Portugal Inheritance Tax Guide — IS & Exemptions
There is no "inheritance tax" as such
Portugal abolished a dedicated inheritance tax in 2004. What exists instead is Imposto do Selo (Stamp Duty, "IS") applied to the gratuitous transmission of assets — gifts and inheritances alike — under a specific heading of the Stamp Duty Code (verba 1.2 of the general table). It is administratively a stamp duty, not an estate tax, but it functions in practice as Portugal's inheritance tax.
The exemption that covers most families
Spouses (and de facto partners of more than two years), descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren) and ascendants (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) are fully exempt from the 10% rate under verba 1.2. For the large majority of estates — passing from a parent to a child, or between spouses — there is no Stamp Duty at all on the inheritance.
Exemption from tax is not exemption from declaring it. Even an exempt spouse or child must still declare the inherited assets to the Autoridade Tributária, generally within three months of the death, through the relevant declaration process — skipping the declaration is a compliance failure even where no tax is ultimately due.
Who actually pays the 10%
Beneficiaries outside the exempt family group — siblings, nieces and nephews, more distant relatives, and unrelated beneficiaries — pay 10% on the value of what they receive, calculated per-heir on their own share of the estate rather than on the estate's total value before division.
Real estate carries an extra layer
Where the inherited assets include real estate, an additional charge separate from the 10% inheritance-specific rate can apply. This additional real-estate stamp duty (0.8%) is a feature of lifetime gifts and property transfers, not of a straightforward inheritance by death — inheritance by death is charged, for non-exempt beneficiaries, at the 10% verba 1.2 rate, without the separate 0.8% real-estate charge that applies to gifts. Keep the two apart: 0.8% is the rate you meet on a gift of real estate during someone's lifetime; 10% (for non-exempt beneficiaries only) is the rate on an inheritance at death.
Worked example
A woman dies leaving her estate to her son (exempt, as a descendant) and her sister (not exempt), split equally. The estate is worth €400,000 in total, so each receives a €200,000 share.
- Son's share: exempt under verba 1.2 — €0 in Stamp Duty owed, though the €200,000 must still be declared to the Autoridade Tributária.
- Sister's share: not exempt — €200,000 × 10% = €20,000 in Stamp Duty.
Two people inheriting an identical €200,000 from the identical estate end up with completely different tax outcomes purely because of their relationship to the person who died.
FAQ
Q: My uncle left me his flat. Am I exempt as a family member? A: No — the verba 1.2 exemption is limited to spouses/civil partners, descendants and ascendants. An uncle-to-nephew inheritance falls outside that group and is taxed at 10%, subject to any real-estate-specific rules that apply on top.
Q: If I'm exempt, do I have any paperwork obligation at all? A: Yes — declaring the inherited assets to the Autoridade Tributária remains required even where the verba 1.2 exemption means no Stamp Duty is actually payable.
Q: Is Portugal's inheritance regime the same as a wealth tax on the estate before it's divided? A: No — Stamp Duty here is calculated on each beneficiary's own share, not on the estate as a single lump sum before distribution, which is why two heirs of the same estate can face very different bills.
Sources
Figures verified as of 30 July 2026:
- Código do Imposto do Selo, Verba 1.2 (general table) (10% rate on gratuitous transmissions for non-exempt beneficiaries; exemption for spouse/de facto partner, descendants and ascendants)
- Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira — declaration obligations for inherited assets (mandatory declaration regardless of exemption status)
- 2004 abolition of Portugal's dedicated inheritance/gift tax, replaced by the Imposto do Selo framework described above