Buying a house in Italy: the notaio does a lot — but three choices determine your bill

Yes, as a Dutch citizen you buy in Italy without restriction. Just as in France, the notaio, the notary, is the heart of the process: he checks, collects the taxes and registers your ownership.

What it costs depends on three choices that you make beforehand:

• 9% registration tax when buying from a private seller, or 10% VAT on new-build.
• That drops to 2% (or 4%) if it becomes your main residence.
• With a private seller you may have the tax calculated on the cadastral value instead of the purchase price (prezzo-valore).

The pitfall is the deadline on that main-residence benefit, the prima-casa benefit. Within eighteen months of the deed your residenza (your registration as a resident) must be in the municipality of the home. Otherwise the whole benefit lapses.

In your first year you don't buy. You rent, you get to know the area, and only then do you decide — why that order is fixed. This article is for the moment you've got that far.

Who handles the purchase, and what do I sign beforehand?

You as the buyer choose the notaio yourself. He does three things:

• Beforehand he checks whether the seller really is the owner and whether there are no mortgages or attachments on the property.
• After the deed (the rogito) he pays the registration, mortgage and cadastral tax when the deed is registered.
• The trascrizione too, the entry of your ownership in the public registers, runs via his office.

So no separate desks. But one thing to arrange beforehand: your codice fiscale, because without an Italian tax number you sign nothing.

Before the rogito there is almost always the preliminary contract: the contratto preliminare (compromesso), usually with a deposit (caparra).

• That preliminary contract must be registered within 30 days. If it runs via the notaio, he does that.
• On the caparra you already pay 0.5% registration tax. It is later set off against the final settlement.

There is no statutory cooling-off period as in France: signed is signed.

What does buying a house in Italy cost in tax, and what is prezzo-valore?

If you buy from a private individual, you pay 9% registration tax (minimum € 1,000) plus twice € 50 fixed. If you buy a new build from a construction company, it's 10% VAT on the purchase price (22% for the luxury categories) plus three times € 200.

What	From a private individual	New build with VAT
ordinary purchase	9% registration tax, minimum € 1,000, plus 2 × € 50	10% VAT (22% for A/1, A/8, A/9), plus 3 × € 200
prima casa	2% registration tax, plus 2 × € 50	4% VAT, plus 3 × € 200
base	purchase price, or on request the cadastral value (prezzo-valore)	purchase price
registering the preliminary contract	within 30 days, 0.50% on the caparra	within 30 days, 0.50% on the caparra
moving your residenza for prima casa	within 18 months of the deed	within 18 months of the deed
selling an earlier prima-casa home	within 1 year of the new purchase	within 1 year of the new purchase
IMU on the main residence	not due, except A/1, A/8 and A/9	idem

And here lies the peculiarity that almost nobody knows. When buying from a private individual you may ask the notaio for the prezzo-valore rule. The tax is then calculated on the cadastral value instead of on the purchase price. That cadastral value often lies well below the market price. In the Agenzia's example a home of € 200,000 is taxed on € 113,400, and the 9% is then € 10,206 instead of € 18,000.

It does have to be requested explicitly in the deed, with the real price stated. Ask your notaio about it; it is your right, not a favour.