Tax Aspects

Difference between first home (or main home) and second home

A “first home” is a residential property that is purchased or acquired (donation, inheritance, etc.) for the first time.

By "second houses” we mean all the other houses that will be purchased after the first, for example a house for holidays by the sea or in the mountains, a house to rent, etc.

Purchasing a property to be used as a "first home" enjoys important tax benefits, for this reason it is reserved to people who have special requirements, listed below:

• be an individual

• not be the owner or joint owner, or have usufructary rights, use and dwelling rights of another house located in the same municipality as the one you intends to purchase;

• not be the owner, not even by shares or in community of property, of rights of ownership, use, usufruct, dwelling or bare ownership of another property, located throughout the country, already purchased with the benefits of first home.

The property purchased must also meet certain requirements:

• be of a residential type but do not belong to cadastral categories corresponding to the so-called luxury buildings (A / 1 stately homes, A / 8 luxury villas, A / 9 castles and palaces of outstanding artistic and historical value);

• be located in the municipality where the buyer has his residence or fixes his residence within 18 months of the purchase.

Residence concept

The residence is the place where a person has his habitual abode. This means that the residence is identified with the place where the individual lives with a certain stability and where he intends to establish his home.

Even a citizen of a foreign country can buy a house with the benefit of the first home allowance. To enjoy the benefit, he must acquire tax residence in Italy, which can be obtained by living at least six months (183 days) a year within the Italian territory.

Tax benefits for those who transfer their residence to Italy

The special scheme for new residents is aimed exclusively at individuals who decide to transfer their tax residence to Italy and consists in the possibility of paying a flat tax on income produced abroad, as an alternative to ordinary taxation.

The alternative taxation provides for a maximum annual tax of 100,000.00 Euros regardless of the income produced abroad. Thanks to this benefit even those who produce income of several million euros will only pay the flat tax of 100,000.00 euros up to a maximum term of 15 years.