Italy: cross-border payments and remote closing

A buyer who lives abroad will ask the same questions again and again: when do I pay, how do I send the money, do I have to come, and what can go wrong. This briefing gives your team the sequence and the points that most often cost time in Italy. It is written for agencies and developers.

The sequence in one view

A 2026 law-firm guide lists the stages of a purchase in this order: property search and negotiation, a purchase proposal (proposta d'acquisto), a preliminary contract (compromesso) with a deposit, legal due diligence, and the final deed (rogito) before a notary (see the Mondaq guide). One consultancy page puts the time from accepted offer to deed at 60 to 90 days for a straightforward resale; treat that as indicative, because title problems and mortgages add weeks. Put the sequence in front of the buyer in the first week, with who does what.

The offer and the preliminary contract

The proposal and the compromesso are where most disputes begin, because buyers sign them quickly and read them later. The same consultancy page says a deposit of 15 to 20 percent of the price is typical at the compromesso, with a small registration tax of EUR 200 plus 0.5 percent on the deposit amount. Those figures come from one source and vary by deal. Whatever is agreed, put the amount, what happens to it if the deal fails and the conditions for withdrawal in writing, in a language the buyer reads. Refundability is the point most often left vague.

The notary is neutral. A 2026 guide stresses that the notary is a neutral public official and does not protect the buyer. Tell buyers to retain their own lawyer for title, planning permission, building compliance and mortgage checks before the compromesso, not after.

Payments and what the notary records

Italian law makes the payment trail part of the deed. A tax-practice page describes the declarations required in a property sale deed: the parties must state in analytical detail how the price was paid, for example the bank transfer details or the number of a cheque and the issuing bank, covering payments made before or at closing, including deposits. If an agent was used, they must also declare the amount of the fee, how it was paid and the agent's tax code and registry details (see the page on mandatory declarations in deeds). The same page says that omitted, incomplete or false declarations carry administrative fines of EUR 500 to 10,000 and can expose the deed to a revaluation for registration tax. The statute behind it is article 35 of Decree-Law 223/2006; we did not read it.

Two practical rules follow:

• keep every payment traceable and in the buyer's own name; the page says that paying more than EUR 5,000 in cash conflicts with the anti-money-laundering rules, and a legal explainer says the EUR 5,000 limit has applied since 1 January 2023 and remained unchanged as of 2026
• have the agent's fee paid through a traceable channel too; the tax-practice page notes that paying an agent in cash can cost the buyer a tax deduction on the fee

A buyer who tries to pay a deposit in cash will be turned away by a careful notary. Say so at the start.

Moving money from abroad

Advice for your team to pass on:

• send the money from an account in the buyer's own name, in the currency the contract states
• have the evidence of the source of the funds ready before the first transfer, because the bank and the notary will ask for it
• tell the buyer the cost of currency conversion, and that the conversion date can change the final amount
• do not accept payment from a third party unless the lawyer has documented who the payer is and why
• keep every transfer confirmation with the file, because the deed records how each payment was made
• ask the notary early how they want the balance paid at the deed, by bank transfer or by cheque

Many buyers open an Italian bank account to handle utilities and local taxes. It needs a codice fiscale first, so see our briefing on serving expat and cross-border buyers in Italy.

Costs and timing buyers should hear from you

A consultancy page gives purchase taxes for a non-resident buying a resale second home as 9 percent registration tax on the cadastral value, which it says is typically 50 to 70 percent of market value, plus small fixed cadastral and mortgage taxes; notary fees are put at 1 to 2 percent of the price. For a new build from a developer, it gives VAT of 4, 10 or 22 percent depending on the property and the buyer, and says the 4 percent rate is available to residents only. These are secondary summaries: confirm the exact regime with the notary for each case. Our briefing on what changed for foreign buyers in 2026 covers recent changes.

Remote closing and powers of attorney

A buyer who cannot travel can often appoint someone to sign the deed with a power of attorney. We did not verify the Italian rules on form, legalisation or remote signing, so ask the notary before the buyer signs anything: which kind of power of attorney the deed requires, whether it must be made before a notary or consul abroad, whether an apostille and a translation are needed, and how the notary will confirm the buyer's identity and consent. Do this at the compromesso stage, because documents signed abroad take time.

What to tell a remote buyer

• who will act for them in Italy, and what the power of attorney lets that person do
• when each payment is due and how it must be made and recorded in the deed
• that cash is not an option for the price or the agent's fee
• that the notary is neutral, so they need their own lawyer
• which taxes and costs come on top of the price, and when
• a realistic timetable, with the slow steps named: the tax code, translations and apostilles, and any mortgage

Working with D.H. Realting

D.H. Realting is a trilingual (Russian, English, Polish) overseas-property platform. We introduce buyers, including expats and cross-border buyers, and support the process. Agencies that handle the deal locally and want to be introduced to such buyers can contact us through our partners page.

This briefing is informational only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Facts were checked on 12 October 2026 from the sources named in the text; rules change, so confirm with a local lawyer before relying on any point.