Real Estate

Articles and Information about Real Estate

NetFinancial | Institutions | Loans
Colleges and Universities | Search Engines

Buying Property in Portugal


Portugal has long been a popular choice for people, particularly from the colder climates of Northern Europe, looking to purchase a holiday home or a retirement home. Traditionally they have done so using offshore companies, mainly to avoid estate taxes. Unfortunately Portugal, along with some other countries, has made this route considerably less attractive by the imposition of swingeing tax penalties on offshore companies. The magnitude of these penalties can be seen from the examples below,

Real Estate Transfer Tax

This tax is paid by the purchaser, at progressive rates of up to 6% (5% for rural property) on property used exclusively for residential purposes, on the higher of the registered value or the purchase price agreed between the parties. This is usually the purchase price.

For offshore companies this rate has been increased to 15%.

Municipal Property Tax

This is a tax, at a rate set annually, levied by the local authority and based on the registered value. The rates are different for urban and rural properties and the total is typically about 1.6%.

For offshore companies the rate has been increased to 5%

Tax on a Deemed Rental Income

Where a property is owned by an offshore company, it is treated as having produced a rental income, which is charged to income tax, of one-fifteenth of the registered value.

There are other taxes, which have to be taken into account and these are,

Income tax

Where a property is rented out, the rent is charged to income tax and on a sale 50% of the chargeable capital gain is subject to Portuguese income tax.

Stamp duty

There is a stamp duty of 0.8% on the transfer of real estate.

Donations tax

Gifts to a spouse, antecedent or descendant are tax- free but other donations attract a tax of 10%

A Solution

Fortunately there are territories, which are not on the Portuguese black list and by purchasing a property in Portugal through a properly structured corporate vehicle incorporated in one of these locations, it is possible to avoid the penalties on offshore companies. These arrangements may bring with them other benefits such as,

? The ability to sell the property in the future without the buyer having to pay Real Estate Transfer tax,

? Avoidance of Portuguese capital gains tax on re-sale,

? Avoidance of donations tax or inheritance tax

? Avoidance of the deemed benefit provisions in U.K. law.

As taxes and the manner in which they are applied change frequently specialist advice should always be taken before entering into any arrangements

The Chesterfield Group provides a full range of trustee, and corporate advisory, formation and management services and invites enquiries. More particulars can be found on our web-site http://www.chesterfield-management.comREF=CH2EZ


MORE RESOURCES:

Real Estate Matters
Baltimore Sun, United States - 13 hours ago
By Ilyce Glink Despite the housing recession, there are still more than 1.5 million real estate agents in the United States. Competition is one thing good ...


Radio roots run deep: Palec mixes music with real estate
Bizjournals.com, NC - 8 hours ago
He's been one of metropolitan Milwaukee's most prominent commercial real estate brokers in recent years, handling some of the area's biggest deals including ...


New York Times

Lax Real Estate Decisions Hurt Starbucks
New York Times, United States - 19 hours ago
The company has long been known in the world of commercial real estate for its expertise at selecting prime locations and its fearlessness in establishing ...
Another major flaw in Starbucks (SBUX) management BloggingStocks
all 10 news articles


Gazprom's real estate subsidiary to invest one bln euros in Morocco
Forbes, NY - 7 hours ago
TANGIER (Thomson Financial) - The real estate subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom is to invest nearly one billion euros in northern Morocco, ...


Santa Clara County real estate, business equipment value tops $300B
Bizjournals.com, NC - Jul 3, 2008
The taxable value of real estate and business equipment in Santa Clara County rose above $300 billion for the first time ever this year, according to ...
Assessed values up 7% in county as commercial property booms San Jose Mercury News
all 6 news articles



Real Estate Q&A - Paying Off Your Mortgage
RisMedia.com (press release), CT - 6 hours ago
Mortgage financing and the clearing of title for residential real estate has become much more complicated as a result of the packaging and selling of ...
‘Power Teams’ Excerpt: Teaming up with Your Broker for Mutual Benefit RisMedia.com (press release)
all 2 news articles


RTT News

UPDATE 2-Sweden sells real estate firm Vasakronan
Reuters - 10 hours ago
By Johan Sennero and Simon Johnson STOCKHOLM, July 3 (Reuters) - Sweden said on Thursday it had sold real estate firm Vasakronan [VASA. ...
Sweden dumps state-owned real estate co. for $6.9B Forbes
Swedish Government Sells Vasakronan for $6.9 Billion (Update2) Bloomberg
UPDATE 1-Sweden sells real estate firm Vasakronan Reuters
Reuters
all 28 news articles


Sydney Morning Herald

Real-estate 'conspiracy' targets refugees
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 13 hours ago
That would appear to be at the high end of the appraised value," a Mount Druitt real estate agent, Ben Price, said of Ms Manyang's Doonside property. ...


REAL ESTATE NEWS
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com, OH - 15 hours ago
Cleveland.com's new real estate news page brings together housing-related stories from The Plain Dealer, Sun newspapers and a host of other local sources. ...

Real-Estate - Google News

Currency Trading | Investing | Leadership | Negoatiation | Real Estate | Stocks and Mutual Funds | Taxes
home | NetFinancial | Institutions | Loans | Colleges and Universities | site map
Search Engines | EZmatic | 0pops | GetSonic | TrafficFish | Health
© 2006