Buying a home in Lignano as a foreign buyer is entirely feasible, but it pays to proceed in order: the rules on purchases by foreign nationals, payment traceability, purchase taxes, local property taxes and, for those who let, tax and administrative obligations. This guide walks through the whole operation, from the offer to a possible resale, with the key legal references.

As a working example we use a purchase of €1,000,000: an amount high enough to make the effects of taxes, bank checks and ancillary costs clearly visible. All indicative figures should then be recalculated for the specific case.

The legal framework for a foreign buyer

Buying property in Italy is, as a general rule, possible for foreign buyers too, but the baseline changes with citizenship and status. For non-EU citizens (or, more generally, for those who do not fall within the “free” categories), the ability to buy may depend on the so-called condition of reciprocity: Italy allows the purchase if the buyer’s home country likewise allows Italians to buy under equivalent conditions. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI) expressly describes this principle and how it is checked.

For a foreign buyer, two practical prerequisites are almost always necessary.

The codice fiscale (Italian tax code). It is required to hold title to the property, sign deeds and contracts, and deal with banks, notaries and public offices. The Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian Revenue Agency) provides dedicated procedures for foreign citizens as well.

Identification and traceability (anti-money-laundering). A property purchase and high-value transfers (such as a €1,000,000 price) are among the operations for which “obliged” entities (banks, notaries, professionals) must apply customer due diligence: identifying the client and the beneficial owner, assessing the purpose and nature of the relationship and, where needed, enhanced checks. This is required by Legislative Decree D.Lgs. 231/2007 and by the Bank of Italy’s implementing provisions on customer due diligence.

An Italian bank account is not always a legal obligation, but in practice it is often the simplest way to pay deposits and the balance with traceable instruments, handle direct debits and local taxes, and reduce the complexity and timing of bank checks. For non-resident accounts, banks typically ask for an identity document and the codice fiscale, plus proof of residence abroad and information on the applicant’s financial situation and the reason for opening the account (buying a home is a typical one).

How the purchase is structured in Italy

In Italy, a residential purchase can be read as a sequence of three contractual “thresholds”, each with tax, banking and risk implications.

The proposta d’acquisto (purchase offer), possibly with a caparra (a binding deposit). It is a common tool to secure the property and formalise price and conditions, but it should be designed with anti-money-laundering and banking logic in mind from the start: on a large amount, the bank may ask for documentation of the “why” behind the transfer and its link to the property transaction, and the offer can help. There is no single rule, however: for large amounts, many banks prefer to see the preliminary contract, notarial deeds or more complete documents as well. This follows from the discretion on “risk” in customer due diligence and from enhanced measures where appropriate.

The preliminare di compravendita, or compromesso (preliminary sale contract). It is the true backbone of the operation: it governs timing, conditions, compliance, payment of instalments, penalties and the caparra. For tax purposes the preliminare must be registered and, if it contains sums not subject to VAT (deposits and advance payments), it can trigger proportional registration tax on those sums, in addition to fixed taxes and stamp duties, under the rules set out in the Agenzia delle Entrate’s tax guide.

The rogito (final notarial deed). This is the act that transfers ownership and the one that generally also closes the cycle of bank requests (payment of the balance, any mortgage, registration of the mortgage lien). The notary is the operational pivot as well: the buyer pays the indirect taxes due to the notary, who then remits them and handles registration, transcription and cadastral transfer.

Payments: traceability and bank documentation

For a €1,000,000 purchase, payments must be traceable (bank transfer, non-transferable cashier’s cheque and the like). Cash thresholds change over time; as of March 2026, several reference sources indicate a general limit of €5,000. In a property purchase, cash is not a practicable route in any event: traceable instruments are the standard.

A recurring question is whether the accepted offer is enough to justify the transaction to the bank. It may suffice for some steps, but it is not guaranteed. The reason is structural: due diligence requires banks to understand the purpose and economic coherence of the operation; on large amounts with cross-border elements (a non-resident buyer, funds arriving from abroad), the bank may ask for further documents, such as the registered preliminare, the notarial deed, invoices or evidence of the source of funds. This variability stems from the risk-based model in banking anti-money-laundering provisions.

