An inherited house on the lake: what to do, what it costs, what to decide

The declaration is filed within 12 months of the opening of the succession, normally the day of death¹. It goes online: in the Revenue Agency's reserved area, with SPID, CIE or CNS, a pre-filled version starts from the data the Agency already holds and works out the taxes; alternatively you entrust it to a professional or a CAF tax centre, or have an Agency office transmit it by appointment².

Those called to the inheritance and the legatees are bound to file it, but the signature of one of them is enough¹. Those living abroad who cannot file online may post the paper form by registered mail: the posting date counts¹².

There is an exemption, but not for those inheriting a house: no declaration is needed only if the estate goes to the spouse and children, is worth no more than €100,000 and includes no real estate². The same filing requests the cadastral transfer (voltura catastale) that puts the house in the heirs' names².

Inheritance tax depends on the relationship with the deceased, and the allowance applies to each heir¹:

On the house you always pay the mortgage tax (imposta ipotecaria) of 2% and the cadastral tax of 1% on the declared value; if even one heir meets the requirements for the «first home» relief, they become €200 each. On top come €85 of stamp duty for each land-registry office involved and €120 of fee for land-registry and cadastral services for each registry².

Which value? The one the heirs declare. For a building, the office cannot adjust it if it is not lower than 100 times the cadastral income updated with the income-tax coefficients¹: that is why successions almost always declare a value built on the cadastral income shown in the land-registry record, not the market price.

Where the death occurred on or after 1 January 2025, the office no longer works out the inheritance tax: the heirs self-assess it on the basis of the declaration and pay it within 90 days of the filing deadline¹. From €1,000 upwards you may pay at least 20% at once and the rest in 8 quarterly instalments, up to 12 above €20,000¹². The office checks the figures and, if something is missing, sends a notice within 2 years of filing².

Assumption: a 150 m² villa in OMI zone B2 of Orta San Giulio, the lakefront with the island. At the OMI values for the second half of 2025, 2,100–3,000 €/m², it would be worth between €315,000 and €450,000 on the market⁷. If two children inherit it, each receives a half worth between €157,500 and €225,000: far below the €1,000,000 allowance, so no inheritance tax, whatever value is declared.

For the other taxes, assume a declared value, worked out from the cadastral income, of €150,000: mortgage tax €3,000, cadastral tax €1,500, plus stamp duty and fee (€205), make €4,705. If one of the two children meets the first-home requirements, the bill falls to €605. And here is how the same declared value changes if someone else inherits alone:

The succession declaration is a tax formality; you become the owner by accepting the inheritance. You have 10 years from the death³. Acceptance can be express, with a deed before a notary, or tacit: the law sees it in any act that only an heir would be entitled to perform³, and selling the house is one of them.

For the house there is one more step: the acceptance has to be entered in the property registers, on the basis of a public deed or an authenticated private agreement, or of the very act that implies it tacitly³. It is what the buyer's notary will look for to trace the chain of ownership. Those who do not want the inheritance renounce it with a declaration before a notary or the court clerk³.

From the day of death IMU falls on the heirs, each for their share and with an obligation of their own⁶: for those who do not take up residence there, the lake house is a second home, with the rates you find in IMU property tax on the lake.

Two or three siblings who inherit the same house become its co-owners, each for their share. For improvements and other extraordinary acts a majority representing two thirds of the value is enough, but to sell the house, or to let it for more than nine years, everyone's consent is needed⁴.

No one is forced to remain a co-owner, though: anyone may ask to divide. Only the will can postpone division, by at most 5 years from the death (or until a year after the youngest heir comes of age, if the heirs are minors), or the court, which can suspend it for no more than 5 years when dividing at once would seriously harm the estate. An agreement among the heirs to stay together is valid for up to 10 years⁴. A house does not split in two like a field: in practice one heir buys out the others, or the house is sold and the price divided.

Either way the starting point is the same, a value everyone agrees on. The tool What is my home worth sets out the OMI values for your zone; for a figure to sign on, you need someone who sees the house.

The rule that surprises people: whoever sells a house received by inheritance pays no capital gains tax, even selling the month after. The law excludes property acquired by succession both from the five-year rule and from the rule on houses with Superbonus works⁵. It is different for a house received as a gift, where the years run from the purchase by whoever gave it⁵.

Otherwise the papers are those of any sale, with two more: the succession declaration and the registered acceptance, which serve as proof of title. Floor plans, compliance, energy certificate and taxes are in Selling your lake house; the checklist is in the tool Documents to sell.

If the heirs do not yet know what to do with the house, it is worth getting a picture before deciding: present it to us, even just to learn what it is worth and what buyers on the lake are looking for. If instead you plan to keep it and let it, the rules are in Renting out your lake home.