Inheritance of Holiday Homes: Tax and Strategy Guide 2026
Anyone who inherits a holiday home in Sardinia from a spouse or a parent pays inheritance tax of 4% only on the part exceeding €1 million per heir, calculated on the cadastral value and not the market value, plus mortgage tax (2%) and cadastral tax (1%). Taxes are therefore often not the main problem. More often the problems are timing, conflicts between heirs and choices made without a plan: a villa in Santa Teresa di Gallura, an apartment in Stintino or a two-room flat in Cala Gonone pass more smoothly to the children if the succession is prepared in advance. This guide gives you the basic concepts so you can go to the notary or accountant (commercialista) with the right questions.
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Important note: this guide is for information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Succession planning is a complex, individual matter — it always requires a notary and an accountant. Use this guide to understand the general picture, not to make decisions on your own.
Why Plan the Succession in Advance
Most holiday-home owners in Sardinia do not plan their succession — and this creates problems that emerge at the worst moment: after the loss of a parent, when families are under emotional stress.
Typical problems of an unplanned succession
- Property blocked — until the succession declaration is filed and the inheritance is accepted, in practice the property cannot be sold or mortgaged, and every decision requires the agreement of all the heirs
- Conflicts between heirs — especially when there are 3+ children with different ideas about the use or sale of the property
- Avoidable tax costs — some structures legally reduce the tax burden, but they must be set up before the owner's death
- Loss of income — a rented property can remain blocked for months or years during a contested succession
A Sardinian villa that generates €30,000 a year, blocked for 18 months of contested succession = €45,000 of lost income, plus legal fees. Planning in advance costs far less.
Ordinary Succession: How It Works
Without planning, when the owner dies the ordinary succession opens. The process involves:
- Succession declaration — to be filed with the Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian tax authority) within 12 months of death; since 2025 the tax is self-assessed and paid within 90 days of the declaration deadline
- Accepting the inheritance — tacit or express, with or without benefit of inventory
- Cadastral transfer (voltura catastale) — updating of the land registry in the heirs' names, which is normally requested together with the online succession declaration
- Division of the estate — if there is more than one heir and they do not agree on use
If the property is co-owned by several heirs who do not agree, any one of them can request the judicial partition (court-ordered division of the property) — a process that can last years and lead to the forced sale of the property at non-optimal prices.
Inheritance Tax on Property in Italy (2026)
| Beneficiary |
Tax-free allowance |
Rate on the excess |
| Spouse and children (direct line) |
€1,000,000 per beneficiary |
4% on the excess |
| Brothers and sisters |
€100,000 per beneficiary |
6% on the excess |
| Other relatives up to the 4th degree |
None |
6% of the total value |
| Other parties |
None |
8% of the total value |
For property the taxable base is the cadastral value (cadastral income revalued by 5% and multiplied by 110 or 120), not the market value. A villa in Santa Teresa worth €500,000 on the market may have a cadastral value of €150,000–200,000, with a tax impact much lower than you might think. On property, however, mortgage tax (2%) and cadastral tax (1%) are always paid too, with a minimum of €200 each, or a fixed €200 + €200 if an heir meets the “first home” requirements.
Succession Planning Tools
There are several legal tools for planning the transfer of a holiday home. Not all are suitable for every situation — it depends on the family structure, the value of the property and the objectives.
Most commonly used tools
- Will
- Gift with reservation of usufruct
- Simple real-estate partnership
- Family real-estate trust
- Family pact (patto di famiglia; only if the home is part of a family business or company)
Which one should you choose?
It depends on: number of heirs, value of the property, whether you want to keep renting it out, relationships between the children, overall financial situation. There is no universal solution.
Gift with reservation of usufruct
The most widely used tool for Sardinian holiday homes
The parent gives the bare ownership of the property to the children, but reserves a life usufruct: they continue to live in it, rent it out and collect the rent until their death. On death, full ownership passes automatically to the children without going through succession.