Purchase taxes and costs on a €1,000,000 property

Two genuinely decisive cases must be distinguished: buying from a private individual and buying from a company in a VAT-liable sale. The taxes change substantially and, on €1,000,000, the percentage impact is very significant.

A second home without “prima casa” benefits: the baseline

The Agenzia delle Entrate explicitly summarises that, without “prima casa” (primary-residence) benefits:

  • if the seller is a private individual (or a company in a VAT-exempt sale), the imposta di registro (registration tax) is 9% (with a minimum of €1,000) and the mortgage and cadastral taxes are €50 + €50;
  • if the seller is a company in a VAT-liable sale, VAT is 10% (or 22% for properties in cadastral categories A/1, A/8, A/9) and the registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes are €200 + €200 + €200.

In short: for a “non-luxury” second home bought from a company with VAT, the typical rate is 10%, while 22% applies to the “luxury” categories (A/1, A/8, A/9) in the Agency’s summary.

A worked example on €1,000,000

The following example is meant to fix orders of magnitude. It does not replace a calculation based on the rendita catastale (the property’s cadastral income value) and the local resolutions, but it shows the proportions.

Scenario A: purchase from a company with VAT (a second home outside A/1, A/8, A/9). VAT at 10% on €1,000,000 = €100,000. Fixed taxes: registration €200 + mortgage tax €200 + cadastral tax €200 = €600, per the Agenzia delle Entrate’s summary.

Scenario B: purchase from a private individual (or from a company in a VAT-exempt sale). Registration tax at 9% on the taxable base (with a minimum of €1,000), plus €50 mortgage tax and €50 cadastral tax. The delicate part is the taxable base: often (though not always), in residential sales between private individuals, taxation can be anchored to the cadastral value rather than the price, under the mechanism known as prezzo-valore (the “price-value” rule), where applicable. Without the rendita catastale in hand, bear in mind that the 9% registration tax does not automatically apply to the one-million price: it is computed on the taxable base set by law and/or on the prezzo-valore option where usable, and is estimated once the cadastral data are known.

As a rough range (without inventing coefficients): if, for instance, the taxable base were €400,000, the registration tax would be around €36,000; at €600,000, around €54,000, plus €100 of mortgage and cadastral taxes (50+50). The order of magnitude is therefore often tens of thousands of euros, against the €100,000 (or more) of VAT in a VAT-liable purchase.

Non-tax costs to budget for

Agency commission. With a 4% commission plus VAT on €1,000,000 you reach €40,000 + VAT (typically 22%), i.e. €48,800 in total. The percentage is not set by law: it is contractual and market-driven (it varies by area and service), but in a budget it can be treated as fixed by the mandate or the agreement with the agency.

Notary. There is no fixed amount for everyone: it depends on price, complexity, mortgage, the number of formalities and urgency. The firm point is that a written quote from the chosen notary is needed, and that these costs are an integral part of the financial plan.

Translations, interpreter, power of attorney. If the buyer does not fully understand Italian, notarial practice may require an interpreter or a power of attorney: not a tax, but a cost and a timeline to plan for, especially when signing from abroad.

A mortgage for foreigners on a second home: feasibility, documents and costs

Is a mortgage to a foreigner for a second home feasible?

Yes: it is not prohibited, but it is typically a more selective operation than a primary-residence mortgage to a resident. In practice, what matters is:

  • AML/KYC profile and tax residence;
  • source of income (employment, business, pension and so on);
  • currency and country of origin;
  • quality of the property (ease of resale, restrictions, condominium);
  • the loan-to-value (LTV) requested.

Banks do not all share the same policies and do not always publish uniform criteria: it is worth setting up a pre-assessment and comparing several institutions.

The documentation typically required

For a foreigner or non-resident, the documentation requested tends to include (with bank-by-bank variations):

  • an identity document (passport or EU identity card) and the codice fiscale;
  • proof of residence abroad and a declaration of tax residence;
  • proof of income (payslips, foreign tax returns, financial statements for entrepreneurs), often with a translation;
  • documentation on the property and the transaction (offer, preliminare, draft rogito) to link the credit request to the transaction, within anti-money-laundering obligations;
  • for non-EU citizens, often documentation on residence permits or other prerequisites depending on the case (not always, but frequently).

