Selling property in Italy: Complete guide for residents and non-residents 2025

This guide provides a roadmap to selling property in Italy, covering legal requirements, market insights, step-by-step processes, cost breakdowns, tax implications, and smart financial management of sale proceeds.

Plus, in case you need to repatriate funds after selling your Italian property, we’ll also cover international money transfer considerations, how specialist providers like Wise can save you on transfer costs when transferring large sums internationally.

Key takeaways

• Before you can sell your property in Italy it’s important to understand the practical and legal framework used 
• Getting professional help from a local real estate agent and solicitor, as well as your notary and a tax professional can help the process go smoothly
• If you sell a property within 5 years of buying it you’re likely to be liable for capital gains tax on the sale profits
• Selling any property can take a significant time, depending on market conditions, the property type, and the time taken to manage the legal handover
• Once you’ve sold your property in Italy you must settle your financial obligations, and can then transfer your funds – if you’re sending your payment overseas, a provider like Wise can help you cut the overall costs of your transfer

Legal requirements for selling property in Italy

Selling a property can be a complex process – but before you even start it’s important that you understand all your local and cross border legal obligations. 

This guide covers key points – but it’s also good practice to get local advice from professionals who can address your specific situation and ensure you’re prepared properly to sell your property in Italy.

Some legal requirements it helps to know about:

• It’s mandatory to have a notary when buying or selling property in Italy – the notary is usually selected by the buyer and is a neutral agent in the purchase process
• It is a legal requirement for sellers to declare property defects or issues to the buyer. Failure to do so could result in civil penalties. It’s recommended that sellers get a survey from a registered surveyor to ensure any defects are identified.

What are the documents needed to sell a property in Italy?

Your notary will help you manage the sale process, letting you know what paperwork you need to prepare in advance so you’re ready.

To give an idea, the full range of legal documents required for a property sale in Italy will usually include:

• Property title deeds – called Atto di provenienza 
• The cadastral document which shows the property ownership and boundaries – the Visura catastale
• Property floor plan
• Building permits
• Energy certificate – Attestato di prestazione energetica 
• Your own ID and tax information, and that of the buyer

How to sell a property in Italy: Step-by-step guide

While every journey is a little different, the process to sell property in Italy will look quite similar in most cases. Here’s an outline of the usual steps involved with selling a property in Italy.

Step 1 – Get professional help and start the market analysis

Before you can put your Italian property on the market, you’ll need to get a valuation and prepare your local support team.

Although it’s not mandatory to use an agent, a licensed local real estate agent can help you assess your property’s market value. You may also want to consider whether undertaking any repairs or renovations would increase the property value. If this is something you consider, you’ll need to weigh the improvement costs against potential gains in asking price to decide if it’s worthwhile. Ultimately, a broad range of factors influence property value including location, property type, age, size, and condition – getting professional help to make a realistic price assessment can be a huge help.

At this early stage you can also start to pick out other professionals who may help you such as a local lawyer to handle the legal aspects, and a tax specialist to help you navigate your obligations in Italy and your home country.

Step 2 – Preparing documentation and advertising your property

Your next steps will be supported by your local advisors and must include preparing the legal paperwork and advertising your property.

Your agent or legal advisor may recommend professionals to complete property surveys. While you may not be legally obliged to complete a survey on the property you’re selling, there are legal consequences if you fail to disclose any defects, which means getting a professional survey to identify any issues is helpful. 

Your estate agent will also take a lead on preparing property descriptions and area information. Together you can create your preferred marketing strategy to help your property sell as quickly as possible.

Step 3 – Managing viewings, receiving and evaluating offers

Once your property is advertised, it’s time to start conducting property viewings to find a buyer. Your agent can support this – particularly handy if you’re non-resident, or if your Italian isn’t strong enough to manage buyer questions. Once you have received an offer – or even multiple offers – your agent and legal advisor can help you understand the offer format and structure, which you may not be familiar with.

Step 4 – Contract exchange and legal completion

After agreeing a sale, you will need to have your notary draw up a preliminary contract which must be registered with the authorities. This contract gives details of the buyer and seller, and the property, and forms the outline of a sales agreement. The buyer at this stage will hand over their deposit for the property, which becomes the downpayment if the seller accepts the purchase offer.

Once a preliminary contract is in place, the buyer will complete any of their own due diligence checks, and the notary can proceed to start preparing the transfer documents.

