What is a Marca da Bollo and When Do You Need One?
Collecting all the documents you need for your citizenship application, property purchase, immigration appointment, or any other number of bureaucratic hurdles can be daunting enough. Then, as we’ve covered in previous articles, you need to figure out which documents need to have an Apostille, which need to be translated, and specifically, which require sworn translations.
The journey doesn’t end there. Some of your documents will also require the payment of a tax. What is this, which documents require it, and how do you pay it? We will answer these questions and more in the below article.
What is a marca da bollo and where can you get one?
A marca da bollo is known in English as a “revenue stamp,” a stamp that is used to collect tax on certain goods and validate particular documents. It is used in place of a value-added tax (VAT, or IVA in Italian) for certain things.
Revenue stamps are actually older than postage stamps (which date back to the mid-19th century), with evidence of the earliest one from the 16th century. In Italy, though, they were not used until 1863 and are used for documents, especially passports. They used to be actual stamps, but as of September 1, 2007, stickers issued by the Agenzie delle Entrate (Italian Revenue Agency) replaced them.
Though they all look the same, there are different kinds of marche da bollo (described below), used for a variety of purposes.
You can purchase a marca da bollo from almost any tabaccheria (convenience store) in your local town or city. Many newsstands and other authorized places also sell them.
What kinds of marche da bollo are there?
There are two types of marche da bollo. They appear the exact same, but there are two different price points to choose from, so you will have to be specific in your request.
The marca da bollo worth €16 is most likely the one you will use the most. Essentially, any document with legal bearing that requires a marca da bollo will necessitate the one worth €16. These can include contracts (e.g. for a rental or purchase of a house), notarized documents, and certain documents used in bureaucratic offices. Generally, documents do not need a marca da bollo if their amount is less than €77.47 and is subject to a VAT tax. You will want to research the requirements for your specific document, but generally, if you are submitting a collection of documents, such as for a citizenship application, the necessary marche da bollo will be noted or told to you in advance.
Then there is the marca da bollo worth €2. This is generally used for non-taxable invoices (fatture). It will primarily apply to you if you have opened a Partita IVA and are working as a freelancer. If the overall payment is greater than €77.47 and is not subject to a VAT tax, then the €2 marca da bollo will need to be applied. As with the €16 marca da bollo, be sure you understand the requirements for your specific invoice.
As of 14 April 2017, there is also the possibility of using an electronic marca da bollo. This is offered on the official websites of certain institutions, where you will need to fill in some basic information and then be redirected to complete the request through the pagoPA portal. This can be used as an alternative for purchasing a physical stamp if the document or service you need it for is completely online.
Finally, it is worth noting that in certain special cases marche da bollo can be issued for prices other than the standard €2 or €16. A couple of these cases is noted in the following section.
Will you need a marca da bollo for your citizenship application?
Whether or not your citizenship application requires marche da bollo depends on your pathway to citizenship and where you apply.
If you are applying for citizenship via jure sanguinis, there are a few potential instances in which you will need to cover the cost of marche da bollo. The first is processing, or filing, fees. If you are applying directly in Italy, you will owe a €16 marca da bollo as a processing fee. If you instead have a “1948 case” (in which you have a female ancestor who had the next-in-line child before January 1, 1948), then there is a special €27 marca da bollo added on to the filing fee, for a total of €545.
If you are applying for citizenship through marriage or naturalization, you will also need a €16 marca da bollo to be submitted along with your application.
Regarding whether you are applying for citizenship through descent, naturalization, or marriage, if you have translations as part of your application, they might also need marche da bollo. If the translations are certified by an Italian court, you will need to pay for a €16 marca da bollo per every four pages of translation. There is also a marca da bollo of around €3.92 on the sworn statement (verbale di giuramento) at the end.
In these cases, you do not have to physically go to a tabaccheria to get the marca da bollo but will either have to pay your service provider for it or acquire it online via pagoPA (for online applications). If neither of these is an option, you can often submit a scan of a physical marca da bollo (ensuring the information on it is legible) or type in the information, if such an option is available.
Citizenship isn’t the end of your marca da bollo journey. When you apply for—and subsequently renew—your Italian passport, you will also need a special marca da bollo of €73.50. This applies even to passports for minors.
Conclusion
The marca da bollo is a simple, yet indispensable, part of your citizenship application and many aspects of life in Italy. Here at Italian Citizenship Translators, we are here to answer any questions you have regarding professional translations or the citizenship process, no matter how seemingly small. Don’t hesitate to contact us at info@italiancitizenshiptranslators.com.