Checking your Italian tax return – it might save you money!

Checking your Italian tax return – it might save you money!

One of the things I help my clients with is taking a look at their tax returns and making sure that the section Quadro RW (declaration of overseas assets) is prepared correctly.

Over the years I found numerous incorrect entries from commercialisti and got them corrected, saving some clients thousands in tax. However, to be fair to commercialisti they are often bombarded with information which is in English and on statements which they don’t know how to interpret. It is no wonder they sometimes get it wrong and we can’t expect them to understand non-Italian portfolio or cash transaction statements. However, that’s no excuse and either we or they have to be more attentive.

So, here’s one tip for checking your own Quadro RW.

You will find in that section that there are lots of little boxes, in which various values need to go. In box No.3 you will find the title.

‘codice individuazione bene’

This is nothing other than the number which you (or your commercialista) must select to identify the type of asset that you hold abroad, but clearly it’s not much good if you don’t have the list of identifier numbers. So, here, below, I have included a list of all the different codes:

Each number relates to the different type of assets you may hold. No 1 being conto correnti e depositi, which is current accounts and deposit accounts. However, be aware that there are different interpretations because National Savings Certificates or money market accounts, for example, will not fall into this category in Italy even though they may seem as though they should based on our interpretation.

A good start is to get a copy of your Unico tax return and check that the numbers are inserted correctly. You can work the figures out as well, but an asset declared incorrectly i.e bank account instead of stock portfolio, could end up costing you!

Remember, that you can down load a copy of your tax return now on the Agenzia delle Entrate website if you have a SPID or the carta d’identità elettronica which you have linked to the app. We have all the tools, so let’s use them or alternatively, just ask me!

On that note, I will leave you with this shorter E-zine. I will be writing about UK Inheritance tax and the very important changes that have occurred in the 30th October budget in my next E-zine. For once some tax changes could be a huge bonus for anyone looking to live in Italy for the rest of their lives and then pass on as much as possible to their heirs. The rules have been changed to make it much more clear on how you can now escape UK inheritance tax. For the likes of us who live in Italy, where from an inheritance tax point of view the country is like a fiscal paradise, we have a clearer path to taking advantage of Italy’s rules rather than the UK, but like almost everything it will require carefully planning and a full understanding of the changes.

I will certainly get that Ezine to you before Xmas !!