Real estate capital gains: Two regimes in force in 2024
This year, there are two diplomas in force regarding real estate capital gains, depending on the property sale date. Understand the differences.
Since September 11, two regimes for applying capital gains are in effect.
There are now new rules to benefit from IRS exemption on capital gains from the sale of homes, since September 11th.
The new diploma allows the purchase and sale of permanent and own housing within one year, instead of two. Without retroactive effects, two regimes for the application of the exemption of capital gains will remain in force.
This new regime has already been published in the Official Gazette, by Decree-Law no. 57/2024 and will facilitate the geographical mobility of families.
This means that, depending on the sale date, one of these two regimes may apply:
- Until September 10, 2024: The regime applies in which the minimum period between the sale of the own and permanent housing and the purchase of a new property for the same purpose is 24 months. Only those who have not done it in the previous three years can access the IRS exemption on the respective capital gains from the sale of the house;
- Starting on September 11, 2024: The new tax regime applies in which the period between the sale of the permanent residence and the purchase of a new house for the same purpose is now 12 months. It is possible to use this regime more than once, even if you have already benefited from it.
In other words, the sale date of the house will ultimately determine the applicable legal framework, with an impact on the following year's IRS declaration. This means that those who sell the property by September 10th need to have lived in it for at least two years in order to be exempt from IRS on real estate capital gains, while those who sell the house from September 11th onwards only need to have lived in it for one year to benefit from the exemption.
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