a sales tax I guess?).

... and the IMI is what is considered the "property tax" in Portugal and that can be paid once a year (annually) if wanted rather than 2 or 3 times a year? As I would not want to pay it 2 or 3 times... I would want to pay it once a year every year.

Are there any calculators where I can roughly see how much my IMI (property tax) will be for a house/land that cost about 200K or 300k USD?

You can pay IMI tax all at once (yearly) if you wish.

IMI simulators (rough values):

https://www.pordata.pt/simulador-imi-qu … gar-de-imi

https://www.doutorfinancas.pt/simulador-de-imi/

...

    You can pay IMI tax all at once (yearly) if you wish.
IMI simulators (rough values):

https://www.pordata.pt/simulador-imi-qu … gar-de-imihttps://www.doutorfinancas.pt/simulador-de-imi/

...
   

    -@JohnnyPT

Cool thanks!

I just used a house bought for 300k as an example in the calculator and it's showing the IMI would be only €900 ... this cannot be possible? The IMI is that cheap!!? ... or did I enter something incorrectly into the calculator? Here's screenshot: https://tinypic.host/image/ZXxOk

Thanks so much for your help!!

That's roughly it. But if you read the link in my post #3 in this thread, you'll see that IMI can vary depending on various factors, such as whether or not you have a garage, whether or not you have a swimming pool, whether or not you have air conditioning, whether or not the house is new or old ... also depends on the council in which the house is located.... etc. There are councils with lower rates and others with higher rates. Each council is free to define the % to apply ...

Maybe you should also compare what services IMI and USofA equivalent cover ?

Well tje Imi is not based on what you paid. It s paid on the valor in the financas. Means an old house there has maybe the valor of 45.000 not a selling price of 150.000.

But that is nearly in any country the same. Further there are areas that are Imi free on request..I m selling one, which is imi free, as it is in the historical part of Elvas, and as it is unesco world heritage, that is the reason why it s tax free. Not for imt so.

IMI tax is calculated using the property value defined by the finance office. And it's almost always, if not always, lower than market values.

IMT tax is calculated based on the sale value.

I am not worried about IMT since that is a one time fee. What I am focused on is the annual property tax (IMI). 

I am still totally shocked by how cheap IMI in Portugal is... this cannot be right? I entered house value of about 300k (€300000) and the IMI so super low! I checked it out for numerous areas in Portugal and the average IMI for a 300k house is only about €1.080 (this is only $1.16 USD) for certain counties ... what on earth this cannot be right? I must not be converting Portugal currency to USD correctly or something?

This is the IMI calculator I was using: https://www.pordata.pt/simulador-imi-qu … gar-de-imi

I guess property taxes really are much MUCH cheaper in Portugal. Wow. That is amazing. It is difficult to grasp my mind around.

Our house is on the financas portal at a value of  114,000 euros, and our annual Property Tax is 342 euros.

Hope this helps

Roz

    Our house is on the financas portal at a value of  114,000 euros, and our annual Property Tax is 342 euros.Hope this helpsRoz        -@roz66

Thanks... wow!! That is amazing. Seems I would not have to fear losing my home there, due to property taxes, unlike in the US. Not to mention healthcare!

@juliet1980

You need to understand that socio economy context  in Portugal is completely different from the US. Our minimum wage is 760€/month before taxes. Owning a house is almost a "luxury". Many people leave in rentals for their whole lives. So, IMI may be cheap for you, but not for most of the Portuguese.

    @juliet1980
You need to understand that socio economy context  in Portugal is completely different from the US. Our minimum wage is 760€/month before taxes. Owning a house is almost a "luxury". Many people leave in rentals for their whole lives. So, IMI may be cheap for you, but not for most of the Portuguese.
   

    -@Nia Queiroz

Good point. It make more sense now thanks.

I'm confused with this calculator: https://www.pordata.pt/simulador-imi-qu … gar-de-imi

I was playing around with it and for a house that cost $300k it shows the property tax would be €900 (which is $978.57) https://tinypic.host/image/ndO6H

Then I changed house price to $1 million and it shows the property tax would be €3.000  (which is $3.26) https://tinypic.host/image/ndeVR

Why on earth is a house that in in exact same country but is more than twice as expensive have much lower property tax than a cheaer house? This makes no sense. Am I braindead or am I not converting the EU to US currency correctly?

Thanks!

300 000  tax approx 900    or $ 978

so stuff 3 and a bit  times the price

1000 000 tax approx 3000   or $ 3260

What's the problem?

    I'm confused with this calculator: https://www.pordata.pt/simulador-imi-qu … gar-de-imiI was playing around with it and for a house that cost $300k it shows the property tax would be €900 (which is $978.57) https://tinypic.host/image/ndO6HThen I changed house price to $1 million and it shows the property tax would be €3.000  (which is $3.26) https://tinypic.host/image/ndeVRWhy on earth is a house that in in exact same country but is more than twice as expensive have much lower property tax than a cheaer house? This makes no sense. Am I braindead or am I not converting the EU to US currency correctly?Thanks!        -@juliet1980

Please, before you write anything here, think about what you write, OK?

