Government Announces Over 55,000 Beneficiaries of IMT Jovem Housing Incentive
The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, announced that more than 55,000 individuals have utilized the IMT Jovem program to purchase a home since its inception. The announcement was made following a Council of Ministers meeting in Lisbon focused on approving new measures to address the national housing crisis.
The new legislation, which came into effect in August 2024, established a specific tax incentive targeting young, first-time homebuyers. The specific details of the law provide a full exemption from the Imposto Municipal sobre as Transmissões Onerosas de Imóveis (IMT) for property acquisitions up to a certain value, with partial benefits for higher-priced homes. The implementation timeline for these benefits is ongoing.
The law affects individuals aged 35 or younger who are purchasing their first property. The compliance requirements state that to be eligible, the buyer cannot have been a property owner in the three years prior to the acquisition. The benefit is applied automatically at the time of the property deed transaction, provided the eligibility criteria are met.
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With the approval of the State Budget for 2025, the government has updated the value thresholds for the incentive. The full exemption now applies to properties with a transaction value up to €324,058. For properties valued between €324,058 and €648,022, the standard IMT rates are applied to the value exceeding the exemption limit, with the initial portion remaining exempt. This represents an adjustment from the previous year's figures to account for market changes.
The government's rationale for this legislative change is to reduce the financial barrier to entry for young people seeking to acquire housing, thereby stimulating the property market for this demographic. The measure is one of several policies being enacted to improve housing affordability across Portugal. No penalties are associated with the measure, as it is a tax benefit.
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