Posted by hewhoisdom

I am determining the costs of property ownership in Italy and am confused about property taxes (IMU). This is a two part question using a small attached beach cottage in Trapani, Sicily as an example. (I have dual Italian-American citizenship and will reside in the USA.)

Question 1A: According to the commune’s rate schedule, the rate is 10.6% for a property that is not my principal home (“Aliquota per tutti gli altri fabbricati”). But online sources quote a much lower rate (0.4- 0.76%). How can I determine the correct rate?

Question 1B: I don’t know this property’s cadestral value. I need this because the tax rate is applied to it rather than the asking price. Is there a rule of thumb that can help me estimate the cadestral value? Is this information made public?

Thanks in advance for your consideration. I hope to be more helpful myself in this forum some day.