An Italian who dies owning a $500,000 Florida condo without planning may expose heirs to ~$176,000 in US federal estate tax. The exemption for non-resident aliens is only $60,000.
Cross-border estate planning and post-mortem advisory for Italian-American families: US estate tax for non-residents, FIRPTA, EU Reg. 650/2012, Italian forced heirship.
Fixed fee defined case-by-case after a preliminary consultation, based on the assets involved (US real estate, brokerage, LLC interests), whether pre-mortem restructuring is required and whether post-mortem coordination is needed. The preliminary consultation is a 45-minute paid online session ($250); the engagement letter with the agreed fee is signed before any chargeable work begins.
Yes. Italian citizens who are not US residents and not US citizens are non-resident aliens (NRAs) for US estate tax purposes. They are taxed only on US-situs assets, but with a federal exemption of only $60,000 — versus $13.6 million for US citizens. Any value above $60,000 is taxed up to 40%.
Under IRC §2102(b), non-resident aliens have a unified credit equivalent to a $60,000 exemption (i.e. credit of $13,000) on US-situs assets. The Italy-USA Estate Tax Treaty does not raise this threshold materially. This is the single most underestimated risk for Italian property owners in Florida.
An LLC interest is generally treated as intangible personal property, which under US tax rules has its situs at the owner's residence — not in the US. Properly structured, holding Florida real estate through an LLC owned by a non-US resident may shift the asset out of US-situs and avoid US estate tax. This is sophisticated planning that requires correct structure, capitalization, and operation; it is not a do-it-yourself fix.
There is a separate Italy-USA Estate Tax Convention, but it is limited and does not raise the $60,000 NRA exemption to the US-citizen level. It mainly avoids true double taxation by allocating taxing rights and granting credits. Planning is still essential.
Florida law administers the property under intestacy unless you elected Italian law under EU Reg. 650/2012 in a valid Italian will. Probate in Florida can take 6–18 months and freezes the property. We recommend coordinated Italian + Florida testamentary planning.
FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act) requires the US buyer to withhold 15% of the gross sale price when a non-resident seller transfers US real estate. The seller files a US tax return (Form 1040-NR) to compute the actual tax due and may receive a refund of the excess. A withholding certificate (Form 8288-B) can pre-emptively reduce the withholding when the actual gain is lower.
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IIILEX International Consulting LLC is the Florida-based practice of Avv. Dott. Massimo Leonardi — Italian Attorney (Avvocato), Certified Public Accountant (Dottore Commercialista) and Statutory Auditor (Revisore Legale) with 30+ years of Italian practice. We work exclusively on cross-border matters between Italy and the United States.
IIILEX International Consulting LLC · 7901 4th St N STE 300, St. Petersburg, FL 33702 · us@3lex.us · +1 (786) 604-8764 · +39 335 344 9660