Italian inheritance tax and wills: forced heirship, choosing UK law and the tax bands

If you die living in Rome, Italian law decides who inherits, unless you've chosen UK law in a will. The good news is that Italian inheritance tax is gentle on close family; the catch is forced heirship.

The short version

• Under the EU Succession Regulation, the law of the country where you're habitually resident when you die governs your whole estate, unless you choose the law of your nationality [3].
• Italian law reserves fixed shares for your spouse and children (the legittima), whatever your will says [5].
• A British national can choose UK law (in practice, English, Scottish or Northern Irish law) in a will, and Italy applies that choice even though the UK isn't in the EU [3].
• Italian inheritance tax is 4% for a spouse and children above EUR 1 million (about £833,000) each, 6% for siblings above EUR 100,000, and 6% or 8% for everyone else with no allowance [4].
• UK inheritance tax can still apply for up to ten years after you leave the UK, and the UK–Italy estate duty convention decides who gets first bite [1][2].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002).

Which country's law decides who inherits

Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 sets the rules in Italy. The starting point in Article 21 is the law of the state where you had your habitual residence at death [3]. Live in Testaccio and die there, and Italian succession law applies to your worldwide estate, the semi in Swindon included.

Article 22 lets you choose instead the law of a country whose nationality you hold, either when you make the choice or at death. The choice must be made expressly in a will (a "disposition of property upon death") or be clear from its terms [3]. Article 20 says the chosen law applies whether or not it's the law of an EU member state [3], so the UK being outside the EU doesn't matter.

Two wrinkles for Brits:

• UK law isn't one law. The UK has three legal systems. If you're English, say English and Welsh law; a Scot chooses Scots law. A lawyer will word it properly.
• The choice must be in a will. Without one, Italian law applies by default and your English will may not cover Italian assets in a way an Italian notaio can use.

Forced heirship: the legittima

Italian law protects certain relatives, called legittimari, with a reserved share (the quota di legittima). You can leave the rest, the disposable share, to anyone [5].

Source: Italian Civil Code, articles 537 and 542, as explained by an Italian notary guide (updated 24 September 2026) [5]. Parents become legittimari only if there are no children [5]. Under the same code, a spouse alone is reserved half the estate, and two or more children with no spouse share two-thirds.

On top of the share, a surviving spouse has the right to go on living in the family home and to use its furniture [5].

Why it matters to Brits: second marriages and blended families. If you want to leave everything to your second wife and nothing to the children from your first, Italian law won't let you. Choosing UK law in a will usually solves it, because English law has no forced heirship. Disappointed children can still try to challenge a choice, so get it drafted properly.

Italian inheritance tax: the bands

Italy charges imposta di successione on what each heir receives, with an allowance (franchigia) per beneficiary, not per estate [4].

Source: 2026 rates and allowances [4].

For most British families leaving a Roman flat and some savings to a spouse or children, the bill is nil. The real sting is for unmarried partners, who pay 8% from the first euro, so if you've lived together for years in Monteverde without marrying, take advice.

Who pays tax on what. If the person who died was resident in Italy, Italy taxes worldwide assets; if not, only assets in Italy. Property also carries mortgage and land registry taxes of 2% and 1% of the cadastral value, cut to a fixed EUR 200 each (about £167) if an heir qualifies for first-home relief [4].

Filing and paying

1. File the dichiarazione di successione within 12 months of the death [4].
2. Work out the tax yourself. For deaths from 1 January 2025, heirs self-assess the tax in the return instead of waiting for a bill [4].
3. Pay within 90 days of the filing deadline. Bills of EUR 1,000 or more can be paid in instalments: at least 20% up front, then eight quarterly payments, or 12 if over EUR 20,000 [4].

The UK side: inheritance tax after the 2025 rules

Since 6 April 2025, UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets depends on long-term UK residence, not domicile. You're a long-term UK resident if you were UK resident for at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years [1]. After you leave, you stay in scope for between three and ten tax years, depending on how long you lived in the UK [1].

Source: HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual [1]. UK assets, such as a house in Britain, stay within UK inheritance tax whatever happens.

So a Brit who moves to Rome after a lifetime in the UK and dies within ten years could face both UK and Italian tax. The UK and Italy have an old estate duty convention, one of the pre-1975 treaties, covering transfers on death; HMRC lists Italy among the ten countries with an inheritance tax convention [7], and it allocates assets between the two countries using situs rules [2]. It doesn't cover lifetime gifts [2]. See inheritance tax for Brits abroad.

Making a will that works in Italy

Italian law recognises three types of will [5]:

• Testamento olografo: written entirely by hand, dated and signed by you. A typed or printed one isn't valid. You can keep it, give it to someone you trust or lodge it with a notaio [5].
• Testamento pubblico: dictated to a notaio in front of two witnesses. It costs a notary fee but is the hardest to challenge [5].
• Testamento segreto: a sealed will handed to a notaio before two witnesses. Rarely used [5].

A practical plan for most Brits in Rome:

1. Keep your UK will for UK assets, and check it doesn't accidentally revoke an Italian will (or the other way round).
2. Make an Italian will for Italian assets, ideally a testamento pubblico with a notaio, and include an express choice of UK law if forced heirship would upset your plans [3].
3. Check both wills together with lawyers in each country, so they don't contradict each other.
4. Tell your family where they are. Italian heirs will need a notaio, and an EU European Certificate of Succession can help them deal with banks across the EU.

The FCDO's Living in Italy guide has bereavement guidance and lists English-speaking funeral directors, which is worth bookmarking for the family [6].

This is general information, not legal advice, and every family is different. A lawyer or notaio who knows both systems, and a tax adviser who knows both countries, can check your case. For practical stories from Brits who've sorted their Italian wills, try our community group for Brits in Italy.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (HMRC): Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM47020, long-term UK residence test
2. GOV.UK (HMRC): Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM47072, pre-1975 double taxation conventions
3. EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on succession
4. NotaiOnline: Imposta di successione 2026, aliquote e franchigie (updated 24 September 2026)
5. NotaiOnline: Successione legittima e testamentaria (updated 24 September 2026)
6. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Italy (last updated 28 October 2026)
7. GOV.UK (HMRC): Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM27161, double taxation conventions

Keep reading

• Buying a home in Italy: the notaio, geometra and the €1 houses
• Italian taxes for Brits: the UK link and your State Pension
• Italy's flat tax and the 7% regime for pensioners
• Inheritance tax for Brits abroad after the 2025 residence rules