You still file in Italy. And you always file with the IRS.

American owners carry a double obligation that most Europeans do not: the United States taxes citizens and green card holders on worldwide income wherever they live. Your Italian rental income is therefore reported twice — once in Italy, because the property is there, and once on your 1040, because you are American.

Order of operations

The credit is claimed on tax paid or accrued, so the Italian filing and its F24 receipts are the supporting record your preparer will ask for. We issue both, dated, in English.

Where US owners usually get it wrong

Assuming the treaty exempts them. The US–Italy treaty contains a saving clause: it does not relieve US citizens of US tax. It allocates the primary right to Italy and leaves you to claim the credit.

Missing the Italian return entirely. A US preparer who sees 21% withheld by a platform often treats the matter as closed on the Italian side. It is not — the reconciliation return is still required, and arrears in Italy accrue penalties and interest while nobody writes to you.

Forgetting the reporting forms. Owning Italian real estate directly does not itself trigger FBAR or Form 8938 — but the Italian bank account you opened to pay utilities and IMU very likely does, once the aggregate crosses the threshold. We flag it; your US preparer files it.

Cedolare secca and the US credit

The flat tax is an income tax for treaty purposes and therefore creditable. It is also the reason most American owners end up with a smaller US bill than they feared: at 21% on gross Italian rent, the Italian tax often absorbs most of the US liability on the same income.

Fees and VAT

Fees to private clients resident outside the EU are outside the scope of Italian VAT (art. 7-septies, DPR 633/72). The subscription is €470 a year, one property included, €120 for each additional one. Payment by card; your written quote states the exact amount before anything begins.