The cost of selling a home: fees and taxes

The certain costs

The documents on the state of the property: register extract, cadastral record and floor plan, copies of the building permissions. The energy certificate, prepared by a professional and issued by the CasaClima Agency. Any cadastral update where the plan does not match. And, if there was a mortgage, its cancellation from the land register.

These amounts are quoted by the professional and the notary on the actual case: they depend on the property, not on a single tariff, and anybody promising a round figure without having seen the position is guessing.

The agency's commission

There is no rate fixed by law: percentages are free and are agreed in writing in the mandate, together with the moment they fall due — normally on conclusion of the deal, that is on acceptance of the offer. What matters is not only the percentage but what it covers: photographs, translations, publication, viewings, handling the paperwork, support through to registration.

Capital gains: when they are taxed and when not

The general rule is article 67 of the Italian income tax code: the difference between the sale price and the acquisition cost — increased by documented costs, taxes, fees and works — is taxable if the property is sold within five years of purchase. After five years nothing is due.

Two important exemptions apply even inside the five years: a property used as the main residence of the seller or their family for most of the holding period, and a property received by inheritance. As an alternative to ordinary income tax the seller can ask the notary to apply the 26% substitute tax, which the notary charges and pays over within the deed.

One more recent case deserves care: for properties affected by superbonus works, the 2024 budget law extended the relevant period to ten years from completion, with its own rules. This is the case where speaking to an accountant before signing genuinely pays.

In short

Seller's costs: documents, energy certificate, any cadastral update
Mortgage cancellation where a loan was running
Commission: rate is free, agreed in writing
Buyer's costs: registration tax and the notary's fee for the deed
Capital gains: only within 5 years, save main residence and inheritance
26% substitute tax on request, applied by the notary

The questions we are asked most

I bought three years ago and live there: do I pay?

If the property was your main residence — or that of a family member — for most of the time you owned it, the exemption applies even inside the five years. What counts is actual use, not registration alone: that is the point to check with your accountant or notary.

Who pays the notary?

The fee for the sale deed and the related taxes fall to the buyer, who also chooses the notary. The seller pays for what concerns them: cancelling their own mortgage, for instance, or regularising a succession where needed.

When is the agency's commission due?

As a rule when the deal is concluded, that is when the offer is accepted and the parties are bound — not at completion. The mandate must say so in writing, along with the amount, the term and any exclusivity.

Official sources

Note

This guide is general information written by an estate agency. It does not replace advice from a notary, an accountant or the surveyor handling the property. The rules cited are those in force at the date of publication.

Would you like to know what your property is worth?

The valuation is free and reasoned: you get the figures and the thinking behind them, with no obligation and no mandate to sign.

Have your property valued

What selling costs: the expenses that fall to the seller