i love italy

Hi , i want to buy a property in italy and pay the least amount of tax possible .
My understanding is that if you buy the property as your 1st or main house/residence you pay less tax than if it is your 2nd or not main residence.
I am a uk citizen , but want to live in italy , i am registered to vote in italy and also have a codice fiscale /national insurance number, so i dont know if this helps me more than normal , as reading other posts about changing residency, means i would have to declare that back in the uk ,and lose any pension or benefits i might be on if i change residency from the uk to italy?
I would like to buy a place in italy at first without changing residency , eventhough i would be living pretty much fulltime in italy , so im not sure what to do , as obviously i would like to pay less tax on my property , but then i would have to declare it as my main property /residence ,,which means i would have to declare that in the uk also i think? as i would be living in italy on savings and interest from savings , not from work , at least initialy, and i f declare rsidency i would have to show proof of income /work which i dont have , only savings , so im confused as to what to do.I am hoping that as i am already registered to vote and have a codice fiscale that maybe that helps me somehow more than normal ,as i would just like to buy a place live there and maybe later on when im sure of things change residency if its better for me, but maybe i dint need to worry about it so please help.Also if i want to sell how will either declaring residency or keeping my uk residency affect me when i decide to sell my place in italy (tax wise ,and how long do i need to live in it or own it before selling it with less tax to pay etc ) please help many thanks in advance.

Isakat

Hear, hear, are we a bit unhappy in this festive time of the year?
Lorna and Testarossa have always been extremelly helpful to all new members-at least they read long and complex postings and offer advice.

A glass of prosecco might be a better sedative.


To the new poster-I also found it complex to understand it all that, maybe a comercialista might be of help?

37100

Well my first thought was, troll. How are you registered to vote? Welcome.

Jonnie-falafel

1. That's right. If you are resident (or intend to be within 18 months) you pay 3% stamp duty as opposed to 10% - on the catastal value rather than actual value of property. Catastal is much less than actual. You must live in property for 5 years to keep right to 3%. This right can be transferred before then to another property in Italy if you move within its boundaries within that initial 5 years.
2.Residency is something you sort out at the Anagrafe office at your commune of residence. You will need evidence of your property bought, your passport and you will be asked to declare that you have more than €5000 in the bank. They may ask to see a statement. You will also need evidence of health insurance.
3. Where you pay tax depends on where you spend most time. If you spend more than 183 days of the year in Italy you pay tax in Italy. This is not a choice. Because you cannot be taxed twice on the same income (reciprocal agreements within EU) you won't pay tax in the UK. You will be a non-dom.
4. You can preserve your UK State pension rights by paying Voluntary National Insurance Contributions. You offer to do it and they send you the bills. It doesn't cost massive amounts to do this.
5. It doesn't matter if you don't have income from a job.

TestaRossa

AC!

Honestly, I've only just read it but my initial reaction was Wahhaaa?!!

I am sure you are a very nice person who has just been misunderstood. Unfortunately you need to re-do your post and put in the correct grammar and punctuation because as it is only someone like Johnny who has taken the time to parse it and probably put it all into its proper context has been able to answer any of it for you.

What you are asking is complex - please don't make it more so by being intelligible!! On that note - Welcome to the forum!!!

duffer

i missed all the fun

modicasa

The most important thing to remember is that you can only be resident in one country at a time. If you are planning to live in Italy, you must be resident there, and by law you must take residence if you live in a country for more than 183 days a year.

That said, you can buy a house and take advantage of the 'prima casa' incentives without being resident. However, you must take up residence within 18 months in the property for which you have claimed the incentives.

Residence entails having an income techincally of over 6041 euros pa, which has to be demonstrable, ie a photocopy of a bank accoutn with a healthy balance. You will also need health insurance or a current EHIC card - but if you use your English card you will techinically lose health rights in the UK.

On top of all that you need an address and a fair amount of patience.

It is becoming more and more difficult to have a foot in both camps - if you want to live in Italy, then with residence and spending more than 183 days here, you have all your financial affairs in Italy, and your worldwide income is subject to ITalian taxes. You would have to continue paying voluntary NI in the UK to maintain your eligibility for UK services.

Think carefully about taking prima casa incentives if you really only want a holiday home. You save some money at the act of sale, but if you dont do what the law requires, the Tax Office will find you and the sanctions are now quite heavy - at the moment 30% of the difference is the fine, plus the repayment of the difference.

Pecora Nera

Anderson Council

Blimey, I have a few spliffs, a few bottles of red and suddenly no-one gets my humour! Understandable I suppose.

Lorna at Vicenza

Do they grow lots of wacky backy in Puglia?

Anderson Council

Oh yes indeed they most certainly do! I've heard

Lorna at Vicenza

I heard that they used to grow tonnes of it here as well in the middle of all the corn fields ........... loads of corn to make yellow polenta flour but bloody hard to find corn on the cob. I digress - production of wacky backy has really slowed down by all accounts since the forces got wise to the masses of it hidden in the corn fields and started flying overhead in helicopters to spot the 'growth'.

All the corn fields around here remind me of a horror film I saw as a teenager called "Children Of The Corn" or something like that. Think it might have been Stephen King.

Jonnie-falafel

I'm surrounded by sunflowers - but can I find sunflower seeds???

Lorna at Vicenza

grow your own

Pecora Nera

My brother rented out one of his small factories in Sheffield to a guy who claimed he needed somewhere for welding. My brother wasn't suspicious even when they offered to pay the rent in cash.

Three months later he had a visit from the men in blue. They questioned him over the factory use and after he handing over a spare set of keys and the information of the man who was renting the factory they raided it.

The Police travel over Sheffield in helicopters with infrared cameras looking for houses and factories that are emitting a lot of heat. It seems you need lots of warmth and lights to grow the stuff.