Step 5 – Settlement and fund transfer

The final step is for the seller and buyer to meet at the office of the appointed notary, to sign the final paperwork. The property ownership passes over to the buyer once the outstanding purchase cost has been sent to the notary, and the sale is completed. The net proceeds from the payment are passed to the seller by the notary.

At this point the seller must plan to settle any tax owed to the government. If you choose to, the notary can withhold the tax and pay for you – this may be the most convenient option if you’re not familiar with the system. 

We’ll look at the likely tax obligations you’ll need to think about – and also how best to send your money to your home country once you’ve received it – in a moment.

Selling a property in Italy: Tax implications and responsibilities for property sellers

So – what tax do you pay if you sell a property in Italy?

Ultimately the tax implications of selling an Italian property vary depending on factors including how long you’ve lived there, if it’s your primary residence, and the value of the sale.

There may also be slightly different tax treatment if you’re a resident versus non-resident of Italy.

Property sale taxes: Italian residents

As an Italian resident you may need to pay capital gains tax (CGT) if you sell your property less than 5 years after buying it. You may be exempt if you have lived in the property for the full period of your ownership – get tax advice to see if any exemptions may apply based on your own circumstances.

Capital gains tax in Italy is 26% at the time of research.

Property sale taxes: Non-residents

As a non-resident you’re likely to have to pay CGT on the sale of your Italian property, in the same way an Italian resident would. Exemptions may apply if you’ve lived in the property during your ownership, but as a non-resident you’’re unlikely to meet the thresholds for this exemption.

As tax is complex – and even more complicated if you’re navigating an unfamiliar system – you’ll need to get professional advice to ensure you comply with all your legal obligations.

Income tax declaration requirements

If you sell a property in Italy, you’ll need to have your legal advisors talk you through the CGT implications, and any other declarations you might have to make to stay legally compliant.

Is it necessary to declare a property sale on income tax as a non-resident in Italy?

Non-residents should seek professional tax advice to ensure they are declaring all relevant gains after selling a property. For many property related taxes, there is no bill issued, and as such individuals are responsible for calculating and then settling any outstanding taxes – a common oversight for non-resident property owners.

You may also need to take tax advice in your country of tax residence, as many countries tax worldwide income including foreign property sales.

International considerations for cross-border property sales

If you’re a foreigner selling an Italian property it’s important to know the regulatory requirements and your tax reporting obligations in both Italy and your own home country. Depending on your home country and where you’re a tax resident you may have obligations to the authorities in more than one location.

Once you’re confident that you’ve settled all your tax obligations you may want to move your funds from Italy to your home country. In this case, bear in mind that source of funds documentation is typically needed when transferring large amounts internationally. In this case, that may be proof of your property sale and a bank statement showing the money reaching your Italian bank for example.

It’s also crucial to find providers for cost-effective international transfers and currency exchange management. When you’re sending a high value payment, small percentage changes in the exchange rate used can mean a large fee to pay in the end. Finding a provider which uses the mid-market rate, or as close as possible to it, can often be the best way to ensure you’re getting a good deal on your transfer. Providers like Wise can help.

Bank vs. Wise: International transfers of large sums

To give you an idea of how this works, here’s a comparison of the price of a bank and Wise for sending money to an account in your own name based overseas. For this example we imagine we are sending 50,000 EUR to USD to be received in a bank in the US directly.

Sending 50,000 EUR to USD	Sending money with Wise	Sending money with UniCredit Bank
Send money fees	207.23 EUR	14.75 EUR
Exchange rate	1.15950 (Mid-market rate)	1.14554
Total received in USD	57,734.72 USD	57,260.33 USD

*Discount on sending money fees for sending more than 20k USD abroad. Data taken from Wise comparison site, on 22nd August 2025.

In this example, you can see that you get more in USD in the end with Wise. This is despite the fact that Wise’s transfer fees look to be higher compared to the fee used by UniCredit Bank.

The key difference here is that Wise uses the mid-market rate, while the bank adds a percentage fee to the rate used. This is a common practice, but it can mean you’re paying more in fees than you expect. On high value payments in particular, this cost can add up significantly until the conversion cost is far higher than the upfront fee you’re paying for the transfer. 

Wise offers a solution for international property sellers, with international transfers that use  mid-market rates and transparent fees, which include a discount for sending large amounts abroad. You can also use Wise rate lock features to protect against currency fluctuations, and if you’d prefer you can receive your payment in EUR to a Wise account to convert it at a later stage.

