Investor rules in Italy (Italia)

Covers cash deposits such as current accounts (conti correnti), deposit accounts (conti di deposito), certificates of deposit and IBAN-linked prepaid cards. Repayment within 7 working days from the date the bank's deposits become unavailable or its liquidation takes effect. Cooperative/rural banks (BCC) are covered by a separate fund with the same role (Fondo di Garanzia dei Depositanti del Credito Cooperativo). Shares, bonds and ETFs are not deposits and are not covered by this scheme. Savings at Poste Italiane are not covered by FITD but by a State guarantee (per Banca d'Italia). Current rule as of Oct 2026.

Pays out when a member firm (Italian and EU banks, investment firms/SIM, asset managers/SGR, fiduciary companies, branches in Italy, etc.) is placed in compulsory liquidation, bankruptcy or composition with creditors and fails to give back the investor's money and/or financial instruments. The claim must be admitted in the insolvency proceedings; the payment is reduced by any partial repayments made by the liquidators. It does not protect against investment losses from falling prices. EU firms' branches in Italy are covered only to top up their home-country scheme.

Capital gains on shares, bonds, ETFs etc. (redditi diversi di natura finanziaria) and investment income such as dividends, interest and fund distributions (redditi di capitale) are taxed separately from employment income at a flat 26%, in force since 1 July 2014 (art. 3 D.L. 24 aprile 2014, n. 66). Interest and other income from Italian government bonds (titoli di Stato) and bonds of states on the 'white list' keep the 12.5% rate; in the tax return this is achieved by counting only part of such gains at 26% (the Agenzia describes this as a 48.08% share) – describe only, do not compute. The 26% rule is confirmed in the official instructions for the 2026 tax return (Redditi PF 2026, covering tax year 2025); no official source found announcing a change for 2026 or 2027.

For harmonised (UCITS) funds and ETFs, the taxable amount is (a) income distributed while you hold the units and (b) the difference between the sale/redemption value and the weighted-average purchase cost (costo medio ponderato) – Agenzia delle Entrate Circolare 33/E del 15/07/2011, rate later raised to 26% by Circolare 19/E 2014. So an accumulating ETF is only taxed when you sell. Because the positive result is classed as redditi di capitale (art. 44 TUIR) while losses on fund units are redditi diversi (art. 67 c-ter TUIR, handled under art. 68 commi 6–7 TUIR per the Redditi 2026 instructions), official sources treat ETF gains and ETF losses in different 'baskets'. The practical consequence often cited – that ETF gains cannot be used to absorb earlier losses, while ETF losses can offset gains on shares/bonds – follows from this classification but was not found stated in one verbatim official sentence; see 'uncertain'. Foreign-domiciled (e.g. Irish/Luxembourg) UCITS ETFs bought without an Italian intermediary: the income is declared by the investor at 26% in quadro RM (Redditi 2026 instructions).

The official rules describe a flat 26% substitute tax applied to the gain or income itself, with no exempt threshold mentioned (the Banca d'Italia PIR page states financial income is generally taxed at 26%; the PIR tax exemption is the only exemption found and it is tied to the PIR wrapper). No official document was found that says 'there is no allowance' in so many words, so this is recorded as an absence, not a confirmed rule.

Three regimes exist under D.Lgs. 461/1997: (1) dichiarativo (art. 5) – the investor works out gains and declares them in quadro RT of the tax return; (2) risparmio amministrato (art. 6) – the Italian intermediary calculates and pays the substitute tax on the investor's behalf; (3) risparmio gestito (art. 7) – for discretionary portfolio management, tax is applied to the managed portfolio's overall result rather than to each trade. With a foreign broker (no Italian withholding agent): capital gains go in quadro RT; dividends, interest and foreign fund/ETF income not taxed at source in Italy go in quadro RM at the same rate as Italian withholding; and foreign financial assets must be reported in quadro RW (monitoraggio fiscale), where the wealth tax on foreign financial assets (IVAFE – imposta sul valore delle attività finanziarie detenute all'estero) is also due. Assets held through an Italian intermediary that applied withholding are exempt from the RW reporting. Domestic accounts instead pay a stamp duty (imposta di bollo) – rate not verified here. No maths described.

Only for individuals resident in Italy; one PIR per person. Income from the plan (gains, interest, dividends) is exempt from tax – and from inheritance tax – if the investment is held for at least 5 years. Ordinary PIR: EUR 500 minimum up to EUR 40,000 per year, EUR 200,000 in total. At least 70% must be invested in instruments issued by Italian companies (or EU companies with a permanent establishment in Italy), with sub-quotas for smaller companies outside the FTSE MIB / FTSE Mid Cap, and no more than 10% in any single company. So a PIR is not a general wrapper for a global ETF. A riskier 'PIR alternativo' (since 2021) for experienced, wealthy investors has higher limits (EUR 300,000/year, EUR 1.5 million total). Only one official source could be opened; the law text (L. 232/2016, art. 1 commi 100–114, as amended) could not be accessed.

CONSOB supervises intermediaries (investment firms/SIM and banks providing investment services) for transparency and correct conduct, keeps the register of authorised investment firms and publishes warnings and blackout orders against unauthorised websites (1,838 sites blacked out since July 2019, per its 9 Oct 2026 notice). Banca d'Italia supervises sound and prudent management and keeps the bank registers. Check also CONSOB's investor warnings: https://www.consob.it/web/area-pubblica/avvisi-ai-risparmiatori