The sale of the inherited house

With the death of a loved one you can inherit a property and decide, together with other heirs if any, to put it up for sale. The first step at this point is to submit the certificate of succession within a year from the owner's death. This names the heirs and included the deceased estate as well as the benificiaries' shares. They are allowed to sell a good only after they have paid the taxed due on it. It can be carried out by the heir himself using a software of the Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) or by addressing to a professional. The electronic filing is obligatory since August 1, 2018.

The  taxes on the inherited house are the following: 

• ​Inheritance taxes
  - 4% for spouse and children (calculated on the surplus of the cadastral value of EUR 1,000,000)
  - 6% for brothers and sisters (with a deductible of EUR 100,000) 
  - 6% for relatives up to the fourth degree of kinship if lineal relatives. If they are collateral relatives within the third degree of kinship without applying any deductible
  - 8% for other subjects (for examples cohabitants) without applying any deductible 
  - for disabled heirs an application of deductible of EUR 1,500,000 
• Succession duties 
  Cadastral and mortgage taxes are due as in a normal sale and are respectively equal to 2% and 1% of the cadastral value unless the heir meets the requirements to benefit from the concessions for the first home. In this case EUR 200 are applied at a fixed rate for each tax. 

The transfer of the registration must be carried out within 30 days from the date of registration of the declaration of succession. 

Two other deeds are also required for the sale of the inherited property: 

• ​Acceptance of the inheritance 
  
• Transcription of the acceptance of the inheritance 

Acceptance can be either express or tacit. In both cases it must be carried out within 10 years from the opening of the inheritance and in both cases it must be supported by the transcript of the same. Otherwise it is not possible to proceed with the sale of the inherited property. The transcription can also be carried out together with the transfer of ownership by the notary who also requires the deed of succession and the death certificate of the person who left the property as an inheritance. 

Francesco Cerolini