Taxes on investments in Italy: 26%, 12.5%, stamp duty and losses

The two main rates

• 26% on financial income from ETFs, funds, shares, corporate bonds, deposit accounts.
• 12.5% on Italian government bonds (BOT, BTP), postal savings bonds and equivalents: bonds of white-list countries and supranational bodies.

The 2026 Budget Law (Law 199/2025) did not change these rates. Cryptocurrencies have their own rules and are not covered here.

An example

You buy instruments for €10,000 and sell them for €12,000: the gain is €2,000.

Stamp duty

On a securities account you pay 0.2% a year on the value: on €20,000 of securities that is €40 a year, whether or not you made a profit. On current accounts and passbooks held by individuals the stamp duty is fixed (€34.20 a year) if the average balance exceeds €5,000. For deposit accounts the rule may differ: read the information sheet.

Capital losses

If you sell at a loss, you can use it to reduce tax on gains, but with precise rules:

• You can offset gains realised in the same year or in the following four years: a 2025 loss can be used until 31 December 2029.
• A loss offsets only "miscellaneous income" of a financial nature (capital gains), not capital income such as dividends or coupons.
• An unrealised loss, one that exists only on paper, has no tax value until you sell.
• A loss on an instrument taxed at 12.5% and one on an instrument taxed at 26% are treated differently: offsetting follows the nature of the instrument.

In ETFs, a classic case: gains from selling are miscellaneous income (offsettable against losses), but distributions are capital income (not offsettable).

Managed or self-declared regime

• Managed: the bank or broker calculates and pays the tax for you, and handles offsetting. The most common and simplest.
• Self-declared: income is reported in your tax return and you pay yourself. Used, for example, with some foreign brokers. It requires care and records: a tax adviser is worth having.

For pension funds the rules differ (20% tax on returns, benefits taxed at 15-9%): we cover them in the guide on pension fund or investment plan. This guide is educational: for your own tax return, speak to a qualified professional.

Sources

• Money.it, taxation of investments: rates, regimes, stamp duty
• Teleborsa, using capital losses to reduce tax: four years, miscellaneous income
• Fisco e Tasse, 2026 Budget Law tax changes
• Agenzia delle Entrate, circular 48/E/2012: stamp duty on current accounts and passbooks