Following the legislative change, regarding the obligation to appoint a fiscal representative of the non-resident and the situations of exemption from the said obligation, it is significant to make some clarifications.

It is now possible to pay your Portuguese taxes from abroad, even if you do not have a Portuguese internet banking system.

Portugal was the country of choice for US, French and Italian nationals looking to buy a retirement or second home in Europe in 2018. According to a study produced by ListGlobally, the largest online property platform in the world for house seekers, Portugal was the number one property investment destination for the French (34%), Americans (5.68%) and Italians (6.04%). In 2018 the intention to buy from overseas citizens was centred mainly around Faro (22%), Lisbon (11%) and Setúbal (8%). Théo Plantier, who focuses on the Portuguese market for ListGlobally states that “Portugal is a very attractive country because despite an across-the-board rise in house prices per square metre, it is still one of the cheapest countries in Europe to buy a house, representing 20% of all of house sales.

The state budget has changed the formula for calculating vehicle tax applied to second hand cars imported from the European Union and has begun to take the environmental component into account to reduce tax depending on the age of the vehicle.

The difference between buying a house in Portugal being a resident or not depends on the purpose of the house. If you buy a house to live in Portugal, you are buying a permanent home and are a resident, but if you do not live in Portugal and you buy property there it will count as a second home. This affects the property taxes you’ll have to pay.