Codice Fiscale and Bank Account in Italy: First Steps for Property Buyers (2026)

Last October a couple from Vienna found a house near Volterra. Everything checked out: floor plan, location, price. They wanted to submit a purchase offer. They couldn’t, because neither of them had an Italian tax number. No tax number, no offer. No offer, no house. Three weeks later, when the tax number arrived, another buyer had signed.

I see this regularly. Anyone buying a house in Italy needs three things before the first viewing: a tax number (Codice Fiscale), an Italian bank account, and a decision on the residency question. The sequence is clear, the bureaucracy manageable. This guide covers what needs to happen, what it costs, and where people get stuck.

What the tax number (Codice Fiscale) is

The Codice Fiscale is a 16-character alphanumeric code, calculated from your name, date of birth, place of birth, and gender. It’s issued by Italy’s tax authority (Agenzia delle Entrate). The code doesn’t change, doesn’t expire, and costs nothing.

Without it, nothing moves in Italy: no purchase offer, no preliminary contract (Compromesso), no notary appointment (Rogito), no bank account, no rental contract, no phone contract, no utility contract. The Codice Fiscale is the prerequisite for every legal and economic transaction in the country.

How to apply: two routes

Route 1: In Italy, at the tax authority (Agenzia delle Entrate)

Any local office of the Agenzia delle Entrate issues the Codice Fiscale. Bring a valid passport, fill out a form on site, done. It takes a few minutes. No cost, no waiting period, no appointment needed. In larger cities like Florence, Siena, or Lucca, English-speaking staff are usually available.

This is the faster route and the one I recommend. If you’re flying to Italy anyway, handle it on day one. You’ll receive a paper printout with the code. The physical card in credit-card format arrives by post to an Italian address. In practice, you rarely need the card. The code itself is enough.

Route 2: In your home country, at the Italian consulate

The Italian consulates in major European and North American cities process applications. You’ll need a passport, an application form, and sometimes a birth certificate.

Processing time: 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the consulate. Some consulates accept applications by post or online. Others require you to appear in person.

My recommendation: get the Codice Fiscale before your first viewing trip. If you fly to Italy without one and find a house you want, you can’t submit an offer. The seller won’t wait.

Bank account in Italy: required, not optional

An Italian bank account is necessary for the property purchase. All payments in the transaction run through it: the deposit (Caparra confirmatoria, typically 5 to 10% of the purchase price), the balance at the notary, taxes, ongoing costs. Cash payments above 4,999.99 EUR are prohibited in Italy (since 1 January 2023, Art. 49 the relevant regulations). In property transactions, all payments are processed via bank transfer or certified bank cheque.

Which banks?

Every Italian bank is legally obligated to open accounts, including for non-residents. In practice, some banks have more experience with foreign clients than others. Intesa Sanpaolo and Credit Agricole Italia work most frequently with international buyers. BPER and BNL are alternatives.

Documents for account opening

• Valid passport
• Codice Fiscale
• Proof of address from your home country (registration certificate or equivalent document)
• Self-declaration on economic activity

Account opening takes 1 to 3 weeks. Some banks require you to appear in person at the branch. Others accept a power of attorney or partial digital processing. Important: the proof of address must be current. Most banks reject documents older than 3 months.

A practical point many people underestimate: communication with the bank is in Italian. Account statements, contracts, follow-up requests. If you don’t speak Italian, you’ll need either a local advisor or a branch with an international desk. In Florence, Siena, and the Lake Garda towns, these exist. In smaller municipalities, usually not.

Account fees

Expect 100 to 250 EUR per year for a current account (conto corrente). Add the stamp duty (imposta di bollo) of 34.20 EUR per year and fees for international wire transfers. Some banks have reduced terms for non-residents who use the account exclusively for property management.

Source of funds: the bank will ask

Italian banks are subject to strict anti-money laundering regulations (normativa antiriciclaggio). For deposits starting at 50,000 EUR, the bank requests proof of the source of funds. Bank statements from the past 6 to 12 months, salary documentation, sale proceeds, inheritance documents. If you’re transferring a purchase price of 500,000 EUR or more, prepare the documentation before the bank asks. Follow-up requests delay the process by weeks.

Residency: when it matters and when it doesn’t

Most international buyers purchase a house in Italy as a second home. They don’t move their primary residence to Italy, remain tax-resident in their home country, and spend a few weeks or months per year at the property.

This requires no registration in Italy. No visa (for EU citizens), no residency, no registration with the municipality. The property is classified as a second home. The ongoing tax is limited to the municipal property tax IMU (basis: cadastral value times multiplier, rate between 0.46% and 1.06% depending on the municipality). If you rent the property out, you pay income tax on rental income, either at the progressive IRPEF rate or via the flat-rate option (Cedolare secca, 21% for standard rentals).

When does residency become relevant?

Two scenarios.

Scenario 1: You want the Prima Casa tax benefit. You must move your primary residence to the municipality of the property within 18 months of the purchase. The benefit reduces the transfer tax (Imposta di Registro) from 9% to 2% of the cadastral value. On a house with a cadastral value of 200,000 EUR, that saves 14,000 EUR in tax. Whether this is worth it depends on your overall tax situation, because relocating your residence to Italy makes you tax-liable there.

Scenario 2: You spend more than 183 days per year in Italy. Since the reform under the relevant regulations, two criteria determine fiscal residency: domicile (Domicilio) and presence exceeding 183 days. Registration in the foreign residents’ register (AIRE) alone no longer counts as proof of non-residency. If you live more than half the year in Italy, you’re considered fiscally resident. That means worldwide income becomes taxable in Italy, at the progressive IRPEF rates (23%, 35%, 43%).

