Bitcoin Enters the Estate: The Tax Authority Will Tax Cryptocurrencies Like Traditional Bank Accounts
Legislative Decree 139/2024 formally integrates cryptocurrencies into inheritance assets, equating digital wallets with traditional bank deposits.
Introduction: The Evolution of Heritage Assets
The concept of inheritance has traditionally been associated with tangible assets, such as land, real estate, precious metals, and paper securities. However, the advent of blockchain technology has disrupted this framework, initially creating a regulatory vacuum in which digital values floated in a sort of legal limbo.
The rapid pace of technological evolution has compelled legislators, both at the national and supranational levels, to intervene to bring these new forms of wealth within the scope of legal regulation.
EU MiCA Regulation: The Foundation
The recognition of the patrimonial validity of virtual assets finds its foundation in EU Regulation No. 2023/1114, universally known as MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets). This legislation has removed all legal uncertainty by classifying digital tokens as intangible assets endowed with precise economic relevance and susceptible to monetary valuation.
Legal Subjectivity of Digital Assets
The legal subjectivity of these assets does not derive from their physical form, but from the exclusive control power exercised through private keys. This fundamental principle has significant implications for succession law: the possession of such access credentials is equivalent to holding a property title.
Consequently, at the moment succession opens, rights over crypto-assets are automatically transferred to legitimate or testamentary successors. This normative automatism definitively equates a Bitcoin wallet with a bank deposit or movable property.
Legislative Decree 139/2024: The Definitive Reform
The integration of virtual currencies into the inheritance estate found definitive systematization with the reform of the Unified Text on Successions and Donations (Testo Unico sulle Successioni e Donazioni), introduced by Legislative Decree 139/2024.
Key Principle Established by the Reform
Total assimilation of tokens to movable assets, which contribute in full to the formation of the inheritance estate.
Taxable Base Determination
The determination of the taxable base for succession tax is calculated based on the market value expressed in euros at the time of opening of the succession. This valuation methodology ensures that the tax burden reflects the actual economic value of the crypto-assets at the critical moment of succession.
Territoriality of Taxation
A crucial aspect concerns the criteria for territoriality of taxation:
Italian Resident Decedents
For individuals who had their fiscal residence in Italy at the time of death, the Tax Authority exercises its taxing power over all crypto-assets, regardless of whether they are stored on private hardware devices or on exchange platforms situated in foreign jurisdictions.
Non-Resident Decedents
For non-residents, taxation is limited exclusively to assets that can be legally located within the territory of the State.
Trust as Asset Protection Vehicle
The technical complexity related to private key management and the need to ensure orderly transmission of values has prompted legislators to legitimize the use of trust as a means of patrimonial protection.
The recent 2024 reform introduced a fiscal neutrality regime for the trust establishment deed, shifting the moment of tax imposition only to the actual attribution of assets to beneficiaries.
Strategic Advantages of Trust Structures
- Segregation of digital assets from potential creditors
- Programmable timing of asset distributions
- Continuity of wallet custody ensuring digital asset preservation
Practical Implications
This legislative evolution has several practical implications for estate planning:
- Succession planning must now include digital assets as a distinct category requiring specific handling procedures.
- Private key security and succession has become a critical element of estate administration.
- Trust structures offer strategic advantages for managing complex crypto-asset portfolios across generations.
- Cross-border taxation considerations require careful analysis for internationally mobile individuals.
Avvocato Carlo Carta
Estate Planning & Digital Assets