Mortgage costs: what is fixed and what varies

Mortgage costs in Italy have a fairly stable structure, but the actual figures are highly sensitive to current rates and to the borrower’s profile.

The most clear-cut tax item for a second home, and an often underestimated one, is the imposta sostitutiva (substitute tax) on the loan, which distinguishes between a primary residence and other cases: consumer information practice (Bank of Italy) indicates 0.25% for a primary residence and 2% in other cases, typically including a second home. The actual rate must in any event be checked on the mortgage’s information sheet and on how the property is classified in the specific case.

On top of this come:

  • the bank’s application fees (variable);
  • the technical appraisal;
  • notarial costs linked to the mortgage lien (if the loan is signed together with the rogito);
  • required insurance (fire and explosion almost always; others optional or requested by the bank).

Example: €1,000,000 home, €700,000 equity, €300,000 mortgage

Working assumptions: a €300,000 mortgage (30% of the price), 20-year term, fixed rate of 3.5% per year — purely to build an order of magnitude: the real rate depends on the market at the time.

  • indicative monthly instalment: around €1,740;
  • indicative total interest over 20 years: around €117,571.

These figures are sensitive to rate and term, but they show that financing 30% is not a detail: it is a multi-year cost.

On the tax side, the imposta sostitutiva alone, at 2% on €300,000 (if applicable as a second home), would be €6,000, on top of bank and notarial costs.

After the rogito: local taxes and management in Lignano

In Lignano you do not pay IMU but ILIA (Friuli Venezia Giulia)

This is a specific and very important point for Lignano, which lies in Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Since 1 January 2023, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region the national IMU has been replaced by ILIA (Imposta Locale Immobiliare Autonoma, the region’s own local property tax), established by Regional Law L.R. 17/2022.

The Municipality of Lignano (municipal code E584) has resolved its ILIA rates, and for 2024 the main ones are:

  • “luxury” primary residences (A/1, A/8, A/9): 0.40% rate with a €200 deduction;
  • the first residential building other than the primary residence: 0.91% rate;
  • further residential buildings beyond the “first”: 0.91%.

From 2025, however, a new regional element comes in: for the first “second home” (the ILIA category “first residential building”), the Region indicates that the maximum rate municipalities can apply has been reduced to 0.70%. The practical consequence for anyone buying a single second home in Lignano: check the ILIA rate for the current year and the procedure for obtaining the correct rate, in particular whether there is a mechanism for “choosing” the building when more than one is owned.

How much can the annual ILIA be on a €1,000,000 property?

Rigour is needed here: ILIA, like IMU, is not computed on the price but on the rendita catastale revalued by 5% and multiplied by cadastral coefficients, with the municipal rate applied to the result. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) explains the basic mechanism of the taxable base (rendita × 1.05 × multiplier, with multipliers by category).

A prudent estimate is built as a range based on plausible rendite for a mid-to-upper-range apartment in a seaside resort, remembering that the actual rendita must be read in the visura catastale (the official land-registry extract).

Illustrative example (no substitute for the visura):

  • rendita €2,000 → base = 2,000 × 1.05 × 160 = €336,000 → ILIA at 0.70% ≈ €2,352 per year; at 0.91% ≈ €3,058 per year;
  • rendita €4,000 → base = 4,000 × 1.05 × 160 = €672,000 → ILIA at 0.70% ≈ €4,704 per year; at 0.91% ≈ €6,115 per year.

On premium properties, price and rendita can diverge widely: without the rendita, any single figure would be arbitrary.

Paying ILIA from abroad

Lignano provides specific instructions: where the F24 form cannot be used, ILIA payments from abroad can be made by bank transfer, with guidance on the payment reference and tax codes. This is an essential practical point for anyone not resident in Italy.

