Important Tax Information

Like most things in Italy, the taxation system is complicated. We have tried to keep it as simple as possible here but do remember this information is provided as a guide only. Changes can occur rapidly.

Taxes when Buying The tax levied on the purchase of a property is 10%. On agricultural land it is 18%. If you purchase a house as your prime residence (prima casa ) the 10% can be reduced to 3% ( 4% if you are buying from a building company). If you take the prima casa discount you MUST obtain your residency within eighteen months of the date of the completion of your purchase (in reality this means starting the process within about one year due to the time required in some provinces). If you fail to get your residency in time you will be made to pay the 7% or 6% saving you had plus interest and a fine. Being resident means that you should spend at least 183 days per year in Italy and pay tax on your global income. IVA (VAT) in Italy is currently 20%. However you pay only 10% for materials to restore your house here. This is due to be reviewed.

After the Purchase Owners of a house in Italy can expect the following taxes:

ICI - Imposta Comunale sugli Immobili This is similar to council tax on property. Owners of a house have to fill in a form called "Dichiarazione ICI per l'anno ...." at their local Tax Office before the 31st of July of the year after they bought their house in Italy. If you cannot go and get the form yourself you can also send it by registered mail, but not by email, or ask your accountant. You will not receive it automatically. The rate differs according to the Municipality, from 5,5 per thousand to 7,5 per thousand of the rateable value (valore catastale) of your house. If the house is your prime residence (prima casa) there is a reduction on the ICI but not if the house is classified as luxury. ICI Tax can be paid annually in December (before the 20th) or in two instalments, one before June 30th and the other before December 20th. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE YOUR TAX FORMS AT HOME, YOU HAVE TO OBTAIN THEM YOURSELF!

IRPEF – Income Tax If you own a house and/or land in Italy you have to declare its value to the Italian fiscal authorities. The value is given in the visura catastale: Reddito catastale is for the house, Reddito Dominicale and Reddito Agrario are for the land. You have to enter these values in your tax declaration form (modello unico). You need to do this even if you don’t have your fiscal domicile in Italy and if you’re not a resident here. Even if the values are so low that you don’t have to pay any taxes you stiil have to declare it. If you let out your house in Italy you also have to declare the income in the modello unico. At the tax offices you can ask for free help (in Italian) with filling in your tax forms but we recommend that you engage a commercialista ( accountant) to do this for you. They don’t charge a lot for this service and in our opinion it is money well spent. Deadlines for tax declarations are: before the 31st of July of the following year if you fill in the paper form, before the 31st of October of the following year if you send in your declaration on-line. Deadlines to pay your taxes: down-payments for the current year: June 20 and November 20. The remainder for the preceding year: June 20. The tax forms can be purchased as of the end of May in office supply shops like Buffetti, or can be found (if available!) at the local town hall or tax office. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE YOUR TAX FORMS AT HOME, YOU HAVE TO OBTAIN THEM YOURSELF!

WASTE TAX (Tassa per lo Smaltimento dei Rifiuti Solidi Urbani) This tax is calculated by the Municipality on the basis of the surface area of your house. You have to register at the Municipalità and they will send you the form to enable you to pay. You can pay once a year (before the end of April) or spread it over four payments (see the deadlines - ‘scadenze’ - on each payslip). This tax cannot be paid directly by your bank; you have to pay it in cash at the post office.

Our recommendation to ALL owners is to engage the services of a Commercialista as soon as you have completed your purchase.