Italy’s fundamental property tax is a frequent supply of confusion for householders, as the foundations on which sorts of residences it applies to have modified a number of occasions through the years. Here is an in depth have a look at who precisely has to pay IMU.
Italy’s fundamental property tax, IMU (Imposta Municipale Unica, or Unified Municipal Tax) was launched in 2012 to interchange the native ICI levy.
It applies to each non-public and business property, constructing areas and agricultural land, and its actual quantity varies by the kind, worth and site of the property.
IMU may be paid in two yearly instalments, with the primary fee due by June sixteenth and the second due by December sixteenth.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to select to pay the entire quantity in a single annual fee, which should be made by June sixteenth.
The tax is a frequent supply of confusion for householders in Italy, as the foundations on precisely which sorts of property it applies to have modified a number of occasions through the years.
Taxpayers are totally accountable for calculating and paying the quantity of IMU they owe, which means you received’t get a invoice from native authorities specifying how a lot that you must pay for the related 12 months.
Who does IMU apply to?
IMU is mostly owed by homeowners of the next sorts of property:
- Agricultural land (or terreno agricolo in Italian)
- Constructing land (space fabbricabile)
- Personal homes apart from the proprietor’s fundamental residence (or prima casa), which means second, third, fourth properties and so forth.
- Luxurious dwellings (case di lusso) falling beneath Italy’s cadastral classes A1 (stately properties), A8 (villas) or A9 (castles), no matter whether or not they’re the proprietor’s fundamental residence or not.
Primarily, apart from agricultural and constructing land homeowners, IMU is owed by all second-home homeowners within the nation and homeowners of properties categorised as ‘luxurious’ beneath Italy’s cadastral system.
READ ALSO: What taxes do that you must pay on a second residence in Italy?
The tax doesn’t apply to fundamental residences (prime case) however homeowners should be Italian residents and be registered as such beneath Italy’s nationwide registry (Anagrafe) to be able to qualify for this.
Commercial
If you happen to’re a overseas resident proudly owning property within the nation, you’ll must pay IMU on it.
There are a variety of IMU exemptions and reductions out there to some classes of house owners.
These embody a 50-percent low cost for retirees residing overseas and claiming a ‘totalised pension’ (pensione totalizzata), which means a hybrid ‘Italian-foreign’ pension merging contributions made in Italy and people made within the overseas nation they reside in (so long as this nation has pension totalisation agreements in place with Italy).
How do I calculate IMU?
As is the case with most different Italian taxes, calculating IMU is certainly not a straightforward course of, particularly you probably have little to no expertise with paying it.
That’s why it’s typically advisable to seek the advice of a certified accountant (commercialista), who can be sure that the correct quantity is paid and even organize the transaction for you.
READ ALSO: What’s an Italian commercialista and do you really want one?
That stated, as a tough information, you will have to take the cadastral worth, or valore catastale, of your property (that is typically reported within the public deed of buy, however it’s also possible to request it at your native land registry workplace).
Commercial
As soon as the cadastral worth, you need to enhance it by 5 p.c after which multiply that quantity by a coefficient, which varies in response to the kind of property you personal. For example, non-public residential buildings and flats have a coefficient of 160.
Doing this gives you your property’s taxable base and from there you will be charged something from 0.5 to 1.06 p.c of that determine, relying on the speed (aliquota) utilized by the municipality (comune) the place your property is situated.
How do I pay?
IMU should be paid by way of Italy’s normal tax kind F24, which is used when paying most sorts of taxes in Italy, together with earnings tax (IRPEF) instalments.
The shape can typically be discovered and submitted at most financial institution branches and publish workplaces within the nation. Some Italian banks even supply clients the choice to finish and submit an F24 kind immediately on-line.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to ask an Italian accountant to finish and submit the shape for you.
Commercial
What occurs if I don’t pay?
The Italian taxman exhibits little in the best way of leniency with regards to late submitting or failure to pay IMU.
Late submitting may be punished with a superb of as much as 25 p.c of the IMU owed, whereas failure to pay can result in enforced credit score restoration procedures (recupero coattivo del credito) from native authorities.
The excellent news right here is that Italy has a process often called ravvedimento operoso (actually, ‘lively modification’) which permits taxpayers to self-report and shortly rectify delays of their IMU funds in alternate for considerably decreased fines.
Below this method, fines for late fee are decreased to lower than 1 p.c of the sum owed if the fee is made throughout the first 14 days from the related deadline.
Please be aware that The Native is unable to advise on particular person instances. Discover extra data on the Italian tax workplace’s web site or search impartial recommendation from a certified tax skilled.
For all the most recent information, vital data and sensible recommendation about proudly owning property in Italy, see The Native’s property part.