€900 (which is $978.57)

€3,000 (which is $3.26) ?????    --- Remove the comma in the simulator / convertor eur_dol

I'd also like to point out that for property over 600k eur, there is an additional tax to the IMI, explained here:

https://www.deco.proteste.pt/investe/in … o-calcular

   
    I'm confused with this calculator: https://www.pordata.pt/simulador-imi-qu … gar-de-imiI was playing around with it and for a house that cost $300k it shows the property tax would be €900 (which is $978.57) https://tinypic.host/image/ndO6HThen I changed house price to $1 million and it shows the property tax would be €3.000  (which is $3.26) https://tinypic.host/image/ndeVRWhy on earth is a house that in in exact same country but is more than twice as expensive have much lower property tax than a cheaer house? This makes no sense. Am I braindead or am I not converting the EU to US currency correctly?Thanks!        -@juliet1980

Please, before you write anything here, think about what you write, OK?

€900 (which is $978.57)
€3,000 (which is $3.26) ?????    --- Remove the comma in the simulator / convertor eur_dol

I'd also like to point out that for property over 600k eur, there is an additional tax to the IMI, explained here:

https://www.deco.proteste.pt/investe/in … o-calcular-@JohnnyPT

It is not 3,000

It said 3.000 (there was NO comma!)

If you look at my screenshot in that prior post you will see there is no comma "," but rather a period "."

Do the Portuguese write 3,000 as 3.000? 3.000 is indeed $3.26

Don't put anything separating the thousands, OK? No comma, no dot.

Only if it's a fractional number, you have to put a comma separating the fractional part.

The dot and the comma in numbers have opposite meanings in PT regarding US.

    Don't put anything separating the thousands, OK? No comma, no dot.Only if it's a fractional number, you have to put a comma separating the fractional part.The dot and the comma in numbers have opposite meanings in PT regarding US.        -@JohnnyPT

This calculator https://www.pordata.pt/simulador-imi-qu … gar-de-imi put the dot in €3.000

I just copied €3.000 and pasted it into google and told google "convert €3.000 to US dollars and that is where it said it is $3.26

Why is this calculator putting a dot in €3.000? Why doesn't it simply write €3000? This is what makes me think with EU currency they use dots rather than comma if any punctuation is used? Thanks

PS: So €2.700 is of course €2.700 is $2935.49

"PS: So €2.700 is of course €2.700 is $2935.49" is a typo in above post it won't let me edit my post.

I meant to write "PS: So €2.700 is of course $2935.49"

@juliet1980

Sure, if you have a massive mortgage that you can never afford to pay off, then we might argue that we "never own" the property. But property taxes are payable because you DO own your property... and they are definitely small compared to a typical mortgage. :-) Additionally, as owners, we pay for repairs and upkeep. All these expenses are a cost of ownership, and to avoid them we must rent instead, which has different disadvantages.

I don't know the property tax rules in Portugal or Hungary. But it's probably not appropriate to focus on the percentage headline rate. 0.5% of a 500k property is still, as you say, a good chunk of money each year. US property taxes are routinely thousands of dollars. US condo fees/HOA (if you have an apartment rather than a house) are pretty expensive too.

In some places the tax applies to the purchase price, but in many countries, it's based on some registered value which gets updated much less often than every sale... and is typically much less than your purchase price.

If you relocate to Portugal or Hungary or other EU country, then you (probably) won't be buying a 500k property with a huge mortgage. Most expats buy cash, and have zero mortgage.

We have a holiday apartment in Spain (so I'd expect not so different from Portugal). It's a good size, 3 bed in 99 m2. Our property tax is also in the sub-1% region, but based on some "cadastral" value, and works out about 150 euros per year. And our HOA is 30 euros per month.

Mostly, we're in Bulgaria (so Eastern Europe, close to Hungary, I doubt we're so different). My typical apartment HOA is 10 euros per month. Property tax on our city centre flat (Plovdiv, very nice place, former European Capital of Culture) and our village house (awesome place up in the Balkan Mountains just outside a National Park) are both running at around 75-100 euros per year. Plus water and electricity bills are cheap too. And our health insurance. And zero mortgage payments. It's very relaxing. :-)

@juliet1980

We came from the U.S. where we were paying 8000$a year for a home on 1/2 an acre 2800 SQ ft home.

Here in Portugal we pay 386€ a year or home is about 2400 SQ ft in half an acre. So we think the taxes he are very reasonable

@juliet1980

The formula you are looking at are the closing costs. We paid 200000 our closing costs were 7500 a one time fee for transfer etc. It yearly taxes are 348 a year. Our house is the same size house we had in the states where we paid 8000 a year.

@juliet1980 Hi Juliet, I can confirm as an American that property taxes here are MUCH cheaper than what I pay in the states. For example, my home in the US is worth approx. $550k and I pay almost $4000 a year in property taxes. My place here in Lisbon is worth the same and my property taxes I just paid were $170. Huge difference.