Non-professional investors who are looking for a holiday home that they will enjoy for at least five years, or a permanent residence, are undoubtedly the winners in the Italian property market. New tax laws now favour this sector of the market with dramatic tax benefits. Purchase costs in Italy used to be as high as 15-17%, but new rulings mean that this figure can decrease to approx 4% - 5%, which is a huge gain in some cases.
Furthermore, after five years of property ownership owners, even holiday home owners, are exempt from capital gains tax in Italy. Capital gains tax stood at 12% but under new rulings this has been raised to 20%, so long term investors seeking stability gain considerably. This coupled with inheritance tax only on high value properties and still significantly lower than that of UK death duties, is also a big factor to mature individuals looking to invest here.