TARI and other recurring expenses

TARI (the waste tax). The MEF clarifies that TARI is owed by whoever “possesses or holds” the premises, hence ordinarily by the user; if, however, the occupation is short (no longer than six months), the tax remains with the owner (proprietor, usufructuary and the like). This is crucial for holiday use or short lets.

Imposta di soggiorno (tourist tax). Lignano has a municipal tourist-tax system, typical of resort towns, with collection and reporting obligations on facilities and operators; the Municipality lists it among the taxes managed by the competent office. If an agency manages the lettings, this item becomes operational: who collects, who remits, who reports.

Condominium, utilities, insurance. These are not taxes, but they weigh on the annual budget. In a second home in Lignano it is common to have:

  • condominium charges (ordinary, plus any extraordinary funds if resolved);
  • utilities and maintenance;
  • insurance (at least third-party liability and fire).

Do you need an Italian commercialista if you do not let?

Anyone producing no income in Italy (personal use only) who regularly pays ILIA, TARI and utilities often does not need a permanent commercialista (Italian tax accountant), though one can still be useful for:

  • handling F24 payments or transfers from abroad;
  • checks on the correct application of rates and reliefs;
  • any communications or declarations connected to ILIA.

Anyone letting the property, by contrast, has a far greater need for Italian tax support (see the next section), because withholding taxes, tax returns, tourist-sector obligations and double-taxation treaties come into play.

Letting the property: leases, cedolare secca, CIN and double taxation

It helps to distinguish two worlds:

  • “traditional” residential leases (4+4, 3+2, transitional contracts);
  • short lets for tourist purposes (typically up to 30 days, often through intermediaries and portals).

The Italian tax regime and the cedolare secca

The cedolare secca (a flat-rate substitute tax on rents) is an optional regime governed by Article 3 of Legislative Decree D.Lgs. 23/2011. The legislation and the Agency’s references report a 21% rate and the substitute logic (as an alternative to IRPEF, the personal income tax), with the related payment rules.

For short lets the rules are in Article 4 of Decree-Law D.L. 50/2017, which, in its current wording, links the cedolare secca to short lets and provides a 26% rate for the cedolare secca option, reduced to 21% for income from contracts on one property unit identified by the taxpayer in the tax return (in practice, the “first” unit).

Anyone entrusting the property to an agency often asks who acts as sostituto d’imposta (withholding agent). Where intermediaries or portals are involved in short lets, the legislation (Article 4 of D.L. 50/2017) imposes data-transmission and tax-handling obligations. In practice: if the agency collects and passes on the rent, it often also handles the connected obligations (communications and withholdings) and issues the tax documentation to the landlord; the landlord’s Italian tax return may then be needed to close the cycle correctly, especially where the withholding is on account rather than a final tax, depending on the specific case.

The picture changes according to:

  • contract type (short or long let);
  • how rent is collected (directly or through an intermediary);
  • the landlord’s tax residence;
  • the cedolare secca option.

Concretely: anyone letting through an agency or portal should know that the intermediary may have tax obligations (withholdings and communications) and that a non-resident owner may have to file a return in Italy, or check whether the withholding settles the tax. This should be defined before starting.

Tourist-sector obligations: CIN, BDSR and listing requirements

For tourist rentals and short lets, paying taxes is no longer enough: there are also identification and listing-compliance obligations.

The CIN (Codice Identificativo Nazionale, the national identification code) and the BDSR (Banca Dati Strutture Ricettive, the national database of accommodation facilities) are managed by the Ministry of Tourism, which describes the BDSR as the national database along with the procedure for obtaining the CIN.

The primary legislation on the CIN is Article 13-ter of Decree-Law D.L. 145/2023, also referenced in the Agency’s practice notes. The Official Gazette reports, among other things, that:

  • intermediaries and portals are required to show the CIN in listings;
  • obligations linked to public security (Article 109 of the TULPS) and to regional and provincial sector rules are also referenced;
  • monetary penalties are provided for facilities and units without a CIN.

For Friuli Venezia Giulia, a regional tourism page indicates that the CIN has been mandatory since 1 January 2025.

