The New Property Tax on your Italian Real Estate is due on June 16th

IMU. We can calculate the amount you have to pay for the year 2020 within the June deadline. Please send an email to assistance@vademecumitalia.com and we will send you a quote for the assistance.

In Italy, there is a property tax that Real Estate owners have to pay every year, which is called IMU (Imposta Municipale Unica). If the owner does not pay this tax, the competent Italian authorithy can start a debt collection case.

WHAT IS THE IMU (IMPOSTA MUNICIPALE UNICA) TAX

The recent 2020 Budget Law (Legge di Bilancio 2020) abolished the old IUC (with the exception of the TARI) from January 1, 2020. This has been replaced by the new tax that unifies IMU and TASI commonly known as “New IMU” or “Super IMU”. Thus, in light of the new Law, TASI has merged into IMU and so you will still have to pay them both but with one payment. n.1

In general, the IMU tax applies to the possession of houses (technically fabbricati) – with the exception of the primary residence (abitazione princiale o prima casa) included in specific cadastral categories (see below) – of building areas, and agricultural land.

The tax is due by the owner, or by the holder of other rights (usufruct, use, etc.), by the concessionaire in case of the concession of state property areas, and by the lessee in the event of leasing.

WHEN IS THE IMU DUE AND CASES OF EXEMPTION

The condition for the payment of the tax is the possession of real estate. In fact, the IMU tax is due for the mere fact of owning property in Italy.

However, there are some cases of exemption from the payment of the “New IMU” tax, among which is the case of “primary residence”. n2.

As a matter of fact, you will not have to pay IMU if your property is your “primary residence” and if it falls into one of the following cadastral categories A /2, A /3, A /4, A /5, A /6, or A /7.

The “primary residence” is considered to be the real estate unit in which the “taxable person” (e.g. the owner) and his family formally reside and usually live.

The IMU, therefore, regularly applies to “second homes” (for example if you live abroad and own a house in Italy), and so the owner will have to pay this tax in order to avoid a debt collection case.

In light of the above, if you bought a house in Italy but are residing abroad, or if you are not formally residing in your Italian house, or if you reside in your Italian house that is classified in the (“luxury”) cadastral categories A /1, A /8, and A /9, you will have to pay the IMU tax.

We will be able to calculate the amount you will have to pay for the year 2020 within the June deadline. Please send an email to assistance@vademecumitalia.com and we will send you a quote for the assistance.

CO-OWNERSHIP

Where the same property is owned by more than one person (e.g. husband and wife or brother and sister), each is a separate taxable person and has an independent tax liability, including exemptions and benefits.

AMOUNT

To simplify, we can say that to calculate the IMU tax you will need to know what your tax base (base imponibile) is, and the aliquota rate set for your particular case.

In order to determine your base imponibile, you will need to know the cadastral income of your property, that can be found in your deed (the act of purchase of your real estate).

WHEN DO YOU PAY THE IMU TAX

The first installment of the New tax must be paid by June 16th of each year, while the second must be paid by December 16th. However, it is possible to make one single payment by June 16th.

Interests and sanctions will be added to the due amount in case of late payments. Moroever, you should keep in mind that in case you do not pay the tax, sooner or later the administration could authorize the official debt collector company to start a debt collection case against you.

If you need to pay the IMU tax, please send an email to assistance@vademecumitalia.com or fill in the Contact Us form to receive a quote for the assistance

Notes

n.1 The IMU tax was originally established by Legislative Decree no. 23/2011, as subsequently reviewed and amended (Decree-Law 201/2011, converted into law no. 214/2011, law no. 44/2012, etc.). In the past it was know as IUC and consisted of three different taxes called IMU, TASI and TARI.

n.2 Law no. 147/2013 has established that, starting from 2014, the primary residence (abitazione principale o prima casa) classified in the cadastral categories A /2, A /3, A /4, A /5, A /6, or A /7 is exempt from the payment of the IMU. This means that if you reside in a house classified in one of the above cadastral categories, you will not have to pay the IMU tax. (N.B.: this exemption does not apply to primary residence homes classified in the cadastral categories A /1 (noble type house), A /8 (villa) and A /9 (castles, palaces of eminent artistic or historical value) and their appurtenances, which are considered luxury estates, for which a reduced rate and a € 200 deduction apply). Likewise, appurtenances belonging to cadastral categories C/2, C/6 and C/7 are also exempted.