Estate agent
Commission as a percentage of the price, plus IVA, due when the deal is concluded. Part of it is deductible when you buy your first home.
Property · Buying and selling
How much it costs to buy a home in Italy
The price is the part everyone looks at. The rest (taxes, notary, estate agent, valuation) comes afterwards, all at once, and adds up to a sum you need to know before you sign the preliminary contract, not after.
01 · The main item
Taxes on buying a home
The first question is not how much the home costs, but who is selling it. If the seller is a private individual, registration tax applies; if the seller is a building company selling within certain time limits, IVA (Italian VAT) applies. They are two completely different regimes.
| Private seller | Building company | |
|---|---|---|
| Main tax | Registration tax, proportional | IVA, at a reduced rate for a first home |
| Taxable base | Cadastral value, using the prezzo-valore rule | The actual price |
| Mortgage and cadastral taxes | Fixed amount | Fixed amount |
| First home | Reduced registration tax rate | Reduced IVA rate |
| Second home | Ordinary registration tax rate | Ordinary IVA rate |
| IVA deduction | Not applicable | A deduction is available for purchases from a company, under conditions |
The prezzo-valore (price-value rule) is the mechanism that, when you buy a residential property from a private seller, lets registration tax be calculated on the cadastral value instead of the price. It must be requested expressly in the deed and also reduces the notary's fee. It is almost always worthwhile, and it is worth reminding the notary.
02 · The tax benefits
If you meet the first-home requirements
This is the item that moves the final figure the most. The requirements are precise and must be declared in the deed: first-home tax benefits have a page of their own.
- The property must not fall within the luxury cadastral categories.
- You must have, or move, your residence to the municipality within the set deadline.
- You must not own another home in the same municipality.
- You must not own, anywhere in Italy, another home bought with the same benefits, unless you sell it within the set deadline.
- Appurtenances (garage, cellar, parking space) receive the benefit within the limits set for each category.
- A false declaration leads to loss of the benefit, with recovery of the tax difference, a penalty and interest.
03 · The deed
What the notary costs
The notary's bill shows a single total, but it contains different things, and it is worth understanding which.
The fee
The professional fee, which is freely set and varies between practices. Always ask for a quote, and compare like with like.
Taxes paid on your behalf
The notary pays registration, mortgage, cadastral and stamp taxes for you: they are the largest part of the bill and are not the notary's fee.
Searches and checks
Land registry and mortgage searches, floor plans, planning checks: this is the work that protects you from buying a property with problems.
The mortgage deed
If there is a mortgage, it is a separate deed with its own fee, often at terms agreed with the bank.
What to ask for in the quote
So that two quotes can be compared.
- A split between the fee and the taxes paid on your behalf
- Whether the prezzo-valore rule is applied
- Whether the mortgage deed is included or separate
- Whether searches and preliminary checks are included
04 · Everything around it
All the other costs of buying a home
Each of these is modest on its own, but added together they weigh as much as one of the big items.
Mortgage valuation and arrangement fee
Bank charges for valuing the property and opening the file. They are deductible as ancillary mortgage costs.
Substitute tax on the mortgage
A percentage of the amount lent, withheld by the bank. Deductible among the ancillary costs.
Fire and explosion insurance
Required by the bank for the whole term of the mortgage. It is not among the deductible ancillary costs.
APE
The attestato di prestazione energetica (energy performance certificate) is the seller's responsibility, but check that it exists and is valid.
Moving and connections
Transferring utility contracts, any security deposits, moving costs: small, but due straight away.
05 · Before the deed
The preliminary contract and the deposit
This is the moment when you are truly bound, and it is when the most expensive mistakes are made.
- The preliminary contract (known as compromesso) must be registered within the set deadline, with a fixed registration tax plus a proportional amount on the deposit and any advance payments.
- What you pay when registering the preliminary contract is credited against the tax due on the final deed (the rogito).
- The caparra confirmatoria (confirmatory deposit) has a precise function: if the buyer withdraws, they lose it; if the seller withdraws, they pay it back twice over.
- Transcribing the preliminary contract in the property registers makes it enforceable against third parties: it protects you from later mortgages or sales.
- Check planning and cadastral compliance before the preliminary contract, not after.
- If the purchase depends on a mortgage, include a condition precedent linked to the loan being granted.
The condition precedent on getting the mortgage is the most important clause and the one most often forgotten. Without it, anyone who signs a preliminary contract and then fails to get the loan loses the deposit, even though they are in no way at fault.
06 · What follows
What changes after the purchase
The deed does not close anything: it opens a series of positions that need to be managed.
- IMU (municipal property tax): due if the home is not your main residence, counted by months from the purchase. See IMU in Turin.
- TARI (waste tax): you must file a notice of occupancy with the municipality.
- Transferring utilities: electricity, gas, water, with the meters read on the day of the deed.
- Tax return: the property enters the buildings section from the year of purchase.
- Deduction of mortgage interest, if the requirements are met. See mortgage interest.
- Residence: if you claimed the first-home benefit, the move must be completed within the deadline, and the benefit is lost automatically if it is not.
Moving your residence within the deadline is the condition whose breach causes the most losses of the benefit. Intending to move is not enough: the registry procedure must be completed, and municipalities are not always quick.
Frequently asked
The questions that keep coming up
How much should I set aside on top of the price?
It depends on three variables: whether you meet the first-home requirements, whether you buy from a private seller or a company, and whether there is a mortgage. The difference between the combinations is wide.
The calculation is done on real figures: price, rendita catastale, mortgage amount and personal requirements. With these, the exact figure takes a few minutes, and it is better to know it before the preliminary contract.
What is the prezzo-valore rule and is it worth it for me?
It is the mechanism that, when you buy a residential property from a private seller, lets registration tax be calculated on the cadastral value instead of the agreed price.
In the great majority of cases it is worth it, because the cadastral value is lower than the market price, and it also reduces the notary's fee. It must be requested expressly in the deed.
Is the estate agent's commission deductible?
Yes. For the purchase of your main home there is a deduction on the fees paid to property intermediaries, up to a spending cap.
You need an invoice in the name of the person claiming the deduction and a traceable payment. If the property is jointly owned, the deduction is split between the buyers in proportion to their share.
I am buying from a company. Does that change much?
Yes. If the company is the builder and sells within the set time limits, the sale is subject to IVA calculated on the actual price, not on the cadastral value.
As a rule this raises the tax compared with buying from a private seller using the prezzo-valore rule. However, a deduction is available for buying homes from a company in certain cases, and it needs checking.
Let's talk
The full calculation is done before the preliminary contract
With the price, the rendita catastale (the cadastral value of the property) and your personal requirements, everything can be worked out in one meeting. Better to know before you pay the deposit.