Which taxes do you pay when you buy a home in Italy?

If you buy from a private seller you pay registration tax: 2 % for a main home (prima casa) and 9 % for other homes, with a minimum of 1,000 euros, plus 50 euros of mortgage tax and 50 euros of cadastral tax. If you buy from a company selling with VAT you pay VAT at 4 % for a main home, 10 % for other homes and 22 % for categories A/1, A/8 and A/9, plus 200 euros each of registration, mortgage and cadastral tax.

Last checked on 26 October 2026

The rates in one table

With proportional registration tax, the deed and the filings in the property registers are exempt from stamp duty, special cadastral charges and mortgage fees. The 1,000-euro minimum can be lower in practice, because the tax already paid on the deposit in the preliminary contract, or the tax credit, is deducted.

A purchase involves other steps too, such as the energy certificate (APE) and the OMI price ranges. What a dossier on an address costs is on the Dossier Immobile pricing page.

When VAT applies instead of registration tax

VAT applies when the company that built or renovated the home sells within five years of the end of the works, or when the company opts for VAT. Otherwise the company’s sale is VAT-exempt and registration tax applies as with a private seller. A seller charging VAT states it on the invoice and in the deed: ask before the offer, because it changes the rate.

The conditions for the main-home relief

• The home is in category A/2, A/3, A/4, A/5, A/6, A/7 or A/11; not A/1, A/8 or A/9. With the home you can buy, at the same rates, one appurtenance in each of the categories C/2, C/6 and C/7.
• The home is in the municipality where you live, or where you move your residence within 18 months of the purchase (you declare it in the deed), or where you work or carry on your activity.
• You do not own another home in the same municipality.
• You do not own another home bought with the main-home relief, or you undertake in the deed to sell it within two years. The term is two years for purchases from 1 January 2025 (L. 207/2024, art. 1(116)); before, it was one year.

You lose the relief, with the full tax, interest and a 30 % penalty, if you do not move your residence within 18 months, if you do not sell the old home in time, for a false declaration, or if you sell or donate the home within five years without buying another one to live in within a year. A preliminary contract does not count as a new purchase.

The prezzo-valore: tax on the cadastral value

If you buy from a private seller as an individual, not as a business or professional, you can ask the notary in the deed to calculate registration tax on the cadastral value instead of the price: the cadastral rent × 1.05 × 110 for a main home, × 120 for other homes, even if the stated price is higher (art. 1(497) L. 266/2005). In that case the notary’s fees are reduced by 30 % (para. 498).

An example with the statutory formula: with a cadastral rent of 500 euros, the cadastral value of a main home is 500 × 1.05 × 110 = 57,750 euros, and registration tax at 2 % would be 1,155 euros. The rent is in the cadastral visura, which you can request free of charge from the Agenzia delle Entrate with SPID, CIE or CNS.

The tax credit when you buy again

If you sell the home bought with the main-home relief and buy another main home within a year, the tax paid on the first purchase becomes a credit. It also applies if you buy the new home before selling the old one. The credit cannot exceed the tax due on the new purchase and gives no right to a refund.

You can use it to reduce the registration tax on the new deed (you ask for it in the deed), to pay registration, mortgage, cadastral, inheritance and gift taxes on other deeds, against your income tax (IRPEF) or by offsetting it with the F24 form.

Notary and estate agent

Since 2012 there is no statutory tariff for notaries: the fee is agreed and the notary must give you a written quote listing the costs (art. 9 D.L. 1/2012). The notary pays the taxes on the buyer’s behalf. The estate agent’s commission is owed by each party as agreed (art. 1755 of the Civil Code): ask for it in writing before the offer.

From 2027 the references change

From 1 January 2027 the consolidated text on registration tax (D.Lgs. 123/2025) replaces D.P.R. 131/1986: the article numbers change. If the deed is in 2027, read the rates again on the Agenzia delle Entrate’s page.

What you find in the dossier

The Purchase taxes and costs section puts every regime side by side, because which one applies depends on the seller, the home and your circumstances. Below it is an indicative calculation: you enter the price or the cadastral rent and your browser applies the rates, without sending us the figures. The notary calculates the exact amount.

See the taxes in the sample dossier

Work out your taxes with the free calculator

IMU after the purchase

Sources

• Agenzia delle Entrate: buying a home, the taxes
• Agenzia delle Entrate: buying with the main-home relief
• D.P.R. 131/1986 (registration tax)
• L. 266/2005, art. 1(497) and (498) (prezzo-valore)
• D.L. 1/2012, art. 9 (professional’s quote)

Dossier Immobile is a private service by SRI Group BV (VAT BE1037052239), not connected to any public authority: it brings together public data, with the source and date of every item.

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Updated on 26 October 2026