Selling a home in Italy

Before the listing: get the paperwork straight

You sell what the documents say you own. If the home as built does not match the home as registered, the sale stalls at the deed — or worse, completes and is then challenged.

• Deed of provenance. The deed you bought with, or the succession declaration if you inherited.
• Land registry extract and floor plan. The plan must match reality: a moved wall, an enclosed balcony, an extra bathroom never declared must be regularised first.
• Building title. Planning permission or licence, with any amnesty filings. This is the most delicate point: if its details cannot be stated in the deed, the sale is void, not merely voidable.
• APE, the energy performance certificate. The seller commissions it, it must be quoted in the listing itself and attached to the deed in original. Without it the deed stands, but an administrative penalty starting in the thousands of euro applies.
• Installation certificates, where they exist.
• Declaration from the building manager confirming service charges are paid and flagging approved works. Buyers almost always ask, because they are liable for arrears too.
• Mortgage paperwork, if there is still a charge to discharge.

The steps, from the seller's side

1. The offer. It arrives in writing, usually on the agency's form, and is irrevocable for a period. The moment you accept it and communicate that, the contract is concluded: this is not an open negotiation, it is a binding commitment. Read all of it before signing the acceptance.

2. The preliminary contract (compromesso). It fixes price, timing and the condition of the property, and normally includes a caparra confirmatoria: if you are the one who walks away, you repay it twice over. It must be registered within 30 days.

3. The deed (rogito). Before the notary chosen by the buyer. You hand over the documents, receive the balance by banker's draft or traceable transfer, and sign. From that moment the home is no longer yours.

The commission is owed even if the deal later collapses

On most agency forms the commission falls due when the offer is accepted, not at the deed. If the deal fails afterwards for a reason not attributable to the agency, the commission is still owed.

It is paid by both seller and buyer, typically between 2% and 4% plus VAT each, and it is negotiable: discuss it when you sign the mandate, not afterwards.

Capital gains: when the state takes a slice

If you sell for more than you paid, the difference is a plusvalenza. It is taxed only in certain cases.

Tax is due when you sell within five years of buying. The rate is 26% as a substitute tax, which you can ask the notary to apply directly in the deed; alternatively the gain goes into your tax return and is taxed at ordinary income rates.

No tax is due, even inside the five years, if:

• the property was your main residence for most of the period you owned it;
• you received it by inheritance.

The calculation is: sale price less purchase cost, less documented improvement costs — renovations, not routine maintenance. Keep the invoices: they are what reduces the taxable base.

If you used the Superbonus

A stricter rule, introduced by the 2024 budget law for deeds from 1 January 2024: on properties covered by the Superbonus the gain is taxable for ten years from the end of the works, still at 26%. The exclusions for a main residence and for inherited property still apply.

How much of the subsidised cost can be deducted varies with how long ago the works finished, and on that point the sources do not agree. It is exactly the case for asking the notary or an accountant before setting the price, not after.

The first-home trap

If you bought with the first-home relief and sell within five years of the purchase, the relief falls away: you repay the difference in tax, plus a penalty and interest.

There is one way to avoid it: buy another property to live in as your main residence within one year of the sale. It is a tight deadline, and it has to be planned before the listing goes up, not after the money arrives.

If you no longer live in Italy

You can sell without being resident. You still need a codice fiscale and, in practice, an account to receive the balance; if you cannot attend the deed, you need a notarial power of attorney, drawn up abroad either at the Italian consulate or before a local notary with an apostille and a sworn translation.

Where any gain is taxed also depends on the double taxation treaty between Italy and your country of residence: for real estate the general rule is that it is taxed where the property is, but your country of residence may still want to take it into account. Have it checked in advance.

Common mistakes

• Listing without an APE. It is required in the listing itself, not at the deed.
• Accepting the offer thinking it is still negotiable. Acceptance closes the contract.
• Discovering a registry discrepancy during completion. You check it at the start, with a technician.
• Selling your first home in year four without planning the repurchase. It is the commonest way to lose the relief.
• Throwing away renovation invoices. They are the only thing that reduces the taxable gain.