2025 IMU Property Tax: A Guide for Expats in Italy

December 16th is a well-known – bordering on infamous – date on the Italian tax calendar. It is the date when the annual property tax (IMU) falls due for many property owners. In preparation for this tax deadline, we’re giving expats and retirees a quick overview of what IMU is, who has to pay it, how much it is, how to pay it, and how to calculate it (hint: don’t do it yourself).

What Is IMU and Why Does It Matter?

IMU (Imposta Municipale Unica) is Italy’s municipal property tax – essentially a local tax on real estate that homeowners pay each year. It was created as a “single municipal tax” to fund local services and infrastructure such as road maintenance, parks, and public safety in your Italian town. While IMU is established by national law, it’s set and collected by each municipality (Comune). 

This means every Comune can adjust the tax rates within certain limits, and the revenue goes into the community’s budget (part of it ends up in a “solidarity fund” that helps broke comuni). For expats and retirees, understanding IMU is important because it’s a key recurring cost of owning property in Italy, much like council tax or property taxes elsewhere. Paying IMU is not just a legal obligation – it’s also a contribution that helps maintain the local services you rely on in your Italian “magic town.”

Who Has to Pay IMU (and Who Is Exempt)?

IMU is generally paid by the owner of a property – but Italian law defines ownership broadly to include various property rights. The “soggetto passivo” (person liable for the tax) is anyone who possesses an immovable property. Here are the key categories of who must pay IMU:

• Property Owners: If you own a house, apartment, land, or building in Italy, you are liable for IMU. This includes all types of property (residential, commercial, land).

• Usufructuaries or Life Interest Holders: If someone holds a real right on the property such as usufruct, usage, or right of habitation, that person is considered the possessor. For example, if you officially granted someone lifelong use of your home (usufrutto), that person must pay IMU instead of you. The bare owner (nudo proprietario) in such cases is not liable.

• Concessionaires of State Land: If you have a concession on demanio (state-owned land), you pay IMU as if you were the owner

• Leaseholders in a Long-term Lease (Leasing): In cases of property under a financial lease (leasing), the lessee (tenant under the lease) is liable from the signing date for the duration of the contract.

• Family Home Assignee: If a family home is assigned to one parent after a divorce or separation by court order, that parent pays IMU as if they have a right of habitation, even if they don’t legally own the property.

On the other hand, certain people and properties are exempt or excluded from IMU in common situations:

• Main Residence (Prima Casa): Your primary home is exempt from IMU if it is your residenza anagrafica (registered residence) and you habitually live there – except if it’s a luxury property. Luxury-category homes (A/1, A/8, A/9) are considered “prestigious” and do pay IMU (albeit at a special lower rate with a deduction). For all other ordinary primary residences, no IMU is due. (Only one main residence per household was allowed in the past, but a 2022 court ruling now lets spouses with different residences each claim their home as primary, if in different towns.)

• Pertinenze (Appurtenances) of Main Home: One accessory unit per category (like one garage, one storage cellar, etc.) can be treated as part of the main home and also exempt.

• Tenants: If you are renting a home (affittuari), you do not pay IMU – it’s the owner who pays in Italy. (Tenants might pay a separate waste tax, TARI, but not IMU.)

• Bare Owners: As noted, if someone else has the usufruct or similar real right on the property, the bare owner is not on the hook for IMU.

• Certain Special Cases: There are detailed exemptions for specific cases (e.g. housing co-ops, social housing, residences of armed forces personnel, etc.), but these are less common. One noteworthy case for expats: Italians registered abroad (AIRE) no longer get an automatic IMU exemption on their former principal home since 2021 (though a 50% reduction exists for some pensioners abroad). In practice, if you live overseas full-time, any home you own in Italy is treated as a second home (and thus taxable), since you can’t have an “abitazione principale” if you’re not resident in Italy.

What about rental properties? If you own a house in Italy that you don’t live in (e.g. you rent it out), it will typically be considered a second home for IMU purposes. Second homes do incur IMU, because they are not your primary residence. The tenant doesn’t pay it – as the owner, you do. However, the law provides a small break if you rent to long-term tenants at an agreed rent (canone concordato): in that case IMU is discounted by 25% (you pay only 75% of the normal tax). This encourages owners to offer affordable rentals. Aside from that specific 25% reduction, rental properties are taxed at the standard IMU rates for “other properties.”

