The subsidy of a maximum of 75% of the interest, indexed to Euribor (variable interest), with regard to home loans up to 250 thousand euros, with an effort percentage equal to or greater than 35%, takes into account the net income and not the gross for calculating the suitability of families to measure, Dinheiro knows Vivo.
This means that the ceiling set by the government, until the sixth step of the IRS 2023 (38,632 euros per year or 2,759 euros per month for 14 months), to access the aid, will be applied to the income already after taxes and social contributions. That is, a family is eligible if the net income does not exceed EUR 38 632 per year or EUR 2759 per month, which means that the gross income of that same household can reach EUR 52 852 per year or EUR 3775 per month, according to calculations by the Dinheiro Vivo based on the social tax of 11%, normally paid by the employee, and on the withholding tax of 25.8% to which that income is subject, in the case of a single person without children, according to the IRS tables for this year. Dinheiro Vivo accounts for gross income always consider the example of a single person with no descendants.
The interest subsidy is applied whenever the variable interest rate (Euribor) rises by more than 3% compared to the index on the date of conclusion of the contract. The Prime Minister, António Costa, explained yesterday at the briefing of the Council of Ministers approving this measure that the aid will apply to the “difference”, that is to say to the percentage exceeding the 3% increase in the contracted rate .
The subsidy “will vary depending on income,” explains António Costa. Thus, the annual net income up to the limit determined by the fourth step of the IRS” (up to 20,700 euros or 26,330 euros gross) “will receive 75% support”. 26,330 and 34,156 euros gross) and at the sixth level (between 26,355 and 38,632 euros net or between 34,156 and 52,852 euros gross) can benefit from an interest subsidy of 50%.
The Prime Minister gave some examples of the amounts involved. “In the case of a family up to the third level”, with a net annual income between 11,284 and 15,992 euros, “which has concluded an interest rate of 0.25% and is now at 3.7%, it can benefit from a bonus of 61 euros per month”. For “a sixth-tier family that has taken out the zero rate and is now at 4.5%, the aid will be 88 euros per month,” explains António Costa. The subsidy “will be a maximum of 720 euros per year, that is 60 euros per month,” he revealed, without saying how many households will be able to benefit from the subsidy, because “it will depend on the effort rate” of the borrowers .
“The operation will be carried out by the financial institutions that will calculate the bonus that will be credited to the taxpayer’s account, that is, the process will be automatic,” said Finance Minister Fernando Medina at the briefing of the Council of Ministers. After that, the State reimburses the banks.
The measure is retroactive to January 1, 2023 and covers all loans for the purchase, construction or rehabilitation of owner-occupied and permanent homes taken out until March 15, and not until the end of last year, as planned. Likewise, the amount due to access the grant was extended from 200 thousand to 250 thousand euros. However, the clause excluding support for households with savings remains, ie movable assets, including deposits, financial instruments, capitalization insurance, PPRs or savings or treasury certificates, with a value of more than EUR 29 786. The subsidy “will remain in effect until the end of the year and may be extended if interest rates have not normalized by then,” said António Costa.
Rent allowance for 5 years
As for owner-occupied and permanent housing rentals, the government approved a monthly subsidy of up to 200 euros for tenants with an effort rate equal to or greater than 35% and with taxable income up to the 6th rung of the IRS ( up to EUR 38 632 per year or EUR 2759 per month).
The rule for calculating tenant income is different than that for home loans. Instead of taking into account the net income, the Tax and Customs Administration (AT), which will be the entity responsible for the automatic payment of the aid, will take into account the taxable amount already after the depreciation of one of the two largest amounts: the 4104 euros of the deduction specific IRS or social contributions. In most cases, the specific deduction is deducted because it is a higher amount. So, after adding the 4104 euros that were withdrawn from the income to calculate the taxable amount, the subsidy can reach tenants with a gross income of up to 42 736 euros per year or 3052 euros per month, which corresponds to a taxable amount of EUR 38,632 per year or EUR 2,759 per month.
Tenants with an income to be collected of 2759 euros per month or a maximum of 3052.5 euros gross can be granted rent allowance of up to a maximum of 200 euros per month. The payment is made by the tax authorities.
The aid, which should start paying in May or June, has retroactive effect from 1 January 2023 and is valid for five years, ie until 2028. The amount to be granted depends on the families. income and the amount of income, that is, the degree of effort. “A family, with a couple and two children, who, for example, has a gross monthly income of 2,500 euros and an income of 1,200 euros per month, receives support of 200 euros per month,” the prime minister pointed out. Costa presented another case: “For a single-parent family, which has a gross monthly income of 1500 euros and an income of 700 euros, the aid will be 175 euros”. The Prime Minister estimates that about 150 contracts declared to the AT could benefit from the aid.
When asked if, as with the interest rate subsidy on home loans, the value of savings could make it unfeasible to qualify for aid, Costa rejected it, clarifying that with “equity the borrower can pay off the loan while the tenant is unable to pay the rent.
The prime minister revealed that the cost of measures to support rent and interest on home loans will be around €460 million, which is less than the €900 million initially announced for the Meer Wonen package, as this amount is also “a fixed amount”. is. of other tax benefits that will not be decided until the 30th in the Council of Ministers”.
Salomé Pinto is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
