What are property purchase taxes in Italy?

This is one of the frequently asked questions in your requests, but there is no quick answer.

The purchase taxes will depend on:

• Who is the seller
• Who is the buyer
• What is for sale (apartment, house with land, land, from the primary market or the secondary market, etc.)

The most common situation which we deal with on our market on second houses on lake Como is:

A private person buys residential real estate as a “second home” (it means that the buyer is not going to become a resident there), 

and then the answer is:

• if you buy a new home from a construction company - 10% VAT is paid
• if you buy property from the secondary market from a private person - the registration tax is paid in the amount of 9% of the cadastral value of the property

Example 1 - a purchase from the primary market

Apartment 80 sq.m. and garage in the new residence

https://bestcomo.com/en/property/apartment-tremezzina-id-9415

Price 275.000 Euro

Purchase Taxes:

• VAT 10% - 27.500 euro
• Stamp Duty tax  (imposta di registro) - 200 euro
• Land Registry tax (imposta ipotecaria) - 200 euro
• Cadastral tax (imposta catastale) - 200 euro

Total purchase taxes: 28.100 euro

Example 2 - a purchase from the secondary market

Apartment in a residence with a swimming pool and a parking place, fully furnished

https://bestcomo.com/en/property/apartment-tremezzina-id-377-0

Price 278.000 Euro

Purchase taxes

• Stamp Duty tax  (imposta di registro) 9% of cadastral value - 5.262 euro
• Land Registry tax (imposta ipotecaria) - 50 euro
• Cadastral tax (imposta catastale) - 50 euro

Total taxes to be paid at the deed= 5.362 euro

Tip for buyers how to understand the total amount needed for the purchase 

• For real estate from the secondary market, add to the price - 8-9% of the price (all transaction costs including agency commission and notary services)
• For real estate from the primary market, add to the price - 15-16% of the price (all transaction costs including agency commission and notary services).

But, we reiterate that this is not the precise definitive calculation, it is a synthetic and approximate method.

After viewing the properties, you select several solutions that you like, and based on your situation (who is the buyer, whether you will become residents or not, whether or not land is included in the property, if you take a mortgage loan or not) – our agency will give you an accurate calculation of the purchase costs, which will help you make the final decision.