What's the property tax like?
that's the $6.9m question. taxation is ultra complex and confusing in italy, including property taxes. there are two types of property taxes:
rendita catastale and
valore catastale.
both taxes apply when you buy a property (one-time purchase) and pay the annual council tax (yearly). rendita catastale is calculated based on property size, materials, year it's built, and improvements you put in to remodel or upgrade the property. it then becums a fixed amount. you use the calculated rendita catastale to determine the valore catastale amount (for purchase tax). if you plan to use the property as primary residence and show proof that you apply for residency within 18 months of purchase, your
imposta di registro or registration tax is 2%. otherwise, it is 9%. there are also
imposte ipotecarie and
catastali (mortgage tax and stamp duty respectively). 50 euros each. for this case, the property sits on agricultural land. tax for agricultural land is 12% of the declared value of the land (not house or building). however, if the land surrounds the house or building, you may pay the property tax based on the tax value of the land, i.e. 12% of declared land value, house or building included. yearly, you pay the annual council tax or
imposta municipale unica (imu) twice - in june and december. this tax is calculated using the rendita catastale value. in some towns, residents are exempted from paying this tax if property is the primary or main residence. the township or "comune" can decide to change this tax rate, especially for non-residents, year to year within limits set by the national government. every year, the
comune or local gov will put up posters at town center or comune office to inform you of the annual tax rate, which can range from 0.4% to 0.76% depending on municipale or comune. in certain regions, it can reach 1.06%. the average rate is tah dah.... 0.69%! you can also make an appointment with the local tax collector office to calculate the annual tax you have to pay using the new tax rate and the rendita catastale value of your property. after all is said and done, you have to contend with
tari and
tasi. the former is garbage collection tax - calculated based on size of your property and number of residents. it's calculated by each comune, thus it varies depending on where your property is. the latter is a new tax introduced in 2014 to cover common services for each comune. it varies by comune. some comune exempt property owners from paying this tax if they convert their properties to primary residences. this is to encourage owners to convert 2nd or vacation homes to primary residences and stay put within the comune.