Italian Inheritance Tax (Imposta di Successione): Rates and Allowances by Beneficiary

Imposta di successione, Italy's inheritance tax, is charged on what each beneficiary actually receives from an estate, not on the estate as a whole. The rate a beneficiary pays and the amount exempt before any tax applies (the franchigia) both depend on that beneficiary's relationship to the person who died. Two heirs of the same estate can end up with completely different tax bills, or no bill at all, depending only on how closely related they are and how the estate happens to be divided among them.

This page sets out the current rates and franchigie under art. 7, D.Lgs. 346/1990, works through a full example showing how the per-beneficiary franchigia changes the outcome, and keeps the succession tax itself separate from the smaller real-estate taxes that often ride alongside it. For the return that actually triggers this tax, see our companion page on filing the dichiarazione di successione.

Information verified on 20 July 2026. This page provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice for an individual situation.

The rate table by relationship

Art. 7, D.Lgs. 346/1990 sets four bands, each with its own rate and its own franchigia (the value exempt from tax before the rate applies). The franchigia, where one exists, is calculated per beneficiary, not once for the whole estate.

A nephew or niece (a child of a sibling) is a relative in the collateral line beyond the fourth-degree franchigia bands and typically falls into the 6% no-franchigia row above, not the sibling row. A stepchild who was never formally adopted is generally not a parente in linea retta for this purpose and is usually taxed as an unrelated beneficiary unless adoption or an equivalent legal status applies.

The franchigia belongs to the beneficiary, not the estate

This is the single most misunderstood feature of the tax, and it is where most figures published elsewhere online go wrong. The franchigia is not a lump sum subtracted from the estate before it is divided. It is a threshold applied separately to each beneficiary's own share, and it resets for every beneficiary in the applicable band.

That has a direct, practical consequence: how an estate is split among heirs, not just its total size, determines how much tax is owed in total. Two estates of identical value can produce very different tax bills purely because of who receives what.

Worked example: one estate, three beneficiaries, three outcomes

Take an estate worth 1.200.000 euro net, left to three people: a spouse who receives 700.000 euro, a sister who receives 300.000 euro, and an unrelated close friend who receives 200.000 euro.

• Spouse: in the 4% band with a 1.000.000 euro franchigia. The 700.000 euro received is entirely below that franchigia, so the succession tax on this share is 0 euro.
• Sister: in the 6% band with a 100.000 euro franchigia. The taxable amount is 300.000 euro minus 100.000 euro, or 200.000 euro, taxed at 6%, giving 12.000 euro.
• Friend: in the 8% band with no franchigia. The full 200.000 euro received is taxable at 8%, giving 16.000 euro.

Total tax on this 1.200.000 euro estate: 28.000 euro, all of it generated by the two smaller shares.

Now compare a different division of the same total value. If that same 1.200.000 euro estate had gone entirely to a single child instead, the calculation is 1.200.000 euro minus the 1.000.000 euro franchigia, or 200.000 euro, taxed at 4%, giving 8.000 euro. Same estate, same total value, a very different result because of who received it and how it was split. This is why a worked figure quoted for "an estate of X euro" without naming the beneficiaries and their shares is not a usable number.

Real estate carries its own, separate taxes

Where the estate includes real property, two further taxes apply on top of (or, for the spouse and children above their franchigia, sometimes instead of) the succession tax: imposta ipotecaria at 2% of the property's value and imposta catastale at 1%, each subject to a 200 euro minimum. These are not the imposta di successione itself; they fund the registration of the transfer in the mortgage and land registries and are due even where the beneficiary's succession-tax liability on that property is zero because of the franchigia.

Where at least one heir meets the requirements for the prima casa (first home) benefit on a non-luxury residential property, both of these taxes are reduced to a fixed 200 euro each rather than a percentage of value. Take an apartment worth 300.000 euro left to a child who qualifies for prima casa: at the ordinary percentage rates that would be 2% (6.000 euro) plus 1% (3.000 euro), a total of 9.000 euro; with the prima casa reduction it becomes a flat 200 euro plus 200 euro, 400 euro total, regardless of the property's value.

Disabled beneficiaries: a materially larger franchigia

A beneficiary with a disability recognized as severe under art. 3, comma 3, L. 104/1992 is taxed only on the value received above 1.500.000 euro, no matter which relationship band would otherwise apply. A sister with a recognized disability who inherits 1.400.000 euro from a sibling pays no succession tax at all on that share, even though an ordinary sibling's franchigia is only 100.000 euro.