IMU Deadlines for 2025

Mark your calendar – IMU is paid in (at least) two instalments each year:

• First Instalment (Acconto) – 16 June 2025. By this date you must pay either half of the annual IMU or the amount of IMU due for January–June. This first instalment is usually calculated using the previous year’s tax rate as a reference, since the new year’s rates might not yet be confirmed by June. If your Comune has already published the 2025 rates by June, you can optionally use those; otherwise, you’ll use 2024’s rates for the June payment. It’s also permitted to pay the whole year’s IMU in one go by 16 June if you prefer, though most people split it.

• Second Instalment (Saldo) – 16 December 2025. This is the balance to complete the year’s tax. By December, all municipalities will have their 2025 rates finalised. So for the second instalment, you must recalculate the total annual IMU using 2025’s actual rates, subtract what you paid in June, and pay the difference by 16 December. In practice, if your Comune raised or lowered rates for 2025, the December payment will adjust for that. If a municipality fails to update its rates in time, the law says the June payment (based on last year) just becomes the full amount due (no surprise increase later).

Important: These deadlines are the same for residents and non-residents. They are statutory dates across Italy – so even if you don’t get a reminder, you’re expected to remember to pay by 16 June and 16 December. Some Comuni send informational notices, but many rely on owners to self-calculate and pay on time.

How IMU Is Calculated: Cadastral Value, Rates and Examples

IMU might seem complicated, but it boils down to a simple formula:

Taxable Value × Tax Rate = IMU due (annual).

Taxable Value (Base imponibile) is primarily based on your property’s cadastral value. The cadastral value (rendita catastale) is an official assessed value of your property in the land registry, usually much lower than market value. To compute the IMU taxable base for a building, take the cadastral value, increase it by 5%, then multiply by a legally defined coefficient (multiplier) that depends on the property’s category. For example:

• Most residential homes (category A, except A/10, and categories C/2, C/6, C/7 like storage rooms, garages) have a multiplier of 160. So if your apartment’s cadastral value is €500, first add 5% (making €525), then multiply by 160. The taxable value would be €525 × 160 = €84,000.

• An office (A/10) or bank building (D/5) uses a multiplier of 80.

• Commercial buildings or warehouses (categories C/1 for shops, or D categories for factories/warehouses except D/5) use multipliers like 55 for C/1 or 65 for industrial D.

• Farmland is calculated differently: it’s based on the land’s agricultural income value (reddito dominicale) increased by 25% and then multiplied by 135.

Once you have the taxable base, you apply the IMU tax rate (aliquota) set by the Comune for that type of property. There are different base rates depending on the property type, and each municipality can adjust them within allowed ranges. Below is a summary of base rates for 2025 and how they can vary:

Note: Many municipalities set their own rates each year by local council deliberation. They must publish these by late autumn. Always check your Comune’s website or resolutions for the exact rate applicable to your property category. The above are national default rates – your town might charge a bit less or more within the allowed range.

Example: You’re a foreign retiree who owns a holiday apartment (not your primary residence) in Italy with a cadastral value of €600. It’s categorized as A/2 (standard residential). Suppose your Comune’s IMU rate for second homes is the base 0.86%. First, calculate the taxable value: €600 + 5% = €630; then €630 × 160 = €100,800. Applying 0.86%, the annual IMU would be €867 (100,800 × 0.0086). You could pay roughly €433.50 in June and €433.50 in December. If instead this property were your main and only home (and not luxury category), no IMU would be due at all under the exemption.

Also keep in mind IMU is pro-rated by ownership share and time. If you co-own a property, each owner pays IMU on their percentage share. If you bought or sold partway through the year, the tax is split by months of possession (with the month counted for whoever owned it on the 15th of that month). The final amount for each installment is rounded to the nearest euro (cents are rounded down below €0.50 or up from €0.50). And if your calculated IMU for the whole year is very low (under €12 by default), you typically don’t need to pay it – though some Comuni set a different minimum threshold.

