Guides · Buying
Buying a home: the step-by-step guide.
What is worth knowing before the first viewing, with the rules for 2026.
How much you can spend, what you pay on top of the price, what you need for first-home relief, what comes back to you through tax deductions.
Updated on . Sources: Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian Revenue Agency), Ministry of Economy and Finance, Comune di Milano (Milan City Council).
The budget
How much can I spend?
Banks usually lend up to 80% of the value of the home and check that the monthly payment does not exceed about a third of net income.
The rest has to be paid in cash: the deposit, the taxes, the notary, the mortgage costs (arrangement fee, valuation, substitute tax).
Before looking at listings, ask a bank how much it would lend you. You will look for a home with a real figure.
- The mortgageUp to 80% of the value, with a monthly payment you can sustain even if something changes.
- The depositThe part of the price the bank does not cover.
- The costs of the purchaseTaxes, the notary, bank charges, any agency fee: always ask for a quote.
Taxes
How much tax is paid on the purchase?
It depends on who is selling. From a private individual, for a first home you pay 2% of the cadastral value (cadastral income × 1.05 × 110), with a minimum of € 1,000, plus € 50 of imposta ipotecaria (mortgage registry tax) and € 50 of imposta catastale (land registry tax). For any other home, 9% of the cadastral value (cadastral income × 1.05 × 120), with the same minimum.
The cadastral value is used if you buy as an individual, not as a business, and you request it from the notary in the deed; the deed still states the real price. It is usually much lower than the price.
From a company that built or renovated the home you pay VAT on the price: 4% for a first home, 10% for other homes, 22% for luxury homes (cadastral categories A/1, A/8, A/9), plus three fixed taxes of € 200 each.
On the mortgage the bank withholds a substitute tax: 0.25% of the loan amount for a first home, 2% for other homes. The “under 36” exemptions no longer apply to purchases made today.
First home
What do you need for first-home relief?
The prima casa (first home) tax relief does not apply to luxury homes (categories A/1, A/8, A/9). For the others, three conditions are required, declared in the deed.
- Residence in the municipalityWithin 18 months of the purchase, or the municipality is the one where you work.
- No other home bought with the reliefOr you have one and undertake to sell it within two years (a rule in force since 2025).
- Keeping it for at least five yearsIf you resell it sooner without buying again within one year, the relief is lost.
After the deed
What tax deductions are available after the purchase?
In your income tax return, for your main residence, you recover 19% of the mortgage interest, on up to € 4,000 a year, if you move in within one year.
The agency fee is also deductible at 19%, on up to € 1,000, once only, if it is stated in the deed.
For work paid for in 2026 the deduction is 50% for the main residence and 36% for other homes, on up to € 96,000 per home, in ten annual instalments. For expenses in 2027 it falls to 36% and 30%.
Above € 75,000 of income further limits apply: check with your accountant.
Yearly costs
What does it cost to keep, every year?
On the main residence the IMU (municipal property tax) is not payable, except on luxury homes: in Milan 0.68%, with a € 200 deduction. On an empty second home in Milan the rate is 1.14%.
The TARI, the waste collection tax, is paid by whoever lives in the home. In Milan it depends on the m² and the number of people: according to the Comune’s example for 2026, a family of three in 106 m² pays about € 293 a year.
Then condominium charges, utilities, maintenance, insurance. A home in a low energy class can cost far more to heat.
The first step is a conversation
Would you like the figures for your case?
Tell us what you are looking for and where you are starting from: we do the sums before the first viewing, not after the offer.