There are 84 municipalities that will have a lower IMI in 2021
In an election year, the number of municipalities that decided to reduce rates doubles in relation to the previous year. Collection refers to properties held to date.
In 2021, property owners will pay less IMI (municipal property tax) in 84 municipalities in the country. According to the legislation that governs this tax, which reverts to the municipal coffers, each municipality has the autonomy to choose which rates to apply, within certain limits. In the case of a home for own housing, the rate can vary between 0.3% (minimum rate) and 0.5% (maximum rate).
The IMI rates in force for 2020 can be consulted on the finance portal page.
More than 80 municipalities have decided to lower IMI rates. Unlike 2020, there was no municipality that decided to raise the tax rate, at least for the 298 municipalities where data are available (in all, there are 308 municipalities). In 2020, Castro Marim, in the district of Faro, decided to raise the rate from 0.35% to 0.40%, a value that remains in 2021.
The IMI rate to be applied in each municipality is decided by the respective municipal executives, since it is the own revenue of the municipalities. The tax is levied on urban and rural buildings, applying a rate between 0.30% and 0.45% in the first cases and a rate of 0.80% in the second. In some special cases, the maximum rate to be applied can reach 0.50%, for municipalities that are under a municipal adjustment program, as is the case with Vila Real de Santo António, in the district of Faro.
The rate to be applied can still be defined from parish to parish, as in Gondomar, which has an average tax of 0.395%, but two IMI rates for two sets of parishes. Until December 31 of each year, all municipal councils must notify the Tax and Customs Authority of the rate they will apply within the aforementioned range. From the survey carried out by Dinheiro Vivo, any discrepancies with the data are noted, which may result from errors in loading or other situations.
The number of municipalities that opted for the maximum rate is lower
As has been happening in recent years, in which the number of municipalities applying the maximum rate has been decreasing, in 2021 the same thing will happen again. From the survey carried out - which covers 96% of the municipalities -, only eight will apply the maximum value of 0.45%. This lot includes the municipalities of Alandroal, Caminha, Cartaxo, Mafra, Nazaré, Nordeste, Vila Franca do Campo and Vila Nova de Poiares. In the case of Vila Real de Santo António, as already mentioned, this is a special situation. In most cases, the justification mentioned is related to the treasury difficulties of the municipalities.
Compared to last year, for the same universe of municipalities, there are five less municipalities practicing the maximum rate allowed by law. In this group are the municipalities of Resende, Santa Comba Dão, Fornos de Algodres, Portimão and Setúbal. Most opted for discounts between 0.05 percentage points and 0.01 points.
In the share of chambers with the minimum allowed rate of 0.30%, there are more and more municipalities. For 2021, the IMI payable by owners - and in most cases voters - is the lowest admitted in 170 municipalities. Considering the universe for which data already exist, and comparing with 2020, there are at least ten more with a lower rate.
support for families
In addition to being able to reduce the IMI rate, the chambers can also provide extra support to families with larger households. This is a "fixed deduction per household" - the family IMI - which allows a discount between 20 euros and 70 euros to be applied, depending on the number of children.
For families with one dependent, the fixed deduction is 20 euros, two dependents is 40 euros and three or more children is 70 euros. For families to be able to access this discount on the IMI invoice, dependent children must be under 25 years of age and have no income. To calculate the rebate from the tax payable (by multiplying the municipality's IMI rate by the property's asset value), it is necessary to subtract the discount attributed by the municipality to the household.
In 2020, 235 municipalities decided to give the discount to families. For 2021 it is not yet possible to have everything but the universe must grow. For example, Espinho joined the list of those who have family IMI.
Municipalities can only give discounts from a certain number of children, as is the case of Entroncamento where the fixed deduction is only for households with three or more children, that is, 70 euros.