{"id":5079,"date":"2026-07-08T20:32:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T18:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/taxes-when-you-sell-a-home-who-pays-what\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T19:54:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:54:55","slug":"taxes-when-you-sell-a-home-who-pays-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/taxes-when-you-sell-a-home-who-pays-what\/","title":{"rendered":"Taxes when selling a house: who pays what"},"content":{"rendered":"

The person selling the house does not pay the transfer taxes: the buyer pays them.<\/strong> Registration tax, mortgage tax, cadastral tax, and VAT are all the responsibility of the buyer. This is established by article 1475 of the civil code: the costs of the sales contract and other related expenses are borne by the buyer, unless otherwise agreed.<\/p>\n

It is the opposite of what almost everyone assumes. The individual seller, in an ordinary sale, essentially pays only one thing \u2014 the possible capital gains tax<\/a> \u2014 plus technical costs and their own commission share<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What the seller really pays<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Item<\/th>\nPaid by<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Registration tax<\/td>\nBuyer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mortgage and cadastral tax<\/td>\nBuyer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
VAT (when applicable)<\/td>\nBuyer, by way of reimbursement<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Notary fees and expenses<\/td>\nBuyer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Capital gains tax<\/strong>, if due<\/td>\nSeller<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
APE<\/strong><\/td>\nSeller<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Practices for cadastral or building compliance<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\nSeller<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mortgage cancellation<\/strong>, if there is a mortgage<\/td>\nSeller<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Agency commission<\/td>\nBoth parties, each for their own share<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

A useful clarification: the division in article 1475 applies between the parties. From a tax perspective, the position towards the financial administration may be more complex, but in current practice the transfer taxes are paid by the buyer through the notary.<\/p>\n

Taxes paid by the buyer, for completeness<\/h2>\n

It is worth knowing them even when selling, because they affect how much the buyer can spend overall and therefore the negotiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Seller<\/th>\nFirst home<\/th>\nWithout benefits<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Individual, or business exempt from VAT<\/td>\nRegistration tax 2%<\/strong> (minimum \u20ac1,000), mortgage \u20ac50, cadastral \u20ac50<\/td>\nRegistration tax 9%<\/strong> (minimum \u20ac1,000), mortgage \u20ac50, cadastral \u20ac50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Business subject to VAT<\/td>\nVAT 4%<\/strong> + registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes \u20ac200 each<\/td>\nVAT 10%<\/strong> (22% for A\/1, A\/8, A\/9) + registration, mortgage and cadastral taxes \u20ac200 each<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: Agenzia delle Entrate, guides “L’acquisto di una casa: le imposte” and “L’acquisto con i benefici prima casa”.<\/em><\/p>\n

When VAT applies<\/h3>\n

Sales of residential buildings are generally exempt from VAT<\/strong> (article 10, number 8-bis, of DPR 633\/1972). VAT is mandatory only when the seller is the company that built or carried out renovation works, within five years of completion. After five years the sale is exempt, with the option to apply VAT by declaring it in the deed.<\/p>\n

In other words: if you sell as a private individual, VAT does not apply.<\/p>\n

The price-value mechanism<\/h3>\n

The individual buyer can request the notary to calculate taxes on the cadastral value<\/strong> instead of the paid price (article 1, paragraph 497, of law 266\/2005). The value is obtained by multiplying the cadastral income, increased by 5%, by 110 in the case of the first home, and by 120 for other residential buildings.<\/p>\n

Since the cadastral value is almost always lower than the market price, the saving for the buyer is significant \u2014 and it also reduces the notary’s fee. This concerns the seller because it expands the buyer\u2019s capacity.<\/p>\n

The cost the seller risks discovering late<\/h2>\n

There is one case where the seller does pay considerably: when reselling within five years a property purchased with first home benefits<\/strong>. In this case, the benefit is lost: the avoided taxes must be repaid, increased by a 30% penalty and interest.<\/p>\n

The lapse can be avoided by purchasing another main residence within one year<\/strong> of the sale. This deadline must be set on the day of the deed, not remembered afterwards.<\/p>\n

Notary fees<\/h2>\n

They are legally borne by the buyer unless otherwise agreed. The seller only pays their own notary if they choose to appoint one independently \u2014 which is rare \u2014 and acts pertaining to them, such as mortgage cancellation.<\/p>\n

It must be honestly said that there is no longer a mandatory fee schedule<\/strong>: fees have been free since 2017 and vary by area and complexity of the deed. Any amount you find online, including any figure we might indicate, is market data, not a rule. Ask the notary directly for a quote: it is normal practice and costs nothing.<\/p>\n

The capital gain: the seller\u2019s only real tax<\/h2>\n

It arises when selling a property within five years from purchase or construction, with important exceptions: properties acquired by inheritance and those used as the main residence of the seller or their family for most of the period are excluded. Heirs never pay, regardless of when they sell.<\/p>\n

There is also a special regime, effective from 2024, for properties on which interventions with the Superbonus have been carried out. This is a topic deserving separate treatment, and we have dedicated a separate article to it.<\/p>\n

Agency commission<\/h2>\n

Is due from both parties, each for their own share (article 1755 of the civil code). The 19% IRPEF deduction on a maximum expense of 1,000 euros is granted only to the buyer<\/strong>, and only if the property is intended as the main residence: the seller does not deduct anything.<\/p>\n

A substitute declaration must be made in the deed with payment methods, mediator data, and commission amount (article 35, paragraph 22, of decree law 223\/2006).<\/p>\n

In summary<\/h2>\n

The individual seller does not pay transfer taxes. Their actual costs are the APE, any regularization practices, mortgage cancellation, the commission share, and \u2014 only in some cases \u2014 capital gains tax. The most concrete risk is loss of first home benefits for those who resell within five years without repurchasing within one year.<\/p>\n

If you are considering selling<\/a> in Milano San Felice or Segrate and want a clear overview of actual costs in your case, we provide it with no obligation<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transfer taxes are paid by the buyer, not the seller. What the seller really pays, and the cost they risk discovering late.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6575,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-sellers"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5079"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6576,"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5079\/revisions\/6576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.immobiliaresanfelice.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}