A typical case: an Austrian buyer purchases and leaves the property under the management of a Lignano agency. In a full-management arrangement, the local agency often handles or coordinates at least:

  • the correct display and entry of the codes in listings (the CIN and, where applicable, regional codes);
  • information flows (guests, required communications);
  • collection and reporting of the imposta di soggiorno, where due in that municipality, as is typically the case.

Italy–Austria double taxation: do you pay twice?

For an Austrian tax resident earning rent from a property in Italy, the treaty rule is normally this: Italy may tax the property income because the source is in Italy, and Austria, as the state of residence, may tax worldwide income but must grant a mechanism to avoid double taxation, generally a tax credit or equivalent methods under the convention’s articles.

On the Italy–Austria convention:

  • the Official Gazette publishes the convention (the legal framework);
  • FiscoOggi (the Agenzia delle Entrate’s journal) recalls the tax-credit logic for avoiding double taxation in Italy–Austria cases (in a specific context, but the principle is that one).

In practical terms: it is not “paying twice” on the same income in the full sense, but very often paying in Italy and then declaring in Austria too, benefiting from the double-taxation relief mechanism. The detail (tax credit versus exemption with progression) must be checked against the convention and the Austrian rules applicable to the individual taxpayer.

Resale: capital gains, exit costs and buying through a company

Reselling as a private individual

The best-known Italian rule: the plusvalenza (capital gain) on the sale of property can be taxable if the sale takes place within a certain period (the general case being “within 5 years”, with exceptions). The Agenzia delle Entrate summarises the taxation of property capital gains for sales for consideration of properties bought, built or received no more than five years earlier.

Approaching a resale, the exit budget should include:

  • the selling-side agency commission, often lower than on the purchase side (1–2% is a common range, but it depends on the agreement);
  • notarial costs and the fees for cancelling restrictions and mortgage liens, if any;
  • any regularisation costs or technical documents required by the market, even if not tax-related;
  • managing the repatriation of funds: on the bank side, anti-money-laundering checks on the origin and coherence of the flows (sale, rogito, receipts) can come back into play.

Buying or selling through a company: why almost never in practice

Buying a second home through a company is possible, but often inefficient if the goal is holidays, personal use and some letting.

The typical reasons are as follows.

No cedolare secca. The cedolare secca is a substitute regime linked to IRPEF and designed for lettings by private individuals; companies fall instead within business-income logic and corporate taxes (IRES and IRAP), with accounting, financial statements, tax returns and deductibility rules.

Structural taxation of the gain, and accounting. A company books the property among its assets and its sale generates business-income components; tax planning is completely different from the individual’s horizon, where the gain may even be non-taxable beyond certain cases.

The IRES rate and possible exceptions. The ordinary IRES rate has historically been 24% (Article 77 of the TUIR, the Italian income tax code), and specific situations may carry surcharges or special regimes, not relevant to most second-home purchases. This is one of the reasons why, in second-home practice, companies are rarely used: the compliance and planning burden is typically out of proportion to the benefit.

Requalification risk and cross-border profiles. If the company is foreign and lets in Italy, international tax questions come into play (permanent establishment, withholdings, VAT on ancillary services) and professional assistance becomes practically indispensable.

The operational summary

For a foreign buyer purchasing a €1,000,000 second home in Lignano, the genuinely decisive points before signing are these:

  • correctly identify the seller (private individual or company), because the tax burden changes (9% registration tax versus 10% VAT with fixed taxes), as summarised by the Agenzia delle Entrate;
  • obtain the codice fiscale and set up from the outset the anti-money-laundering and banking management of the source of funds and of the documents to produce (offer, preliminare, rogito);
  • remember that in Lignano the local property tax is ILIA (not IMU), with municipal rates and regional changes on the first “second home” (0.70% maximum from 2025), payable from abroad by bank transfer if needed;
  • if the goal is to let the property, plan ahead: regime (short or long), cedolare secca, withholdings and intermediary, CIN/BDSR and tourist tax, plus coordination with the tax return in the country of residence (Austria, for example) to avoid double taxation;
  • set up the exit path (resale) today, understanding when the taxable plusvalenza is triggered and what ancillary costs there will be.