Owning a home in Italy as a non-resident: letting, selling, IMU

By Andrea Matera, Dottore Commercialista and Chartered Accountant (ICAEW, ACCA) · Updated 22 October 2026

IMU for non-residents

A non-resident's property in Italy is not normally a main residence, so IMU is due at the rate set by the municipality, in two instalments by 16 June and 16 December. From abroad you pay with an F24 form or by bank transfer following the municipality's instructions.

50% reduction: available on a single dwelling, neither let nor lent free of charge, owned by non-residents who receive a pension accrued under an international agreement with Italy (totalisation of Italian and foreign contributions) and who reside in the foreign insurance state that pays the pension (art. 1, para. 48, Law 178/2020; MEF Resolution 5/DF/2021). TARI (waste tax) is reduced by two thirds. To obtain the IMU reduction, an IMU return must be filed.

Letting Italian property: cedolare secca, IRPEF and short lets

• Rental income from Italian property is taxed in Italy even if you live abroad, and an Italian tax return must be filed.
• Cedolare secca: also available to non-residents for residential lets (Revenue Agency Circular 26/E/2011), at 21%, or 10% for regulated-rent (canone concordato) agreements.
• Short lets (up to 30 days): cedolare secca at 21% for one property chosen by the taxpayer and 26% for the other (Law 213/2023); from 2026, with three or more flats the activity is presumed to be a business and the cedolare secca cannot be applied (Law 199/2025). A national identification code (CIN) is required.
• Alternatively, ordinary IRPEF on the rent less a flat 5% deduction.

Selling Italian property: when the capital gain is taxed

The capital gain is taxed if the property is sold within five years of purchase or construction, unless it was inherited or was used as the main residence of the seller or their family for most of that period (art. 67, para. 1, letter b, TUIR). You can opt for the 26% substitute tax directly in the deed of sale, through the notary.

For properties on which Superbonus works were completed no more than ten years earlier, letter b-bis applies (Law 213/2023, art. 1, para. 64). Building land is always taxed.

Italian property and tax in your country of residence

• Germany: income from Italian property is usually exempt, but it raises the rate on other income (Progressionsvorbehalt).
• France: rent must also be declared in France, which grants a credit equal to the corresponding French tax.
• Spain: rent is declared with a credit for the Italian tax; for assets abroad exceeding €50,000 per category there is a reporting obligation (modelo 720).
• United Kingdom, United States, Australia: the income is declared and the Italian tax is recovered through the foreign tax credit.

These are general indications: the applicable treaty must always be checked.

Risks for non-resident owners of Italian property

• Forgetting IMU or the Italian tax return for rental income.
• Paying tax in Italy and again in your country of residence without a tax credit.
• Selling without having calculated the capital gain and the taxes in your country of residence.

How we manage your Italian property taxes from abroad

• We calculate IMU, any reduction and the tax on rent, and choose the most advantageous regime.
• We file your Italian non-resident tax return.
• We plan the sale before the deed is signed, coordinating Italy and your country of residence.

Still buying? The purchase (taxes, first-home relief for Italians who have emigrated, due diligence) is covered on the real estate service page.

Frequently asked questions

General information, current as of 22 October 2026: it is not a substitute for advice on your own case.