Advantages
- The parent does not lose control of the property or the rental income
- The gift takes place at a tax value (bare ownership) lower than full ownership — reduced tax burden
- On the parent's death no inheritance tax is paid on the house already given (the gift does, however, count in the calculation of the shares the law reserves for the other heirs)
- Conflicts between heirs over the property already assigned are reduced, if the gift respects the legitimate shares (quote di legittima) of the other children
Points to watch
- A gift is an irrevocable act — you need to be certain of the choice
- To sell the full ownership before death, both the parent (usufructuary) and all the children (bare owners) are needed. With the reform of articles 561 and 563 of the Civil Code approved at the end of 2025, whoever buys a gifted house is better protected: ask the notary how it applies in your case
- Any creditors of the parent can challenge it (azione revocatoria, a revocation action) within 5 years
Simple Real-Estate Partnership (società semplice)
Useful for more structured estates
Contributing the property to a family società semplice (simple partnership) makes it possible to pass on shares in the company instead of the property itself and to set clear rules (who decides what, with what majorities). The contribution, however, has tax and notarial costs to be assessed beforehand with a notary and an accountant.
When it is appropriate
- Real-estate assets of significant value (typically over €500,000)
- Several heirs with different needs and resources
- Wish to keep the management of the property cohesive over time
- Property that continues to generate rental income
The società semplice does not issue invoices, has no VAT and has no complex accounting obligations, but it can only administer and rent out the property, with no commercial activities. Beware of short lets: the cedolare secca (Italy's flat-rate tax on rental income) is available only to individuals, so the rent collected by the company is taxed in the hands of the partners at ordinary IRPEF (personal income tax).
The Most Common Mistakes in Holiday Home Succession
- Doing nothing — hoping it will “sort itself out” afterwards. It never sorts itself out.
- Making a will without coordinating it with gifts already made — can create contradictions and disputes
- Leaving the property in joint ownership among 3+ heirs without governance rules — a recipe for decades-long conflicts
- Not updating the will after significant family events (divorces, births, deaths)
- Underestimating the value of the property — with the growth of the Sardinian market, many homes are worth far more than owners think
- Relying only on family word of mouth without formal legal tools — “we agreed verbally” is worth nothing before a judge
Why rely on AffittaSardegna
- Since 2011 — professional management in northern Sardinia
- 300+ homes managed directly in northern Sardinia since 2011
- Full management — bookings, cleaning, check-in/out, maintenance
- Maximising your income — dynamic prices and an optimised calendar
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After the succession: what is really worth doing?
- Sell → you get cash immediately but lose the asset
- Keep it empty → costs with no return
- Rent it out → steady income every year
👉 For many families it is the most sensible choice: the home stays in the family and produces income.
FAQ
Is it better to give the holiday home to the children now or wait for the succession?
There is no universal answer — it depends on the value of the property, the parent's age, the number of children, their financial situation and family relationships. In general, a gift with reservation of usufruct makes it possible to optimise the tax burden and prevent conflicts, but it must be assessed case by case with a notary. Waiting for the succession is simpler but can be more expensive and conflict-prone.
How much inheritance tax do you pay on a holiday home in Sardinia?
Between spouse and children the tax-free allowance is €1,000,000 per beneficiary, with a rate of 4% on the excess. Since the taxable base of property is the cadastral value (not the market value), many Sardinian holiday homes fall well within the allowance. Mortgage tax (2%) and cadastral tax (1%) on the cadastral value remain due in any case, or a fixed €200 + €200 if an heir meets the “first home” requirements. The actual cost depends on the cadastral income: check with your accountant.
What happens if one heir doesn't want to keep the holiday home and the others do?
If the heirs do not agree, any one of them can request the judicial division of the property — a process that can last years and end with a forced sale at a below-market price. The solution is to prevent this scenario with succession planning that sets out the management rules or the liquidation criteria in advance, reducing the room for conflict.
Disclaimer: this guide is for purely informational purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or notarial advice. The information is general in nature and up to date as of October 2026: for your specific situation, check with your accountant (commercialista) and with a notary before making decisions.
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