Italian cadastral categories: full list and meaning
Every category from A/1 to F/7 on one page: what each one means, how it affects taxes and where it is written.
The cadastral category (categoria catastale) says what a property is used for according to the Italian land registry: home, garage, shop, industrial building. It is written on the land registry record (visura catastale), next to the class and the cadastral income (rendita), and is made of a letter (the group) and a number. Purchase taxes, the yearly property tax (IMU) and the main-home relief all depend on it.
Group A: homes and offices
| Category | What it means |
|---|---|
| A/1 | Luxury homes |
| A/2 | Good-standard homes: the usual category for better flats |
| A/3 | Economy-standard homes: the most common in Italy |
| A/4 | Modest homes |
| A/5 | Very modest homes (no longer assigned) |
| A/6 | Rural homes (no longer assigned) |
| A/7 | Small detached or terraced houses with a garden |
| A/8 | Villas |
| A/9 | Castles and palaces of artistic or historic value |
| A/10 | Private offices and professional practices |
| A/11 | Homes typical of the area: mountain huts, trulli, refuges |
A/1, A/8 and A/9 are "luxury" homes for tax purposes: they get no main-home relief and pay IMU even when they are the owner's main residence.
Group B: buildings for collective use
| Category | What it means |
|---|---|
| B/1 | Boarding schools, hospices, convents, seminaries, barracks |
| B/2 | Non-profit clinics and hospitals |
| B/3 | Prisons and reformatories |
| B/4 | Public offices |
| B/5 | Schools and scientific laboratories |
| B/6 | Libraries, museums, galleries, academies |
| B/7 | Chapels and oratories not open to public worship |
| B/8 | Underground stores for foodstuffs |
Group C: shops, garages, cellars and workshops
| Category | What it means |
|---|---|
| C/1 | Shops |
| C/2 | Storerooms: cellars and attics with their own rendita |
| C/3 | Craft workshops |
| C/4 | Non-profit sports buildings |
| C/5 | Bathing and spa establishments |
| C/6 | Stables, garages and parking spaces |
| C/7 | Closed or open canopies |
C/2, C/6 and C/7 are the usual outbuildings of a home. With a main home, the relief covers one outbuilding in each of these three categories.
Group D: production and commercial property
| Category | What it means |
|---|---|
| D/1 | Factories |
| D/2 | Hotels and guest houses |
| D/3 | Theatres, cinemas, concert halls |
| D/4 | For-profit clinics and hospitals |
| D/5 | Banks, exchange and insurance offices |
| D/6 | For-profit sports buildings |
| D/7 | Buildings built for an industrial activity |
| D/8 | Buildings built for a commercial activity: shopping centres, large stores |
| D/9 | Floating or suspended buildings, private toll bridges |
| D/10 | Buildings for farming activities |
Group E: special-purpose property
| Category | What it means |
|---|---|
| E/1 | Stations for land, sea and air transport |
| E/2 | Municipal and provincial toll bridges |
| E/3 | Buildings for special public needs: newsstands, kiosks, public weighbridges |
| E/4 | Enclosures for markets and fairs |
| E/5 | Fortifications |
| E/6 | Lighthouses, signal towers, municipal clock towers |
| E/7 | Buildings for public worship |
| E/8 | Buildings in cemeteries |
| E/9 | Special-purpose buildings not covered by the other E categories |
Group F: property without a rendita
| Category | What it means |
|---|---|
| F/1 | Urban area: a courtyard or open area registered on its own |
| F/2 | Derelict units: ruins and buildings unfit for use |
| F/3 | Units under construction |
| F/4 | Units being defined |
| F/5 | Flat roof |
| F/6 | Building awaiting registration |
| F/7 | Public communication network infrastructure |
F categories have no rendita. If the home you are buying is F/2 or F/3 on the visura, the mortgage and the taxes follow different rules from those of a finished home: clear it up with the notary before you make an offer.
Category and taxes
Registration tax on buying a home is worked out on the cadastral value: the rendita increased by 5% and multiplied by 110 for a main home (with its outbuildings), by 120 otherwise. The full sum, with the taxes due at completion, is in the Italian property purchase tax calculator.
For the yearly property tax (IMU) the rendita, again increased by 5%, is multiplied by a number that changes with the category:
| Categories | IMU multiplier |
|---|---|
| A (except A/10) | 160 |
| C/2, C/6 and C/7 | 160 |
| B | 140 |
| C/3, C/4 and C/5 | 140 |
| A/10 | 80 |
| D/5 | 80 |
| D (except D/5) | 65 |
| C/1 | 55 |
We read these numbers again every week from the pages of the Italian Revenue Agency and the Ministry of Economy: the last check was on 12 November 2026.
Where to find the category of a property
On the visura catastale, which can be downloaded free from the Revenue Agency's website with an Italian digital identity (SPID or CIE). To ask for it you need the municipality, sheet, parcel and subalterno: the first three come from the address with sheet and parcel from an address or from the cadastral map.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between A/2 and A/3?
Both are ordinary homes. A/2 means a higher standard of finish and fittings, A/3 an economy standard; for the same size an A/2 usually has a higher rendita, and higher taxes with it. The main-home relief applies to both.
Can the cadastral category be changed?
Yes, with a registry update filed by a surveyor (a DOCFA filing) when the property has really changed: a renovation, a change of use, a split. A change of use must first be authorised by the municipality.
What does the class next to the category mean?
It is a number that grades the property within the same category and municipality: the higher the class, the higher the rendita per room or square metre.
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