Resources · Practical guide
You've bought a home in Trieste. Now what?
Everything that needs doing after the deed — waste tax, property tax, utilities, condominium — on a single page: deadlines, forms, offices, phone numbers, and a ready-to-download proxy template. Written for buyers, with special care for those buying from abroad.
Updated 2 July 2026 · every fact checked against official sources
On completion day the notary settles almost everything: the land-registry transfer, the cadastral update, the registration taxes. But four tasks remain with the buyer — and nobody will come and remind you: the TARI waste-tax declaration, the calculation and payment of ILIA, the transfer of the utility contracts, and the notice to the building's administrator.
This guide walks through them one by one, in the right order, with the actual figures for the City of Trieste. At the end you'll find a 30-day checklist, an FAQ, and every official link you need.
The four things to settle
ILIA — the property tax
The regional heir of Italy's IMU. Self-assessed: you (or your accountant) calculate it and pay by F24 — no bill is ever sent. Two instalments: 16 June and 16 December.
TARI — the waste tax
Run by ESATTO on behalf of the City of Trieste. You file a declaration as the new occupier; the city then sends a pre-calculated pagoPA notice.
Utilities
Electricity, gas and water transferred into your name. In Trieste: EstEnergy sells the energy, AcegasApsAmga runs the grid and the water service.
The condominium
The change of ownership must be notified to the building's administrator within 60 days, so charges and meeting notices reach you.
The dates that matter
2026 dates for the City of Trieste. Rates and waste-tax bills are re-approved every year — the pattern repeats, but always check your actual notice.
ILIA — the property tax
Since 2023, Friuli Venezia Giulia no longer applies Italy's national IMU: in its place stands ILIA, the region's own property tax (Regional Law 17/2022). The logic is the same — an annual tax on property ownership — but with one regional twist that can save you a third of the bill: the reduced rate for the «first second home».
The point that surprises everyone: ILIA is self-assessed. No authority sends you a bill or a payment slip. You (or your accountant) work out the amount and pay it with an F24 form. If nobody takes care of it, the deadline passes in silence and penalties quietly accrue.
The rates in Trieste (2026)
Main residence (registered residency), categories A/2–A/7
Requires registered residency — non-residents do not qualify.
Luxury main residence (A/1, A/8, A/9)
With a € 200 deduction.
«First second home» — your first residential property in the region other than a main residence
Upon an online declaration to the regional portal. Available to owners living abroad too.
Further residential properties (and anyone who doesn't file the declaration)
The maximum rate allowed by law.
Appurtenances (garage C/6, cellar C/2) beyond those of a main residence
Appurtenances do not enjoy the «first second-home» rate.
Source: City of Trieste, official ILIA rate table 2026 (council resolution no. 63 of 9 December 2024, in force for 2025 and 2026).
How it's calculated
The taxable base is the cadastral income (rendita catastale) revalued by 5% and multiplied by 160 (for category-A homes and C/2, C/6, C/7 appurtenances). As a formula: rendita × 1.05 × 160 × rate.
You'll find the cadastral income in your purchase deed or in a cadastral survey (free for the owner on the Agenzia delle Entrate website).
In the year of purchase the tax is pro-rated by months of ownership: a month counts in full if you owned the property for more than half its days, and the day of the deed counts towards the buyer.
A worked example
Category A/2 apartment with a cadastral income of € 1,000: taxable base = 1,000 × 1.05 × 160 = € 168,000.
At the «first second-home» rate (0.70%): € 1,176 a year. Without the declaration (1.06%): € 1,781. The saving is roughly a third — every year.
The reduced rate must be claimed: the «first second-home» declaration
If the property you bought is your first (or only) residential building in the region and it isn't your main residence, you're entitled to the 0.70% rate instead of 1.06%. It is not automatic: an online declaration must be filed on the regional portal ilia.regione.fvg.it by 30 June of the year after the tax year (for 2026: by 30 June 2027). Miss the date and the right lapses.
Once filed, the declaration remains valid for the following years until your situation changes. And — a point that's often misunderstood — it is available to owners whose main home is outside the region or abroad: the regional circular 3/STL/2024 says so explicitly. Requirements: a natural person, cadastral category A other than A/10 (excluding A/1, A/8, A/9), one designated property per region.
You may already pay the June instalment at the reduced rate before filing, as long as the declaration goes in by the deadline.
How to pay: the F24 form
Two instalments: deposit by 16 June and balance by 16 December (or a single payment by 16 June). Below € 12 a year in total, no tax is due.
If there are two owners (e.g. spouses in community of property), each pays their own share with their own F24: two taxpayers, two payments.
Missed a deadline? Italy has a standard remedy — ravvedimento operoso: you pay the tax plus a reduced penalty and statutory interest. The sooner you regularise, the smaller the penalty. Any accountant sorts it out in minutes.
ILIA calculator
Enter the cadastral income (from your deed or a survey) and the property type — the estimate is instant.
Taxable base
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Estimated ILIA per year
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Indicative estimate using rendita × 1.05 × 160 and Trieste 2026 rates. The definitive calculation rests with the taxpayer or their accountant.