How much does it cost to sell a property in Italy? Cost breakdown

The costs of selling a property in Italy can go beyond any CGT liability you may have. However, some of these fees may be covered by the buyer, or subject to negotiation when you agree to a sale. Here are some common fees to consider:

• Real estate agent commissions: Italian real estate agents costs are usually split between the seller and the buyer. Each party is likely to have to pay 2% – 5% of the property value.
• Legal and professional fees: You’ll need to have a notary to cover the legal aspects of the sale – this is usually paid by the buyer. Notary fees can be 1% – 2.5 % of property value. In addition there are other miscellaneous legal costs which can be about 1% – 2% of the sale value.
• Surveys: You may decide to get several different surveys and checks to make sure your property is free from defects. The cost range can vary significantly depending on your preferences, property type and location.
• Pre-sale preparation costs: Don’t forget to factor in any specific costs for things like repairs to your property before you put it on the market.

How long does it take to sell a property in Italy?

The timeline for selling a property in Italy can vary enormously based on  

factors like market conditions and seasonal variations, property type, location, and pricing, marketing effectiveness and presentation quality. Finding a buyer could take anything from a few days to a few months – generally properties in cities move quicker as they may be in more demand.

In many cases the end to end time for selling a property in Italy can take 4 – 5 months. Get local advice to understand the likely time commitment for your specific property.

When is it a good time to sell property in Italy?

There’s no best time to sell a property in Italy – what’s best for you will depend on the property type, location and other similar factors. To decide on the right time to market your property you may want to monitor the advertised prices of similar property, and talk to local agents who may offer advice on timing.

Tips and best practices for successful property sales

Here are a few final thoughts to make sure your property sale in Italy is a success:

• Get professional legal advice: Selling a property in another country is tricky – you’ll need local legal advisors on hand to help you avoid costly mistakes and ensure compliance with all legal requirements.
• Bear in mind currency conversion costs: If you need to repatriate the funds from your sale you’ll need to find a provider which offers low overall costs, including a good exchange rate. Tools like forward contracts or limit orders which are available from currency specialists can also help.
• Price your property carefully: Use recent sales data from your local area, and get a professional valuation to make sure you’re pricing your property appropriately.
• Have a diverse marketing strategy: Advertise your property on multiple channels and use work of mouth if possible to build interest.

Conclusion

While selling property in Italy can be complex, it’s achievable – and you can make the process far less stressful by engaging the right local support teams early on.

When selling a property in a foreign country you will need to take time to get to know local laws, market conditions, and financial obligations such as taxes on your property value. Bear in mind you may also have reporting or other duties in your home country.

Once you’ve successfully sold your property and it’s time to repatriate your funds, check out providers like Wise to make sure you get a great deal on your transfer. Wise uses the mid-market rate on currency conversion and has automatic discounts on fees when sending higher value amounts which may mean you spend less on fees and keep more for yourself in the end.

FAQs

What’s the best way to transfer my property sale proceeds internationally? 

To transfer property sale proceeds internationally you’ll need to find a good value, secure service which offers low fees and a fair exchange rate. Providers like Wise which offer the mid-market rate on currency conversion and automatic discounts on fees for higher value amounts can be a good pick.

Do I need to pay tax on my property sale if I’m a non-resident?

You may need to pay tax on a property sale as a non-resident, including capital gains tax if you sell within 5 years of buying. Tax can be complex, so getting professional advice is essential to make sure you comply with all your obligations.

Do I pay tax in the country I live in if I sell a property in Italy? 

This can vary depending on your country of residence, your tax residence and your personal situation. Get professional advice if you are not sure of your tax obligations in Italy or in your home country.

What happens when I sell a property in Italy?

When you sell an Italian property you’ll need to settle any outstanding taxes payable to the Italian government, at the point of closing the sale. You can then repatriate your funds if you choose to.

Is it necessary to use a real estate agent to sell my property? 

It is not a legal requirement to use a real estate agent to sell a property in Italy – but doing so can mean you have a smoother sale experience, and get a higher price for the property in the end.

What to consider when selling a property in Italy?

Remember to check out the legal and practical requirements for selling a property in Italy, which may be different to your home country. You’ll need a good local team to advise you on legal and tax matters, the local real estate market and how best to proceed with your sale.

Useful Resources

• Italian Government Website – CGT on property (in Italian)
• Italian Government Website – paying tax from abroad (in Italian)
• FIAIP guide to buying and selling property – English language guidance from the Real Estate trade organisation of Italy
• Wise – send international payments with low fees, after your property sale
• OFX.com – international transfers offered with 24/7 phone service for high value payments