Swiss citizens and non-EU nationals

Swiss citizens buy property in Italy under the principle of reciprocity (condizione di reciprocita). No permit required, no quotas. For stays longer than 90 days, non-EU nationals need a visa. The most common variant: the elective residence visa (Visto per residenza elettiva), which requires passive income of at least 31,159 EUR per year, plus 20% for a spouse and 5% per child. Owned or rented accommodation in Italy and health insurance are also required.

Prima Casa: tax savings with strings attached

The Prima Casa regulation saves tax on the purchase, but it binds you. If you claim it, you commit to:

• Moving your primary residence to the municipality within 18 months
• The property must not fall into a luxury category (cadastral categories A/1, A/8, A/9 are excluded)
• Selling within 5 years triggers a clawback of the tax difference, plus a 30% penalty and interest. Exception: purchasing a new Prima Casa within 24 months (extended since 2025 under L. 207/2024)

Tax savings overview:

When buying from a developer (within 5 years of completion): VAT drops from 10% to 4%. For luxury categories, from 22% to 4%.

For most international buyers purchasing a holiday home with no intention of relocating, Prima Casa doesn’t apply. The benefit is designed for people who are genuinely moving to Italy. For everyone else, the binding obligations outweigh the tax savings.

An example to put it in perspective: a house with a purchase price of 1,000,000 EUR and a cadastral value of 250,000 EUR. Transfer tax without Prima Casa: 22,500 EUR (9% on the cadastral value). With Prima Casa: 5,000 EUR (2%). The saving of 17,500 EUR sounds significant. But if you relocate your fiscal residence to Italy for it, your worldwide income becomes taxable there. A couple earning 120,000 EUR per year pays roughly 38,000 EUR in Italian IRPEF, compared to roughly 28,000 EUR in German income tax. The difference wipes out the Prima Casa saving in the first year.

Marital property regime: one sentence in the purchase deed

Married buyers in Italy default to the community property regime under Italian law (Comunione legale dei beni, Art. 177 c.c.). The property then belongs to both spouses in equal shares. This applies regardless of the marital property regime in your home country.

If you don’t want that: separation of property (Separazione dei beni) must be declared in the purchase deed. One sentence at the notary, but it needs to be discussed before the appointment. Many buyers overlook this because they assume their home-country regime carries over automatically. It doesn’t.

No purchase restrictions for foreign buyers

Italy has no acquisition restriction system comparable to Switzerland’s Lex Koller. EU citizens from any member state are treated equally to Italian citizens for property purchases (TFEU). Swiss citizens buy under the reciprocity principle (condizione di reciprocita, Art. 16 disp. prel. c.c.), which is established between Italy and Switzerland. No permit, no quotas, no special approval required. The same reciprocity principle applies to British (post-Brexit) and US citizens.

Timeline: the right sequence

Total duration from first step to ownership: 4 to 8 months. Getting the Codice Fiscale and bank account done early doesn’t shorten the process, but it prevents delays when the right house comes up.

What I see in practice: most delays come from the bank account, not the Codice Fiscale. The bank wants documents, the compliance department reviews the source of funds, the responsible employee is on holiday. If you handle the account opening in parallel with the property search, you save 3 to 4 weeks when it counts.

FAQ: 8 questions on the first steps

How long does the Codice Fiscale application take?

At the Agenzia delle Entrate in Italy: a few minutes, issued on the spot. At the Italian consulate in your home country: 1 to 3 weeks. You need a valid passport, nothing else.

What does the Codice Fiscale cost?

Nothing. The Codice Fiscale is free, both at the tax authority in Italy and at the consulate.

Can I open a bank account in Italy as a non-resident?

Yes. Every Italian bank is legally obligated to open accounts for non-residents. You’ll need your Codice Fiscale, passport, and proof of address from your home country. In practice, Intesa Sanpaolo and Credit Agricole Italia have the most experience with international buyers.

What documents do I need for the source-of-funds check?

Bank statements from the past 6 to 12 months, salary slips or tax returns, sale contracts if the funds come from a property sale, probate documents if from an inheritance. The higher the purchase price, the more detail the bank expects. Prepare before the bank asks, not after.

Do I lose non-resident tax status after a certain number of days?

From 183 days per year in Italy. Since the 2024 reform, AIRE registration alone no longer counts as proof. If you spend more than half the year in Italy, you become fiscally resident. Worldwide income is then taxable in Italy.

Do I need to move my residence to Italy to buy property?

No. Buying a second home in Italy requires no change of residence. Residency only becomes relevant if you want the Prima Casa tax benefit (18-month deadline to relocate) or if you plan to live in Italy permanently.

Is Prima Casa worth it for a holiday home?

In most cases, no. Prima Casa requires you to move your primary residence to the municipality. If you’re using the house as a second home and keeping your primary base elsewhere, you don’t qualify. The tax savings are substantial (2% instead of 9% transfer tax), but the obligation to relocate and the 5-year holding requirement make the benefit unsuitable for holiday-home buyers.

What happens to my marital property regime when I buy in Italy?

Without an explicit declaration, Italian community property applies (Comunione legale dei beni). The house then belongs to both spouses in equal shares, regardless of what your marriage contract says in your home country. If you want separation of property, it must be declared in the purchase deed at the notary. Discuss it before the appointment, not on signing day.

Andrej Avi is an estate agent in Tuscany. Buying guidance · Properties · About Andrej