In general, recipients of donations are subject to Stamp Duty tax.
Regarding cash donations, as stipulated in section g) of no. 5 of article 1 of the Stamp Duty Code (CIS), donations between spouses or common-law partners, descendants, and ascendants up to the amount of 5,000 euros are exempt from stamp duty.
Moreover, regardless of the amount, free transfers to spouses, descendants, and ascendants are exempt from Stamp Duty, as per section e) of article 6 of the CIS.
Donations from third parties (who are not spouses, ascendants, or descendants) are subject to taxation if they exceed 500 euros. Therefore, whenever the monetary gift exceeds 500 euros, the recipient (in this case, the newlyweds) must: complete Stamp Duty Model 1; and submit the declaration within three months of the donation.
If the recipient chooses not to declare, they should be aware that the Tax Authority may detect these amounts, particularly when the donation is made via bank transfer. In such situations, even if there is no tax due, due to one of the exempt circumstances (free transfers to spouses, descendants, and ascendants), there may be a fine ranging from 150 euros to 3,750 euros. According to no. 1 of article 116 of the General Tax Offenses Regime, the lack or delay of declarations that, for tax purposes, must be submitted for the tax administration to specifically determine, assess, or verify the taxable matter, as well as the submission beyond the legal deadline, is punishable by a fine of 150 euros to 3,750 euros.
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Dantas Rodrigues has been a lawyer since 1993 and a partner at Dantas Rodrigues & Associados. He has also been a professor of Law in Higher Polytechnic Teaching since 1995.