TARI — the waste tax
In Trieste the waste tax is managed and collected by ESATTO S.p.A., the city's revenue company. Unlike ILIA there's nothing to calculate — but you must declare yourself as the new occupier, otherwise the bills keep going out in the seller's name (or nowhere at all).
The formal deadline is 30 June of the following year, but do it straight after the deed: the declaration sets the correct start date and puts the notices in your name. One caveat: your registration does not close the seller's position — they must file their own cessation form. A friendly reminder spares you both a double bill.
ESATTO S.p.A. — where and how
In practice
- 1
Download the form «Dichiarazione TARI (attivazione del servizio)»
From the TARI page on esattospa.it. You'll need the cadastral data (section, sheet, parcel, sub-unit), the walkable floor area in sqm, and the event: «purchased from…» with the seller's name and tax code (all of it is in your deed).
- 2
Give a contact address that actually works
The form has a dedicated field for where notices should go: if you don't live in the property, fill it in (or register an email on ESATTO's online desk). Missed notices are the single most expensive mistake for owners who live elsewhere.
- 3
File it: office, PEC or online
At the office it can be done by a delegated person (the form explicitly lists «delega» among the attachments): a signed proxy plus ID copies of you both.
How much is it? For a household of 2, the 2026 tariffs are € 1.06/sqm fixed + € 132.82 variable + 4% provincial surcharge, applied to the walkable area. Example: 100 sqm ≈ € 385 a year.
For the seller: the cessation uses a separate form («Variazione e cessazione TARI»), filed through the same channels, naming the buyer.
Utilities — electricity, gas, water
Trieste is an anomaly in the Italian landscape: the electricity grid isn't run by e-distribuzione but by AcegasApsAmga (Hera group), which also operates the water service. Supply on the open market is typically sold by EstEnergy (Hera group). In practice: for power and gas you talk to EstEnergy, for water to AcegasApsAmga.
After a purchase the normal case is a voltura: the meter is live and only the account holder changes, with no interruption (4–7 working days). If instead the seller closed the contract and the meter was deactivated, you need a subentro — longer lead times and possibly a technician's visit. Check with the seller before calling.
The transfer in three moves
- 1.From one of the seller's bills, note the POD code (electricity) and PDR code (gas) plus the meter serial, and take an agreed meter reading on key-handover day.
- 2.Call the freephone (or visit the office) with: your Italian tax code, ID, the supply address, the cadastral data, the previous holder's details, and an IBAN if you want direct debit.
- 3.Set a billing address you'll actually see (email or digital billing): unread bills are the top cause of avoidable disconnections.
What to have at hand
- ›Tax code (codice fiscale) and ID of the new account holder
- ›POD code (electricity) / PDR code (gas) from an old bill
- ›Meter reading at handover
- ›Cadastral data of the property (required by law)
- ›IBAN for direct debit (optional but wise: on gas it waives the security deposit)
- ›Proxy + ID copies, if someone else handles it for you
The Italian TV licence (canone RAI) is charged in the bill only on residential electricity accounts. If your Trieste home is not your registered residence, the account is classed «domestic non-resident» and no licence fee is charged. The flip side: higher tariffs and 22% VAT instead of 10% — normal for second homes, not a mistake.
Water in apartment buildings: very often there's a single, building-wide meter in the condominium's name — in that case there is nothing to transfer, and water simply flows through the service charges. Ask the administrator before opening any file.
The condominium — registry and takeover
By law the administrator keeps a registry of owners (Civil Code art. 1130 no. 6) and must be notified of the change of ownership within 60 days. Until someone tells them, meeting notices and service-charge instalments keep going to the seller — and the buyer is jointly liable with the seller for the charges of the current and previous year.
In practice the notice is often sent by the notary («dichiarazione di avvenuta stipula»): ask the notary's office for confirmation, and if it hasn't gone out, send it yourself (a PEC or registered letter with the deed's references is enough). While you're at it: ask for the building's regulations, the latest approved budget and the administrator's contact details.
Owning from abroad (or buying as a non-resident)
This is where Italian bureaucracy bites hardest: public portals want an Italian digital identity, the F24 can't be paid by a regular international transfer, and notices are mailed to an empty flat. The solutions exist — here they are.
SPID and CIE: who can get them
Italian citizens (including residents abroad / AIRE): can obtain SPID with an Italian passport or ID card — several providers verify identity remotely. With SPID you can use the ILIA portal, ESATTO's online desk and pagoPA.
Foreign non-residents: the CIE requires Italian residency, and SPID in practice requires an Italian document. The regional ILIA portal has a dedicated «Stranieri no eIDAS» route, but for day-to-day matters the simplest path is to delegate: a family member, your agency, or an accountant.
If one of the two owners is an Italian citizen, the cleanest route is for them to get SPID and file the «first second-home» declaration for their own position.
Paying the F24 from abroad
The F24 can only be debited on accounts at Italian member banks: an ordinary international transfer doesn't work.
The workable routes: (1) anyone — even a trusted third party with an Italian account — can pay on your behalf, entering your tax code as the taxpayer: no proxy is needed for the mere payment; (2) an authorised intermediary (accountant/CAF) debiting their own account; (3) the Agenzia delle Entrate's special channel for non-residents: a euro transfer to the Bank of Italy's treasury accounts (BIC BITAITRRENT), with dedicated IBANs per tax.