D.Lgs. 139/2024: how the tax is now paid, not what it costs

D.Lgs. 139/2024 came into force 3 October 2024, and it reorganized much of the Testo Unico delle successioni e donazioni, but the change most readers will feel is procedural: for successions opened from 1 January 2025, the heir self-assesses the tax (autoliquidazione) in the dichiarazione di successione and pays it directly, rather than waiting for the Agenzia delle Entrate to calculate and bill it. These are two distinct dates: the reform itself took effect in October 2024, while the autoliquidazione mechanism specifically applies only to successions opened from 1 January 2025 onward. It left every rate and franchigia on this page unchanged. See our page on filing the dichiarazione di successione for the filing deadline and the payment mechanics that follow it.

Looking ahead: a 2027 recodification, not a rate change

A separate, later decree, D.Lgs. 123/2025, approved a new consolidated Testo Unico delle imposte indirette that will eventually replace the current numbering of D.Lgs. 346/1990 (including art. 7 itself). Its entry into force was originally set for 1 January 2026 and has since been postponed a full year, to 1 January 2027, by D.L. 200/2025 (the annual "milleproroghe" decree). Public commentary on the new text describes it as a reorganization and renumbering of existing rules, not a substantive reform, and states that it leaves the underlying rates and franchigie unchanged. That characterization has not been independently verified against the new text article by article for this page, so treat it as the direction of travel rather than a confirmed final word, and expect the article numbers cited here to change again once 2027 arrives.

What this page does not calculate

The figures above assume a straightforward transfer of a clear value to each beneficiary. Real estates are rarely that simple. Usufrutto (life interest) and other split ownership arrangements are valued under their own rules that this page does not cover, other liabilities of the estate can reduce the taxable base, and the Agenzia delle Entrate's own determination from the dichiarazione di successione is the figure that actually governs, not an estimate made in advance.

A will can also change who receives what, which changes which franchigia band applies; see our page on making a will in Italy. For the full list of who must file, when, and what happens if a return is exempt or late, see the dichiarazione di successione page. For the wider landscape of Italian law this site covers, see our Italy hub.

Inheritance tax estimator

Frequently Asked Questions

Is imposta di successione charged on the whole estate or on what each heir receives?

On what each heir receives. The rate and the franchigia both depend on that individual beneficiary's own relationship to the person who died, applied to that person's own share, not to the estate's total value (art. 7, D.Lgs. 346/1990).

Do I owe tax if I inherit less than 1.000.000 euro from a parent?

Generally no succession tax is owed on that share, since a child's franchigia is 1.000.000 euro. A dichiarazione di successione may still be required depending on the rest of the estate; see our page on filing the return for the exact exemption conditions.

What rate applies to a niece or nephew?

A niece or nephew (a sibling's child) is not in the sibling band. They typically fall into the «other relatives to the fourth degree» row, taxed at 6% with no franchigia at all, which is a materially worse position than a sibling's own 100.000 euro franchigia.

How much can a beneficiary with a disability inherit tax free?

1.500.000 euro, regardless of which relationship band that beneficiary would otherwise fall into, where the disability is recognized as severe under art. 3, comma 3, L. 104/1992. Only the value above that threshold is taxed, at the rate of the applicable band.

Does an unused franchigia carry over to a future inheritance?

No. The franchigia applies to that beneficiary's share of that specific succession. It is not banked, transferred to another beneficiary, or carried forward to a later inheritance.

Is an unmarried partner taxed the same as a spouse?

No. Only a legal spouse falls into the 4% band with the 1.000.000 euro franchigia. A partner without a formal marriage is generally taxed as any other unrelated beneficiary, at 8% with no franchigia, unless a specific legal status applies to the relationship.

Are imposta ipotecaria and imposta catastale part of the inheritance tax?

No, they are separate taxes tied to real estate in the estate, charged at 2% and 1% of value (200 euro minimum each), reduced to a fixed 200 euro each where the prima casa benefit applies. They are due on real property even where the succession tax itself is zero because of the franchigia.

Are the succession tax rates changing soon?

Not as of this page's verification date. A recodification (D.Lgs. 123/2025) will renumber the underlying rules from 1 January 2027, but the public guidance available so far describes a reorganization, not a change to the rates or franchigie themselves. This page will be updated as that date approaches.