Are you about to purchase the home of your dreams? Read our cost guide.

You’ve finally found the home of your dreams and it’s time to purchase it: for you, a brief guide on the various expenses to take into account.

In addition to the specific cost of the property, when purchasing a property in Italy it is necessary to take into consideration the additional costs that contribute to the formation of the total final cost. With this guide, you will be able to proceed with the purchase with greater awareness and preparation.

The costs of purchasing a property include:

– The notary fee, which varies according to the value of the sale.
For example, for a second independent home we can consider, broadly speaking, a value between 3,000 and 7,000 euros (excluding luxury properties).

– Taxes relating to the purchase: variable according to the nature of the seller (private individual, company that carries out the sale of properties and construction or restructuring company) and according to the type of purchase (First Home which allows tax breaks, Second Home when the buyer does not habitually reside there, Office or industrial use).

– Real estate agency consultancy fees: a percentage that is agreed with the consultant in recognition of the services provided.

TAXES RELATING TO THE PURCHASE OF A PROPERTY IN ITALY

If you purchase from a private individual or a company with a VAT-exempt sale, payment is expected:

• registration tax: equal to 9% (which drops to 2% in the case of a first home) of the cadastral value of the property
• of the cadastral tax: equal to 50 euros
• of the mortgage tax: equal to 50 euros

The cadastral value is obtained by multiplying the cadastral income by the fixed coefficient of 115.5 (which becomes 126 in the case of a second home).

If you buy from a company with a sale subject to VAT, the taxes (registration, cadastral and mortgage) are set at 200 euros. In addition, there is also the payment of a VAT rate, which varies depending on the case:

• 4% of the total value of the property, (for the first home)
• 10% of the total value of the property (for second homes)
• 22% of the total value of the property, (for a property that falls into the luxury category. For more information, we recommend reading this article).

In any case, if the property you intend to purchase also includes agricultural land, this will be subject to a taxation of 15% of the declared value.

FIRST HOME PURCHASE FACILITIES

If you intend to purchase a house and then use it as your primary residence, you can benefit from discounts subject to compliance with important requirements and the release of specific declarations in the notarial deed. These discounts apply when:

• The property being purchased belongs to certain cadastral categories:
  A/2 (civil type houses); A/3 (economic housing); A/4 (popular housing); A/5 (ultra-popular housing); A/6 (rural type dwellings); A/7 (houses in small villas); A/11 (dwellings and lodgings typical of the area).

The first homes concessions are not allowed, however, for the purchase of a house belonging to the cadastral categories A/1 (stately type houses), A/8 (houses in villas) and A/9 (castles and palaces of eminent artistic and historical merits).

• the property is located in the Municipality where the purchaser has (or intends to establish) residency or work
• The buyer complies with certain requirements: not being the owner of another property in the same municipality and not being the owner throughout the national territory of property, use, usufruct, habitation or bare ownership rights, on another property purchased, even by the spouse, taking advantage of the concessions for the purchase of the first home.

From 1 January 2016, the tax benefits have also been recognized to the buyer who already owns a property purchased with the benefits, provided that the house already owned is sold within a year of the new purchase.

POST PURCHASE TAXES

The taxes on the property to be paid following the purchase also deserve mentioning:

• Real estate sales taxes or property transfer taxes (registrations, mortgages, VAT and Land Registry)
• Taxes on the possession of property by individuals and companies
• Imu, (single municipal tax with the exclusion of main non-luxury homes), the Tari, (tax on waste, paid by taxpayers who actually use the property for any reason, both paid and free), up to the dry coupon on leases which, since 2011, has replaced the Irpef on rental income, the registration tax and the stamp duty.