Local Rates and Paying Your IMU Bill

Every Comune sets its own IMU rates and collects the tax. There is no centralized billing – you won’t usually receive a bill in the mail (though some municipalities send courtesy notices). It’s up to you to calculate and pay on time. Many expats use an accountant or tax assistance center (CAF) to help determine the amount. Alternatively, online calculators (some town websites or private sites) can help once you input your property details.

How to pay IMU: Payments are made in Italy via specific channels. The main methods are:

• F24 form: A standard tax payment form used in Italy. You can fill in an F24 (with the appropriate IMU tax codes for your property type and Comune) and pay at an Italian bank or through online banking. This is the most common method for residents.

• Postal money order (bollettino postale): The post office provides a bollettino specific for IMU payments. You fill it out and pay at any Italian Post Office.

• PagoPA platform: PagoPA is the Italian digital payments platform for public services. Many municipalities allow IMU to be paid through their online PagoPA portal.

• Bank Transfer (Bonifico): This option is often used by non-residents who can’t easily use F24 or Italian payment systems. If you’re overseas, you can pay IMU via an international bank transfer. You will need to obtain the Comune’s bank details (IBAN) designated for IMU and the specific payment instructions. Usually, you must send one transfer for the municipal portion of IMU to the Comune’s account, and if part of the tax is due to the state (e.g. for category D industrial properties), a separate transfer to the state’s account at Bank of Italy is required. It’s wise to contact your Comune or check its website for the correct IBAN and reference details for IMU payments from abroad. In the bank transfer reference, you should include information like your Italian tax code (codice fiscale), the year (2025), the property location (Comune name), IMU, and specify if it’s first or second instalment. After paying from abroad, it’s recommended to email proof of payment to the Comune so they can record it.

Tip: Don’t wait until the last minute – if you’re paying from abroad, account for international transfer times. Also, remember that if you have multiple properties in different cities, you need to pay each Comune separately (the F24 form or PagoPA can handle multiple payments, but separate bank transfers would be needed per Comune).

What Happens If You Miss a Deadline? (Ravvedimento Operoso)

If you forget to pay IMU or underpay by the deadline, don’t panic – but act quickly. Missing a payment triggers a penalty of 25% of the owed tax (this is the standard fine as of 2025, slightly reduced from earlier 30%), plus interest on the late amount. However, Italy offers a friendly fix called “ravvedimento operoso” (literally “operative repentance”). This is a form of voluntary late payment that greatly reduces penalties if you come forward on your own.

Under ravvedimento operoso, the sooner you pay the missing IMU, the smaller the penalty applied. For example, if you realize a few days or weeks after June 16th that you missed the payment, you can still pay the tax due, plus a minimal penalty interest calculated per day of delay (and statutory interest, which is 2% per annum in 2025). The penalty might be on the order of 0.1% per day for the first two weeks of lateness, or a one-time 1.5% if you pay within 30 days, etc., instead of the full 25%. Essentially, by using ravvedimento operoso, you might only pay a few euros extra on a late IMU rather than hundreds. To do this, you typically fill out an F24 with the appropriate penalty and interest codes or instruct your bank/consultant to include the ravvedimento amounts.

If a deadline is missed by a long time (beyond a year), penalties can increase and you might receive a formal assessment from the Comune. So it’s best to address any mistake as soon as possible. Your local tax office or accountant can help calculate the exact amounts for a ravvedimento operoso filing if needed.

Conclusion: Contributing to Your Italian Community

IMU may feel like just another bill, but it’s fundamentally your contribution to the local community that you’ve chosen to call home (even if part-time). The funds from IMU enable Italian towns to function – keeping historic centres beautiful, streets lit and repaired, and services running. As an expat or retiree in Italy, being diligent about IMU ensures you stay compliant with Italian laws and supports the municipal services you benefit from.

Remember the key points: determine if you owe it (most second homes and foreign-owned homes do), mark the June and December dates, and calculate using your property’s cadastral value and local rate. When in doubt, consult your Comune or a tax professional – many towns are used to foreign residents and can provide guidance. By understanding and paying IMU, you’ll avoid surprises and enjoy peace of mind, knowing you’re doing your part for your “magic town” in Italy. Buon pagamento!