Above € 1,000 the F24 must in any case be paid electronically — common for a second home.
The proxy: a signature is almost always enough
For the TARI declaration at ESATTO and for utility transfers, a simple written proxy is sufficient: the owner's details and signature, the delegate's details, the scope of the proxy, and ID copies of both. No notary involved.
You do need the taxpayer's digital identity (or a professional with a mandate) for online filings on public portals — notably the «first second-home» declaration.
The silent problem: where the notices go
TARI notices, reminders and official mail head for the property's address — which is empty. Three countermeasures: give a valid contact in the TARI form, register your email on ESATTO's online desk, and switch the utilities to digital billing.
If you simply own (without letting), ILIA also absorbs the income tax on the unlet property: no Italian tax return is due for mere ownership. If you let it out one day, the picture changes.
The first-30-days checklist
Print it or tick it off right here — at the end of the list, you're in order.
Frequently asked questions
I bought my first home in Trieste — do I pay ILIA?
If you register your residency there and it isn't category A/1, A/8 or A/9, no: a non-luxury main residence is exempt. Without residency, the property counts as a «second home» and ILIA is due — at the reduced 0.70% rate if it's your only residential property in the region and you file the declaration.
Nobody sent me an ILIA bill — should I worry?
Yes, in the sense that it's normal but dangerous: ILIA is self-assessed, and no bill ever arrives. The taxpayer calculates and pays by F24 by 16 June and 16 December. If a deadline has already passed, it's fixed with the ravvedimento operoso (reduced penalty).
What exactly is the «first second home»?
A Friuli Venezia Giulia speciality: the first residential building you own in the region, other than a main residence, is taxed at a maximum of 0.70% instead of 1.06%. It must be designated through an online declaration on ilia.regione.fvg.it by 30 June of the following year, after which the right lapses. It applies to owners living abroad as well.
Does the seller have to do anything about TARI?
Yes: file their own cessation notice (a separate form from your activation). Your declaration does not close their position — if the cessation is missing, the seller keeps receiving bills and the two positions get tangled.
How do I pay the F24 without an Italian bank account?
Three routes: have a trusted third party with an Italian account pay it, entering your tax code (no proxy is needed for a mere payment); brief an accountant or CAF; or use the Agenzia delle Entrate channel for non-residents — a euro transfer to the Bank of Italy's treasury accounts (BIC BITAITRRENT).
Do I owe the Italian TV licence for my Trieste home?
Not in the bill, as long as the electricity account is «domestic non-resident» (i.e. the home is not your registered residence): the automatic charge applies only to residential accounts. The licence is due once per registered household, on the home of residence.
Who notifies the condominium of the change of ownership?
By law the owners' registry must be updated with the administrator within 60 days. The notary often does it with the completion statement, but it's not guaranteed: ask for confirmation and, failing that, send a PEC or registered letter with the deed's references yourself.
What documents are needed to transfer the electricity?
Tax code and ID of the new holder, the POD code (from one of the seller's bills), a meter reading, the address and cadastral data of the property, the previous holder's details and — if you want direct debit — an IBAN. Cost: € 48.81 + 10% VAT; typical lead time 4–7 working days.
Can I send someone in my place to the counters?
Yes. For ESATTO and for the utilities a simple signed proxy with ID copies of both parties is enough — the TARI form explicitly lists the proxy among its attachments. A ready-made template is downloadable on this page.
I missed the June ILIA instalment — how bad is it?
Not bad, if you act promptly: with the ravvedimento operoso you pay the tax plus a reduced penalty (which grows with time) and statutory interest. It's routine work for any accountant.
The official sources
Every reference in this guide, verified as of the update date.
ESATTO — TARI: forms and deadlines
Activation, variation and cessation forms; billing deadlines.
ESATTO — ILIA
F24 deadlines and declaration forms for the City of Trieste.
ESATTO — contacts and office
Address, opening hours, freephone and PEC.
Counter booking (CodaQ)
Book a slot at ESATTO's TARI/ILIA counters.
Regional ILIA portal
Calculation, pre-filled F24 and the «first second-home» declaration.
City of Trieste — ILIA rates
The official table of rates in force.
EstEnergy — managing the contract
Voltura and subentro for power/gas: costs and documents.
AcegasApsAmga — water contract
Transferring the water service in Trieste.
Agenzia delle Entrate — paying from abroad
Euro transfers to the treasury accounts for those without an Italian bank account.
Agenzia delle Entrate — TV licence
When the licence is due and when the account doesn't charge it.
This guide is a plain-language summary updated on 2 July 2026 and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Rates, tariffs and deadlines are re-approved every year: always check the official sources linked above. For definitive tax calculations, rely on a qualified accountant.
The TriesteVillas service
Would you rather we handled it?
For our buyers we take care of the whole post-completion process as part of the service: TARI, utility transfers, the condominium and — with our accountant — ILIA and the reduced rate. One signature on a proxy, and you never hear about the paperwork again.