Investing in Italy
Capital gains tax, stamp duty, PIR plans and pension rules for long-term investors in Italy. Amounts in euros; every figure with its source and an as-of date.
Key figures
How gains are taxed
Gains, dividends, fund distributions and interest from securities are taxed at a flat 26 % substitute tax, usually withheld by the Italian bank under the regime amministrato. Interest and gains on Italian government bonds and bonds of white-list states keep the reduced rate of 12.5 %. There is no allowance and no partial exemption: the 26 % apply to the whole gain.
Losses need care: a loss on an ETF or fund counts as a redditi diversi loss and can only be set against gains classed the same way — individual shares, bonds, derivatives — for up to four years, but not against gains from other ETFs or funds, which are redditi di capitale. On top of that, a stamp duty of 0.2 % a year is charged on the value of the custody account. A PIR shelters gains and income from tax altogether once the five-year holding period is met.
Pension
- The old-age pension (pensione di vecchiaia) requires 67 years of age and at least 20 years of contributions in 2026; the life-expectancy adjustment adds one month in 2027 and three months from 2028.
- Workers who entered the system in 1996 or later also need a pension of at least the assegno sociale to retire at 67.
- From July 2026, new hires in the private sector are enrolled automatically in a supplementary pension fund (previdenza complementare) with their severance pay (TFR) unless they opt out.