USA
Italy trade laneAmericans retiring to Italy, Italian citizens coming home and families relocating for work all face the same questions: what is worth shipping, and what will it cost to bring in? At the border the news is usually good. The EU's transfer-of-residence relief lets household goods and personal effects — and a car you have owned and used — enter Italy free of duty and import IVA, provided the conditions are met and the paperwork is right.
AGF arranges the move from the US side: packing by a partner moving crew, a full or shared container, the export documents and the ocean booking. In Italy our WCA partner agents and licensed customs representatives handle clearance and delivery; AGF has no office in Italy. We plan the delivery end early, because getting a container to a flat in a historic centre is often the hardest part of the move.
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Shipping Household Goods from USA to Italy
Household goods ship in a dedicated container or, for smaller moves, in a shared container (groupage). As a rule of thumb, a 20ft container takes the contents of a one- or two-bedroom home and a 40ft a three- or four-bedroom house; we confirm from an inventory or survey. Goods are packed, numbered and listed so customs can match boxes to the inventory, and furniture is wrapped for a long voyage.
Delivery is where Italian moves get complicated. Historic centres have restricted-traffic zones (ZTL), narrow streets and buildings without lifts, so the container is often unloaded at a depot and the goods brought in by smaller vehicles, with an external furniture lift for upper floors and a permit from the comune to occupy the street. Ocean transit to Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno or Naples depends on the carrier's rotation and on transshipment, and is confirmed for your sailing at booking; as a guide, the same crossing westbound, Genoa to New York, runs 9–22 days.
- Dedicated 20ft or 40ft container, or shared groupage for smaller moves
- Packing and numbered inventory by a partner moving crew
- Customs clearance under transfer-of-residence relief
- Shuttle vehicles, furniture lifts and street permits arranged for old-town deliveries
What Drives the Cost
- Volume: dedicated container or shared groupage
- Packing services and materials at origin
- Whether the goods qualify for transfer-of-residence relief, or pay duty and 22% IVA
- Delivery access: ZTL zones, shuttle vehicles, furniture lifts and street-occupation permits
- Storage if your Italian home is not ready when the goods arrive
- A car in the container: title to CBP, EEI and registration costs in Italy
HS Codes and Duty Notes
Classification guidance only — duty rates change and depend on your exact product. Codes are confirmed with the licensed customs representative at destination before you ship.
| HS Code | Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| C01 | Relief code: personal property of people transferring their normal residence to the EU | Household goods are declared under a relief code rather than item by item. C01 covers furniture, personal effects and private vehicles that meet the transfer-of-residence conditions. |
| C02 | Relief code: household effects of a person moving to the EU on marriage | A separate relief with its own conditions, for goods brought in when you move to Italy to marry. |
| C04 | Relief code: personal property inherited by someone living in the EU | Inherited household goods have their own relief and deadlines — tell us if part of the shipment is an inheritance. |
| 8703 | A private car shipped with the move | Covered by the relief if you owned and used it for at least six months before moving; registration in Italy still requires homologation. |
Regulations and Compliance
Transfer-of-residence relief: the core conditions
Under the EU's customs relief rules, household goods, personal effects and private vehicles enter free of duty and IVA when you transfer your normal residence to Italy from outside the EU, provided that you have lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months; the goods have been in your possession — and, if not consumable, used — at your former home for at least six months; they are for the same personal use in Italy; and they arrive within 12 months of your taking up Italian residence. Goods imported under the relief cannot be sold, lent, hired out or pledged for 12 months without paying the duty and IVA.
What does not qualify
Alcoholic drinks, tobacco, commercial vehicles, goods for use in a trade or business (other than the portable instruments of a profession) and new items bought for the move are outside the relief. Firearms, plants and some foods have their own rules and permits — leave them out unless authorisation has been arranged in advance.
Documents Italian customs will ask for
Expect to provide your passport and, for non-EU citizens, the visa or permit that allows you to live in Italy; evidence of at least 12 months' residence abroad (for returning Italian citizens, AIRE registration is the usual proof); proof of Italian residence or your commitment to take it up; a detailed, signed and valued inventory, ideally in Italian; and the bill of lading. Your customs representative confirms the exact list for the port of entry before the goods ship.
Arriving before your residence
Goods can be cleared under the relief before your Italian residence is formally established if you undertake to establish it within six months, and customs will require a guarantee covering the duty and IVA until you do. The goods must arrive within 12 months of your residence starting; a move split into several shipments is allowed but has to fit that window.
A car in the move
A car you have owned and used for at least six months qualifies for the relief like other personal property and can share the container. In the US, its title still goes to CBP at least 72 hours before export with an EEI filing. In Italy it must then be registered — a US-specification car usually needs an individual technical approval — and it cannot be sold for 12 months without paying the duty and IVA.
Door-to-Door Shipping Service
We start with an inventory or survey and your timeline in Italy: residence, visa and the date your new home is ready. A partner crew packs, numbers and lists the goods; we arrange the container or groupage space, submit any car title to CBP, and handle the export documents and the booking.
In Italy our WCA partner agent coordinates discharge and a licensed customs representative clears the goods under transfer-of-residence relief. Delivery follows to your home — direct by container where the street allows, or by shuttle vehicle with a furniture lift and a street permit where it does not — or into partner storage until you are ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay import duty on household goods when moving to Italy?
How much does it cost to ship household goods from the USA to Italy?
Can I ship my car to Italy with my household goods?
What documents do I need to ship my belongings to Italy?
Household Goods is just one example. AGF ships whatever your business moves — on this lane and beyond. If your commodity isn't covered by one of our guides, tell us what you ship and we'll build the logistics around it.
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