Selling property in Italy: steps, duties and taxes

The sequence, seen from the seller’s side

1. Prepare the file. Gather the documents in the documents guide before you advertise. Most delays on the day come from a missing plan, a mortgage not yet cancelled or a permit that cannot be traced.
2. Order the energy certificate. It must be shown to buyers when negotiations start and the adverts must show the energy class and index. See the APE guide.
3. Set the price. Use the OMI quotations as a first range, then a professional valuation or the agent’s comparison.
4. Choose how to sell. You may sell alone or give an agent a mandate; see agent commission.
5. Accept an offer and sign the preliminary contract. The steps from offer to deposit are in the buying-process guide, and the same documents bind you as a seller.
6. Sign the deed with the notary. The notary pays the registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes on the buyer’s behalf, receiving the funds from the buyer, and registers the deed.

What the buyer pays, and what you do

The Agenzia delle Entrate’s buyer guide says that registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes are paid by the notary when the deed is registered, and it describes them as taxes the buyer owes: 9% registration tax (2% with the prima casa relief, minimum €1,000) plus €50 each of mortgage and cadastral tax on a purchase from a private seller. The Notariato adds that the choice of notary is the buyer’s, and that the buyer pays the fees unless otherwise agreed with the seller. So the usual rule is that your sale does not generate a notary bill or a registration tax for you, though you can agree otherwise in the contract. I found no fixed notary fee: none is set by law, and the notary must give a written estimate.

Your own costs are the energy certificate, any technician who attests the cadastral or planning position, the cancellation of a mortgage if there is one, and the agent’s commission if you used one (who pays it depends on the agreement and local custom).

Duties that can block the deed

Three legal conditions come before the signature:

• Energy certificate. Without it on a sale, owners face a fine of €3,000 to €18,000, and the deed must contain the buyer’s declaration of receipt.
• Cadastral conformity. Article 29 of Law 52/1985 requires the deed to refer to the plans filed at the land registry and contain the owners’ declaration that the cadastral data and plans match the real state of the unit. A technician’s certificate may replace the declaration. Without it the deed is void.
• Planning details. For a building begun after 17 March 1985, article 46 of DPR 380/2001 makes the deed void unless the seller declares the details of the building permit or retrospective permit.

The notary’s legal checks include identity and capacity of the parties (including the marital property regime, and for foreigners legal capacity), mortgages and seizures, planning and cadastral status, pre-emption rights and restrictions on protected buildings. Since EU rules added further checks, the notary also verifies the energy certificate and the traceability of payments and of any commission paid to an agency. Pay by traceable means, and keep the proof: the Notariato’s checklist asks the seller for copies of the means of payment already received.

Tax on your gain

Capital gains tax is the point sellers most often miss. A gain is taxable if you sell a property bought or built less than five years ago, but not one that you inherited, and not one that was your or your family’s main home for most of the period between purchase and sale. You can ask the notary at the deed to apply a 26% substitute tax instead of adding the gain to your income. Article 67 of the income-tax code, which sets this rule, is repealed from 1 January 2027 by Legislative Decree 117/2026, which rewrites the rule; Payotte has not read the new text, so for a sale after 31 December 2026 check the position with the notary. Full detail, with the donation rule, in capital gains tax on property in Italy. If you live abroad, also read selling as a non-resident owner.

If the home was inherited, the sequence starts earlier: see selling an inherited property.

Which professional to consult

The notary is the key figure and can tell you in advance what documents your case requires. A surveyor or technician can check and, if needed, correct the plans and attest the planning position. A real estate agent can market the property; the agent needs to be entered in the business register as an intermediary, and the commission is negotiated, not set by law.