Stamp Duty on the Condominium Bank Account

The account held by the condominium is subject to the stamp duty set for entities other than natural persons, higher than that of personal accounts and without the exemption for a modest balance that applies only to natural persons. Since the condominium is not a natural person, the duty is due regardless of the balance. It is an ordinary management expense that the manager allocates among owners in proportion to the thousandths (millesimi), together with the other account charges.

The Condominium Account Is Mandatory

Article 1129 of the Italian Civil Code requires the manager to channel the sums received from owners and on any basis into a specific current account, postal or bank, held in the condominium's name. The rationale is transparency and the separation between the condominium's assets and the manager's personal assets. Each owner, through the manager, may ask to inspect and obtain a copy of the account statements.

It follows that the account is dedicated and held by an entity that is not a natural person: it is precisely this feature that determines the treatment for stamp duty purposes.

Why the Condominium Has No Exemption

On natural persons' current accounts, stamp duty is not due if the average annual balance does not exceed a modest threshold. This exemption is reserved for natural persons. The condominium, not being one, does not benefit from it: the duty is due even with low balances. The tax authorities have treated the condominium account like that of entities other than natural persons, with the consequent application of the fixed annual duty set for this category.

The Impact of Stamp Duty

Stamp duty on current accounts is applied at a fixed annual amount, differentiated according to whether the holder is a natural person or a different entity. For entities other than natural persons, the category that includes the condominium, the amount is the higher one. The bank charges the duty directly to the account, usually on a periodic basis, and pays it to the treasury. For the manager it is therefore a recurring bank charge to monitor.

• Dedicated account mandatory under Article 1129 of the Italian Civil Code.
• The condominium is an entity other than a natural person: no balance exemption.
• Fixed annual duty, charged by the bank to the account.
• Ordinary management expense to include in the statement.
• Allocation among owners in proportion to the thousandths.

Allocation Among Owners

Stamp duty, like commissions and account maintenance costs, is a charge linked to the ordinary management of the condominium. It must be included in the statement among general expenses and allocated among owners in proportion to the thousandths of ownership, unless the regulations or a meeting resolution provide otherwise. As a cost common to the whole management, the general thousandths criterion is consistent with the nature of the expense.

Containing and Monitoring the Charge

Stamp duty itself cannot be reduced, being a fixed levy due by law. It is however possible to control the overall impact of bank charges by comparing the conditions offered by different institutions and checking that there are no duplications or improper charges. The manager has an interest in monitoring the statement, so as to reconcile the stamp duty charges with what is expected and report any anomalies to the bank.

Tracking the Duty in the Statement

In the annual statement, stamp duty must appear as a recognisable item, so that owners understand the origin of the charge and its allocation. Orderly accounting links the bank charges to their respective expense items and allows the consistency between the statement and the cash journal to be verified. This reduces questions at the meeting and strengthens the transparency of the management.

With management software such as AmministraPro the manager can reconcile the account charges, isolate stamp duty among general expenses and allocate it automatically by thousandths in the statement. The features for accounting and account management are described on /funzioni, with the available plans on /prezzi.