Imposta di Bollo calculator — the Italian tax on holding an ETF

The stamp duty is 0.20% of the holding each year, which is €20 per €10,000 — deliberately the same unit this site quotes ongoing charges in, because that is the only fair way to see how it compares to a fund's own fee. Capital gains are taxed at 26% on the realised gain at sale, and a distributing fund additionally pays 26% on every payout as it arrives. The calculator applies the annual charges as a drag on the compounding, projects the portfolio forward at the net rate, and then takes the gains tax off the gain that remains at the end — for a distributing fund, the gain over what the holding cost once its payouts were reinvested, since those were taxed as they arrived. The broker-regime switch changes none of the euros, and the reason is worth stating plainly: the wealth tax charged on holdings at a foreign broker carries the same 0.20% rate as the stamp duty charged at a domestic one. What differs is who files — a domestic broker withholds everything at source, a foreign one leaves the whole return to you.

The stamp duty is charged each year on the balance at the start of that year, so it follows the portfolio as the real charge does, and a distributing fund's payouts are reinvested after tax. Gains are treated as one disposal at the end of the period, with no interim rebalancing and no use of the loss pool that Italian rules allow you to carry against future gains. The gross return, the dividend yield and, where relevant, your marginal rate are each single fixed figures held for the whole horizon. Fund charges and broker commission are excluded entirely, which matters more here than elsewhere: the stamp duty is quoted in the same unit as an ongoing charge and it is easy to read the two as one number when they are separate and additive.

ETF tax in Italy — stamp duty, capital gains and the accumulating advantage explains the rules this calculator applies, why they are shaped the way they are, and what they mean for choosing a fund.

Can I escape the stamp duty by using a foreign broker?

No. Holdings at a foreign broker fall under the parallel wealth tax on foreign financial assets, charged at the same 0.20% rate, so the euros are identical and only the paperwork changes. A domestic broker acts as withholding agent and the charge simply appears on your statement; a foreign one leaves you to declare each position yourself and pay it with your annual return. Choose the broker on cost and execution, not on this.

Is an accumulating fund genuinely better for an Italian investor?

Yes, and unusually clearly. A distributing fund hands you a payout, 26% of it is taken immediately, and only the remainder can compound — at a two percent yield that is a drag of 0.52% a year, every year, on the whole holding. An accumulating fund keeps the same income inside the fund untaxed and the identical 26% is levied once at the end, on a balance that has been compounding without the annual haircut. Set a dividend yield on the calculator and the head-to-head panel shows the euro gap after tax over your holding period.

What does armonizzato mean and how would I know?

It means the fund is recognised under the European passporting rules, which is what qualifies its gains for the flat 26% rate. A fund without that status is taxed at your own marginal income rate instead, which for most people is worse and for a top-bracket earner is dramatically worse. In practice every UCITS ETF listed on an Italian exchange, and all eighteen funds in this tool, are harmonised — the switch exists for the unusual case of a non-EU-passported or hedge-fund-like structure, and the calculator shows you what that would cost.

• Accumulating vs distributing: the answer changes with your country
• ETF cost calculator: every annual cost of holding one fund
• TOB and Reynders calculator — the two Belgian ETF taxes