LumenDo I have to declare and pay tax on foreign bank accounts as an Italian tax resident?
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Yes. Italian residents must list foreign investments, financial assets and crypto-assets in their tax return; foreign bank deposits are exempt if their combined maximum during the year stayed at or below €15,000. Residents also pay IVAFE: €34.20 a year per foreign current or savings account, unless the average balance is €5,000 or less, and 0.2% on other foreign financial products.
Key facts
| What | The law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting duty | Residents holding foreign investments, foreign financial assets or crypto-assets that can produce income taxable in Italy must list them in the annual tax return; beneficial owners too | DL 167/1990, art. 4(1) |
| Small bank accounts | No reporting for foreign deposits and current accounts whose combined maximum value during the year was not over €15,000 | DL 167/1990, art. 4(3) |
| IVAFE on current and savings accounts | €34.20 a year per account for individuals | Agenzia delle Entrate, Ivafe; DL 201/2011, art. 19(20) |
| Small balances | No IVAFE if the average annual balance is not over €5,000, counting all your accounts with the same intermediary | Agenzia delle Entrate, Ivafe |
| IVAFE on other financial products | 2 per thousand (0.2%) of the value | DL 201/2011, art. 19(20) |
| Products in tax havens | 4 per thousand (0.4%) from 2024, for products held in states listed in the Ministerial Decree of 4 May 1999 | DL 201/2011, art. 19(20-bis) |
| Value used | Market value at the end of each calendar year where the products are held | DL 201/2011, art. 19(20) |
| Foreign wealth tax | Credited against IVAFE, up to the Italian tax | DL 201/2011, art. 19(21) |
Reporting foreign assets
The law requires resident individuals who hold investments abroad, foreign financial assets or crypto-assets that can produce income taxable in Italy to list them in their annual income tax return. The duty also applies to the beneficial owner when someone else holds the assets.
There is no reporting duty for foreign bank deposits and current accounts whose combined maximum value during the tax year was not over €15,000. There is also none for assets managed through Italian intermediaries when the intermediary has already withheld tax on the income.
IVAFE: the tax on foreign financial assets
IVAFE applies to financial products, current accounts and savings books held abroad by Italian residents. The law sets it at 2 per thousand of the value of financial products. For current accounts and savings books, the law sets a fixed amount; the Agenzia delle Entrate’s guidance says that for individuals it is €34.20 per account, and nothing is due when the average annual balance is not over €5,000. For that test you add up all accounts with the same intermediary; for joint accounts, you count only your share.
The tax is proportional to your share and to the time you held the asset during the year. Any wealth tax paid in the country where the asset is held is credited against IVAFE. The Agenzia’s guidance says no credit is due if a double tax treaty gives the exclusive taxing right to Italy; in that case you can ask the other country for a refund.
Sources
- Decreto-legge 28 giugno 1990, n. 167, art. 4 (text in force, Normattiva) checked 2026-10-25
- Decreto-legge 6 dicembre 2011, n. 201, art. 19, commi 18–22 (text in force, Normattiva) checked 2026-10-25
- Agenzia delle Entrate, Ivafe – Base imponibile e aliquote checked 2026-10-25
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