How IVAFE works in 2026 for Italian residents holding US bank, brokerage and crypto accounts: rates, tax base, calculation, exemptions and coordination with Quadro RW and FBAR.
Published: 2026-05-12 · Last verified: 2026-05-12 · 11 min
IVAFE — Imposta sul Valore delle Attività Finanziarie all'Estero — is the Italian wealth tax on financial assets held abroad by Italian tax residents. It mirrors the domestic imposta di bollo on Italian financial accounts and is reported in the Italian tax return through Quadro RW.
For Italians with US accounts (bank, brokerage, retirement, crypto custodial), IVAFE is the holding-cost side of the cross-border equation: while income from US assets follows separate rules (and the Italy–USA Tax Treaty), the mere fact of holding the asset triggers an annual wealth charge.
The United States is not on the Italian black list, so the standard 0.20% applies.
You owe IVAFE if all of the following:
If your US brokerage account is held through Fineco, Banca Generali, or any other Italian intermediary that applies the imposta di bollo, IVAFE is not separately due — the Italian intermediary already collects it.
The base is the market value at 31 December of each year, in EUR (converted at the year-end ECB exchange rate published by the Bank of Italy). For accounts held only part of the year, the base is reduced pro rata: days held / 365.
Example: A Charles Schwab brokerage account with $200,000 on 31/12/2025, EUR/USD year-end rate 1.05 → base = €190,476 → IVAFE = €381 (rounded).
For multiple accounts at the same provider, each account is computed separately. The €5,000 average-balance exemption applies per account, not per provider.
IVAFE is paid through Quadro RW of the Italian tax return. The same Quadro RW also reports the assets for monitoring purposes (separate threshold: €15,000 maximum balance during the year for monitoring obligation, but IVAFE itself has no minimum threshold for non-bank assets).
On the US side:
For an Italian resident with US accounts who is not a US person, only Quadro RW + IVAFE apply. For a dual citizen or Green Card holder living in Italy, all four obligations stack.
Omitting IVAFE triggers:
Voluntary disclosure (ravvedimento operoso) reduces penalties significantly if filed before notification of any audit.
If the same person earned $4,200 in dividends during 2025, those follow separate rules (declared in Quadro RM, treaty withholding 15% per art. 10 of the 1984 Italy–USA Treaty, foreign tax credit under art. 165 TUIR).
[LAST UPDATED: May 2026]
0.20% on the year-end value of foreign financial assets (brokerage, ETF, crypto custodial, life policies). For foreign bank accounts, a flat €34.20 per account per year, only if the average annual balance exceeds €5,000.
Current Italian Tax Authority practice treats 401(k) and IRA accounts as financial assets subject to IVAFE on year-end value. Income taxation is deferred to distribution under treaty rules.
Yes. The €5,000 average-balance exemption applies only to bank/postal current accounts, not to brokerage accounts. A small brokerage account still owes IVAFE at 0.20% and must be reported in Quadro RW.
No. FBAR is a US obligation (US persons reporting foreign accounts to the US Treasury). IVAFE is an Italian wealth tax on foreign financial assets. They coexist for dual-status individuals; they are not substitutes.
Pro rata temporis: IVAFE = year-end value × 0.20% × (days held / 365).
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