VAT can change the final price of a roof job a lot. There is a reduced rate of 6% that applies to the labour of repair and maintenance work on homes, but it has conditions that many people do not know about: a limit for materials, a mandatory sentence on the invoice, and exclusions that catch roofs in several cases. This guide explains the rule using the text of the law, what changed in 2026, and what does not apply to your roof.
Updated on 2 November 2026. General information, not tax advice. If in doubt, ask the Autoridade Tributária (AT, the tax authority) or a certified accountant.
The essentials
- Labour for repair, maintenance, renovation or improvement of a home: VAT at 6% (verba 2.27, item 2.27 of List I annexed to the Código do IVA, the VAT Code).
- Materials: they only get 6% if their value does not exceed 20% of the total value of the service. Above that, the materials get the standard rate of 23%.
- Materials only, with no service: 23%. Buying materials without hiring the service does not get the reduced rate.
- Cleaning (for example, cleaning moss off the roof) is excluded from the 6% rate.
- New build, extension, raising the building and reconstruction are outside this item.
- The invoice must state certain things. Without them, the contractor may have to charge 23%.
- Solar panels: the reduced rate ended on 30 June 2025. They now get the standard rate.
The rule: verba 2.27
Verba 2.27 of List I annexed to the Código do IVA applies the reduced rate to “contracts for the improvement, remodelling, renovation, restoration, repair or maintenance of buildings or separate units of them used as housing”. Cleaning work, maintenance of green spaces, and contracts for swimming pools, saunas, tennis courts, golf and similar facilities are excluded.
In simple words: if you hire a company to repair or renovate the roof of a house where people live, the labour is charged at 6%.
Which homes count
The property must be in use as housing at the start of the work and keep being so afterwards. According to the summary by the Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados (the certified accountants’ association, 13 March 2026), the rate applies to work on housing, whether or not it is your own and whether or not it is permanent. A second home also counts, as long as it is housing.
Materials: the 20% rule
The reduced rate does not cover the materials incorporated, unless their value does not exceed 20% of the total value of the service. In practice:
- If the tiles, battens and mortar are a small part of the invoice (up to 20%), the whole invoice is charged at 6%.
- If the materials weigh more than that, the labour stays at 6%, but the materials get 23%.
Example of the calculation, with round numbers that have no relation to real prices: labour 100, materials 15. The materials are 15% of the service, below the limit, and everything is charged at 6%: 6 of VAT. If the materials were 40, they would pass the limit: the labour pays 6% (6) and the materials pay 23% (9.20), a total of 15.20.
The AT has its own position on how this percentage is calculated. If the value of the materials is close to the limit, ask the contractor to explain the basis of the calculation.
What must appear on the invoice
According to the AICCOPN summary (25 May 2026), which reproduces the AT’s requirements, the invoice must meet all of the following at the same time:
- State expressly that it is a contract for the maintenance (or improvement, remodelling, renovation, restoration, repair) of a residential property.
- Separate the labour from the materials. The labour always gets the reduced rate. The materials depend on their weight in the invoice.
- Have the elements required by article 36 of the Código do IVA, the wording “Taxa reduzida ao abrigo da verba 2.27 da Lista I anexa ao CIVA” (reduced rate under item 2.27 of List I annexed to the VAT Code), the identification of the owner of the work and of the property or unit where the service was done.
Ask for this in the quote, before you accept. A quote and an invoice saying “repair work” with no breakdown of labour and materials are the most common reason for paying 23% unnecessarily.
What is not covered
According to the same summary, construction work and similar are excluded, namely additions, raising the building and reconstruction of properties. The supply of goods such as lifts, heating or cooling equipment, kitchens, fireplaces and other household equipment is also left out.
For a roof this means:
| The work | Rate |
|---|---|
| Repairing tiles, battens, gutters, flashings | 6% on the labour |
| Replacing the covering of an occupied home (renovation) | 6% on the labour, to be confirmed with the contractor |
| Cleaning moss or washing the roof | 23% (cleaning excluded) |
| Raising the roof, building a new floor | New build, extension: outside the item |
| Buying tiles or panels and fitting them yourself | 23% (materials only) |
| Solar panels and energy equipment | 23% since 1 July 2025 |
Rehabilitation in an urban rehabilitation area (verba 2.23)
Verba 2.23 applies the reduced rate to contracts for the rehabilitation of buildings in urban rehabilitation areas (ARU, áreas de reabilitação urbana) or under operations of recognised public interest. Since Lei n.º 56/2023 (7 October 2023), an approved urban rehabilitation operation (ORU, operação de reabilitação urbana) is no longer required, apart from a transitional regime for earlier applications. But it is more demanding than 2.27:
- the general contract (empreitada geral) must cover the whole of the work, and work contracted separately, materials bought directly and design fees get 23%;
- the work must be licensed or have prior information (informação prévia) approved by the câmara municipal (town council).
If your building is in an ARU, ask the câmara and the contractor which of the two items is more advantageous.
What changed in 2026 and does not apply to your roof
Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026, of 20 May, created verba 2.42, with a 6% rate for contracts for the construction or rehabilitation of properties intended for sale as a permanent main home at a moderate price, or for rent at a moderate rent. It takes effect from the 3rd quarter of 2026 (1 July 2026 in the AICCOPN version) and has deadlines and requirements for developers. It is not for someone repairing their own roof: it is for those who build or rehabilitate to sell or rent at a moderate price.
The same package provides for a VAT refund to individuals, but only for those who build their own home under the conditions of the law (property value within the moderate price, request to the AT within 12 months after the occupancy licence). It is not for repair work.
In a condominium
The AICCOPN summary refers to the AT’s Informação Vinculativa n.º 3327 (binding information) on condominiums. We did not read its content. If the roof belongs to the building, ask the administrator to confirm the position with the AT before approving the quote.
After a storm
The Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados summary on the 2026 calamities (13 March) lists verba 2.27 as in force for repair work. State support is paid per eligible expense including VAT, so with an invoice at 6% more money is left within the limit. See the guide on storm Kristin support.
Checklist for the quote
- Write down what it is: “repair and maintenance of the roof of a home”.
- Ask for a quote with labour and materials separate.
- Ask: “what percentage of the total are the materials?”.
- Ask for the invoice to carry the sentence from verba 2.27, the identification of the property and your NIF (tax number).
- If you are thinking of cleaning the moss, note that this part pays 23%.
- If you have an energy panel in the plan, the equipment pays 23%.
What we could not confirm
- The exact way to calculate the 20%. We followed the wording of the item, not the AT’s doctrine.
- Whether the full replacement of a fibre cement covering is “renovation” (6%) or “reconstruction” (outside). In principle it is renovation, but confirm with the contractor and, if you need certainty, with the AT (binding information).
- VAT in the autonomous regions, which have their own rates.
- Changes in the State Budget for 2027. Nothing we have read announces changes to these items.
Sources (read on 2 November 2026)
- AICCOPN, IVA à taxa reduzida (6%) na construção, updated on 25 May 2026 (items 2.23, 2.27, 2.37, 2.42; reproduces the wording of List I and the AT’s requirements).
- Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados, Calamidades 2026, ponto de situação, 13 March 2026 (verba 2.27 in force; scope).
- MLGTS, Pacote Fiscal da Habitação 2026, 2026 (Decreto-Lei n.º 97/2026, of 20 May; verba 2.42).
- Código do IVA, List I, items 2.23 and 2.27, and Lei n.º 56/2023, of 6 October: text cited through the documents above, not read directly in the Diário da República (the official gazette).