Rental Income from properties overseas and how to declare it in Italy.

One of the questions I am asked regularly is how income from property held overseas is taxed in Italy.  Is it exempt from Italian tax because tax has been paid on it overseas first and is it subject to the same taxes as Italian rental income?

I would like to dispel any myth and confirm that you do have to pay Italian tax on the profit from any rental income on properties held overseas as a resident in Italy.  (if it was really ever in doubt.  Out of interest the arrangement is reciprocal, and any if you were resident in another country with rental property in Italy then it need to be declared as well).

The best way to organise your rental income

The law for Italian tax residents states clearly that the net profit (after expenses) from property overseas, must be declared in the Italian end of year tax return.  The net profit is then assessed as income, added to the rest of your income for the year and tax paid at your highest rate of income tax (that could be as high as 43%).

Let's not forget the IVIE tax as well which is 0.76% of the property council/cadastrale/rateable income (whatever you choose to call it) value of the property.

If tax has been applied in the country of origin, it is the law in Italy to declare the funds here as well and so annual declarations need to be made.

As an aside, it is relevant to note that in 2012 I received a deluge of enquiries from people who had been contacted by the Guardia di Finanza who had obtained information from HMRC (UK tax authorities) about people who have/had rental properties in the UK, were legitimately declaring tax in the UK, but who had failed to then declare that income in Italy. In some cases they were fined substantial amounts for merely this simple mistake.

However, all is not lost because there is a way to limit your Italian tax liabilties.  If the property income is declared in the country of origin and all the costs are deducted from the income, still within the country of origin, then ONLY the net profit needs to be declared in Italy.  In some cases it might also be necessary to declare the rental income in the country of origin even when that country no longer requires you to, for example the UK. If you have rental income under the basic allowance of approx the first GBP 10500 of income and therefore the UK no longer requires a declaration, it may still be wise to insist on making a declaration because the UK allow for multiple expense offsets for tax purposes.  By following this process you are showing the Italian authorities your expense declarations and therefore it is acceptable for Italian tax purposes. 

You may in some cases be able to reduce your net profit to zero. 

To clarify, any rental income from properties held overseas must be declared in Italy, for Italian tax residents.  This is the NET income (after expenses).  And this net figure is added to your other income to determine at which rate of income tax it is assessed in Italy.

Depending on why you are investing in property overseas the advantages/disadvantages can work in 2 ways: . 

1. If you have high expenses for the property then it can work in your favour as a capital appreciation investment. (assuming the value of the property goes up).  Less income means less tax.

2. The downside of this arrangement is that someone with low expenses and high net income (maybe living from the income in retirement) will be assesed at their income tax rates in Italy (IRPEF) which could go as high as 43%

If you are concerned about your tax situation in Italy and would like an initial meeting to assess your liability then we are here to help.  In addition, there might be other more tax efficient and less costly ways to produce income and grow your money.  If you are interested in exploring these then you can contact me on gareth.horsfall@spectrum-ifa.com or on cell 333 6492356