Investimenti all'estero: aspetti fiscali e oneri del contribuente

Obligations for investments abroad

Today there are many Italian and foreign platforms that offer the possibility of trading with zero commissions. What is missing, however, is information relating to the related tax obligations. In short, the taxpayer is often not aware of the obligations he will have to fulfill in the case of investments abroad. Let's see why and what needs to be done.

The national banks and platforms all act as tax withholding agents through the administered savings regime, managing all the tax aspects linked to investments.

Unlike Italian institutions, however, foreign banks and platforms do not fulfill this function and, therefore, all tax obligations fall on the taxpayer who must independently - or with a tax consultant - act in this sense.

The sections of the tax return for natural persons affected by the tax rules in relation to accounts or financial instruments held abroad are the following:

• RW table: value of investments abroad and stamp duty

Amounts held on foreign accounts or platforms must be indicated in this table. If during the year the average balance on the account or on the platform is higher than a certain threshold, there is an obligation to fill in the RW form. You will have to pay Ivafe equal to €34.20, i.e. the same stamp duty withheld from Italian accounts but, in this case, paid directly by the taxpayer.

The same applies to financial instruments held such as, for example, shares and bonds whose value must always be declared in the RW table, and Ivafe must be paid equal to 0.2% of the value of such instruments at the end of the year.

• RT framework: capital gains

If financial instruments such as, for example, shares and bonds are sold during the year and capital gains are realized, the part of the return to be filled out is the RT part. The capital gain is always calculated as the difference between the amount collected (net, therefore, of any trading commissions) and the amount spent on an equity investment (therefore including any commissions). The rates are the same as those that apply in Italy: for shares, for example, it is always 26%.

• RM framework: dividends, coupons and interests

If coupons, profits, dividends or interest arise from the holding of financial instruments, the other part to fill in is the RM part.

The rates are the same as those applied in Italy (in general 26% except for the necessary exceptions of 12.5% for coupons on government bonds).

All values to be entered in the tax return must be in euros. If the investments are in foreign currencies, official exchange rates determined by order of the director of the Revenue Agency must be applied. The official exchange rates are published on a monthly basis to allow those who close accounts during the year to apply the value of the month in which the account was closed. For those who do not close relationships during the year, the official exchange rate for the month of December should be considered.

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