The issue at hand is the application of an increase in the rates of the Municipal Property Tax (IMI), as provided for in the law, which will be reflected in the tax for 2023 and whose first payment will take place during the month of May.

In response to Lusa, an official source from the Ministry led by Miranda Sarmento states that, as a whole, those 64 local authorities identified 5,729 vacant properties and another 7,047 vacant properties located in areas of urban pressure.

IMI rates are set annually by local authorities within a range that, in the case of urban buildings (built-up and land for construction), is between 0.3% and 0.45%, but the law provides for increases, which are different, for those two situations.

Thus, for vacant properties in general, the tax rates "are increased, annually, to three times in the case of urban buildings that have been vacant for more than one year (...)".

In practice, this means that the owners of vacant properties located in one of those 64 municipalities will pay a rate of, for example, 0.9% on the property value instead of the 0.3% applied in most cases.

In the case of vacant properties located in areas of urban pressure, the increase in the rate is greater, with the law stating that it "is increased tenfold, increased, in each subsequent year, by a further 20%".

The IMI Code also provides for increased rates for dilapidated houses - covering values similar to those for vacant properties in areas of urban pressure and others - with 4,305 properties having been identified in this situation, according to data from the same official source.

The 64 municipalities that notified the AT of their intention to make use of these special mechanisms provided for in the IMI Code compare with the 24 that took this initiative in relation to vacant properties for the 2021 IMI and paid in 2022 and with the 40 that opted to do so for dilapidated and ruined properties. It should be noted that 2021 is the last year for which official data was provided.

In determining vacant houses, indications of vacancy are taken into account, such as "the absence of contracts in force with telecommunications companies and water, gas and electricity suppliers" or "the absence of billing for water, gas, electricity and telecommunications consumption", but there are exceptions.

Among the exceptions are holiday or temporary rental homes, homes that are undergoing rehabilitation work, provided that they are certified by the municipalities, homes for resale and those of emigrants or Portuguese residents abroad in the exercise of public functions.

The decisions of the local authorities on IMI rates must be communicated to the Tax and Customs Authority by 31 December, by electronic data transmission, to take effect in the following year. In the absence of this information, within that date, the AT will calculate the IMI based on the minimum rate of 0.3%.

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