Can Americans Buy Property in Italy? What Actually Changes for a US Buyer

A buyer in Colorado at the end of the working day, a farmhouse in the hills on the screen, an ocean between the desk and the door. The first thing to settle is whether an American may buy here at all.

Where does a US citizen stand under Italian law?

Italian law does not keep a list of nationalities that may own property. It provides a rule of reciprocity, in article 16 of the preliminary provisions to the Civil Code: a foreigner enjoys the civil rights attributed to citizens on condition of reciprocity and subject to special laws.^[1] For citizens of EU and EEA countries, and for holders of certain residence permits, the MAECI, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, says that the condition is not checked.^[2] A US citizen who holds none of those permits is in neither group, and for such a buyer the notary checks reciprocity, if necessary with the MAECI.

What follows is not a prediction of the result. The article does not state that US citizens are exempt from the check, and it does not state that they are barred. The next section gives the texts, as read on 30 September 2026.

Why does the notary check reciprocity, and how?

What does the Ministry say?

The MAECI page on rights and reciprocity, read on 30 September 2026, states the rule of article 16.^[1][2] It says that the check is not made for citizens of EU and EEA countries. Nor is it made for non-EU citizens who hold a carta di soggiorno or a regular residence permit for subordinate work, self-employment, individual enterprise, family, humanitarian or study reasons. Stateless persons and refugees who have resided in Italy for three years are also outside the check, as are nationals of countries with which Italy has a bilateral investment treaty, and similarly for investment agreements between the EU and third countries.^[2]

The page adds that the country information it publishes has no legal value and is indicative only, and that any concrete application must be read in light of bilateral and multilateral obligations.^[2]

What is on the Ministry’s country list?

The MAECI publishes a list of about 170 countries and territories for which it holds an information sheet, and the United States appears on it.^[3] The page repeats that the sheets are indicative and have no legal value.^[3] Appearing on the list does not itself say that reciprocity is met.

What does the notarial profession say?

The Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato (CNN), the national council of the Italian notaries, describes the check as the notary’s task, case by case, with the help of the MAECI when needed.^[4] In its compendium of answers on reciprocity, dated 28 February 2024, it records that establishing reciprocity is, by law, the exclusive competence of the MAECI.^[4][5] It also records that notaries send their requests to the Ministry by certified email, and that the Ministry’s sheets are a first source only.^[4]

In one answer, dated 23 January 2024 and concerning a Canadian citizen, the CNN concluded that a residence permit or visa for elective residence does not seem to exempt a buyer from the check.^[6] The reason it gives is that the exemptions in the decree are read as an exhaustive list.^[6] An expired permit exempts if renewal has been requested in time. A permit issued by another EU country does not exempt.^[4]

What does the 1948 treaty add?

The Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between the United States and Italy, in force since 26 July 1949, has a property clause.^[7] Article VII(1) says that the nationals of each country “shall be permitted to acquire, own and dispose of immovable property” in the other. For US nationals in Italy, the right is on terms no less favourable than those that the US state where the national is domiciled gives to Italian nationals, and Italy need not give US nationals more extensive rights than it gives its own.^[7]

Article VII does not say how a notary applies it, and the MAECI page on investment treaties does not mention it. Law firms and notarial offices describe the treaty as establishing reciprocity with the United States. Those are secondary sources, and the article does not rely on them.^[8]

What does this mean in practice?

A buyer who intends to sign from abroad may find it useful to ask the notary who will sign the deed, before an offer is made, how the notary will deal with reciprocity for the buyer’s nationality.

How does a US buyer get a codice fiscale?

Almost every step of a purchase needs a codice fiscale, the Italian tax code, and the Agenzia delle Entrate (AdE), the Italian revenue agency, issues it. The AdE page on the codice fiscale names form AA4/8 as the request form.^[9] For non-EU foreigners in Italy, it says, the code is attributed by the immigration offices or by the police station when a permit is requested.^[9] It also says that citizens resident abroad can ask the Italian consular representation.^[9] For the position of a US buyer the article turns to the consulate page below.

The Consulate of Italy in Detroit explains the position for foreign citizens who live in its district, on a page read on 30 September 2026.^[10] A foreign citizen who does not live in Italy must, as a rule, delegate a person to submit the request to any AdE office in Italy. The consulate takes the request itself only when the code is needed for online procedures or when the person cannot delegate, and then forwards it to the AdE. The page says that foreign citizens who need a code to buy real estate can delegate their representative at the AdE. For residents of its district the consulate service is free and takes up to 15 days, by post.^[10]

Procedures differ by consulate, so a buyer should read the page of the consulate that covers the place of residence. The code is requested for the buyer personally. The delegate submits the form with the buyer’s identity document.

