PS: government ready to discuss IRS exemption on second-home sales up to €300,000. Rental bill stays
The government is ready to discuss exempting from IRS income tax the profit on selling a second flat or house worth up to €300,000. The conditions are that the buyer lives in the home permanently and that it is in an area with a housing shortage. The leader of the Socialist Party (PS), José Luís Carneiro, said this on 5 November after meeting the prime minister, Luís Montenegro (ECO).
The proposal comes from the PS: exempt such sales from tax for three years so that more existing homes come onto the market. For flats and houses worth €300,000 to €500,000 the party wants a reduced rate, and it also wants to scrap stamp duty (imposto do selo) on home purchases and mortgages. According to Carneiro, the government showed "relative openness" on the tax measures in particular, above all on exempting the profit from sales.
The PS will put forward its tax measures as amendments to the 2027 budget (OE2027). Carneiro said disagreements on housing do not call into question support for the budget.
The two sides also agreed that IMT, the tax on buying property, should go up for people who buy a home in Portugal but neither live here nor plan to. According to Carneiro, the idea of handing homes owned by the state housing institute IHRU over to municipalities, together with money for their upkeep, was also well received.
But the Socialists did not get their main demand. In the meeting, which lasted about two hours, Montenegro refused to withdraw the government's rental bill and draw up a new law together with the PS. Parliament has already passed the bill at first reading, with votes from the governing AD coalition, Chega and Iniciativa Liberal (Jornal de Negócios).
Tax breaks for landlords who charge a "moderate" rent of up to €2,300 a month also stay. The PS wanted to scrap them: "Who in this country can pay a moderate rent of €2,300 when the median income is about €1,040?" Carneiro asked (Jornal Económico).
The Chega leader, André Ventura, also met the prime minister and, by his own account, brought 50 proposals for the budget (ECO). On 6 November the other parties will discuss housing with the minister of infrastructure and housing, Miguel Pinto Luz.