How does the money move?

The law requires that the price be paid by traceable means and that the deed describe how it was paid. At the deed, each party declares under oath how the price was paid, with an analytical indication of each payment, and whether a mediator was used.^[11] An omitted or false declaration carries a fine of €500 to €10,000 and a revaluation for registration tax.^[12] Transfers of cash of €5,000 or more between different persons are prohibited.^[13]

Each bank sets its own conditions for opening an account. A basic payment account must be offered to consumers legally resident in the EU, but the right depends on the person’s right to reside, and the article does not say that it is suitable for a purchase. The subject is treated in “The Bank Account and the Source of Funds”.

The notary applies the anti-money-laundering rules, which include identifying the buyer and verifying the origin of the funds according to risk. Banks apply their own checks. Funds sent from an account in another person’s name, or through an intermediary, are more likely to prompt questions. Whether a third party may pay is a question for the notary and the bank.

At the request of at least one party the notary holds the price, or the balance, in a dedicated account and releases it after registration and transcription of the deed.^[14] A payment from a US dollar account to an Italian euro payment involves a currency conversion. What the conversion costs is a question for the buyer’s bank.

What are the steps from offer to deed, seen from the US?

Seen from the United States, the road runs from the tax code to the upkeep that follows the deed.

The preliminary contract does not transfer ownership. The deed does. The Italian deed is read and signed before the notary, who is a public official and acts for neither party. A buyer who cannot attend can sign through an agent under a power of attorney, as the next section describes.

What surprises US buyers?

The first is that owning is not residency. Buying a home in Italy does not give the owner a right to stay beyond the rule for visitors. A US citizen may enter the Schengen area without a visa for a stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across all the Schengen countries together. The European Commission sets out the rule,^[16] and the United States is on the MAECI list of visa-exempt nationalities.^[17] Nothing in these rules refers to property. A longer stay needs a national long-stay visa and then a residence permit; see “The Elective Residency Visa”.

The Entry/Exit System began to operate progressively on 12 October 2025 and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 in the 29 countries that use it, replacing the stamping of passports.^[18] ETIAS, the planned pre-travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers, is not in operation: the European Commission’s ETIAS page, read on 1 October 2026, states that no applications are collected and that the start date will be announced several months before the launch.^[19]

Timing is the second surprise. The length of a purchase is agreed between the parties in the preliminary contract and depends on the checks, on any loan and on the parties’ availability. Some steps have legal time limits: the preliminary contract must be registered within 30 days of signing.^[15] Others depend on the office concerned: the Detroit consulate gives “up to 15 days” for a codice fiscale by post for residents of its district.^[10]

The third is the power of attorney. A buyer who cannot attend the deed can be represented by an agent under a procura. A power of attorney to buy property must be in the form required for the contract itself: a public deed or an authenticated private deed. If it is made abroad it must normally carry an Apostille, the certificate that replaces legalisation between the States party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, or legalisation, and be translated into Italian. A power made before an Italian consul is an Italian public act and needs neither.

The Hague Conference status table, updated on 30 June 2026, lists the United States, in force since 15 October 1981, and Italy, in force since 11 February 1978, among the parties to the Apostille Convention.^[20] Who issues the Apostille for a document signed in a given US state, and whether a particular document is sufficient, are matters for the notary who will sign the deed, who normally settles the text of the power with the buyer’s side beforehand.

What does this article not cover?

US tax obligations that may follow from owning a foreign home, and Italian taxes on ownership, are not covered: they depend on the individual and are for a tax professional. The Italian costs of buying are in “The True Cost of Buying a Home in Tuscany”. Mortgages, inheritance and US state rules are not covered. The article states no typical duration of a purchase, no cost of transfers and no rule specific to a US state.

What should a buyer ask before committing?

These are the questions to settle before committing.

– Will the notary who signs the deed check reciprocity for this buyer, and what does the notary need to see?

– Who will request the codice fiscale, and through which office?

– Will the buyer sign in person or through an agent, and if by power of attorney, has the notary approved the text?

– How will the price be paid, from which account, and in whose name?

– What checks on the origin of the funds will the notary and the bank make, and what documents do they ask for?

– Will the price be paid through the notary’s dedicated account?

– How does the buyer’s plan for time in Italy sit against the 90/180 rule, and is a longer stay intended?

– Who, besides the notary, is checking the title, the cadastre and the planning position for the buyer?

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