Best Broker for Italian Investors (2026):
Trade Republic, XTB, Trading 212 & more
For an Italian investor, the deciding question is not commission. It is whether the broker acts as sostituto d’imposta and withholds your tax, or leaves you to file Quadro RT and Quadro RW every year. This guide ranks six international brokers on that question first and on cost second, then covers three Italian brokers and two further platforms.
Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you sign up through them. This does not affect our reviews or recommendations — we only feature products we genuinely believe are useful for investors. This site provides educational content only, not personalized investment advice. Investments can lose value and past performance does not guarantee future results. You are responsible for your own financial decisions and for confirming the tax and legal rules that apply in your country.
Regime amministrato or regime dichiarativo: the test that sorts every broker
In Italy, how a broker handles your tax outranks what it charges per order. Everything else on this page follows from this section.
Regime amministrato
The broker withholds 26% and the 0.20% imposta di bollo itself, so nothing goes in Quadro RT or Quadro RW.
Trade Republic (since 30 Jan 2025), Directa SIM, Fineco and BG SAXO operate regime amministrato for Italian clients.
IG and ActivTrades offer it on request rather than automatically.
Regime dichiarativo
Under regime dichiarativo you file Quadro RT plus Quadro RW every year, or pay a commercialista at roughly EUR 150 to 300 a year.
The test is whether the broker has a stabile organizzazione in Italy.
Six international brokers, ranked for Italian investors
Listed in ranked order. Order costs exclude spreads and third-party costs.
| Broker | ETF order cost | Currency conversion | What decides its place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade Republic | EUR 1.00 settlement fee per trade; savings plans free | Embedded in the purchase price | Regime amministrato since 30 Jan 2025 |
| XTB | 0% up to EUR 100,000 monthly turnover | 0.5% | Zero commission up to the monthly threshold |
| Trading 212 | Free commission | 0.15% | Italian clients served by the Cyprus entity |
| Lightyear | EUR 0 | 0.35% | No lending of client investments |
| IBKR | 0.05%, EUR 1.25 minimum (Fixed, fractional orders) | 0.03% AutoFX on cash-account buy orders | Fractional trading available in Italy |
| Scalable Capital | EUR 0.99 at EIX; savings plans EUR 0 | Markup exists, size unpublished | Not sostituto d’imposta |
Each broker, for an Italian account
Trade Republic
Regime amministrato- Trade Republic has operated regime amministrato for Italian clients since 30 Jan 2025. It withholds 26% on gains, dividends and interest.
- Italian clients get an Italian IBAN.
- Order commission is free. Each trade carries a EUR 1.00 settlement fee. Choosing an exchange with Direct Price costs EUR 2.00 per trade.
- Savings plan executions are free. Each execution must be between EUR 10 and EUR 10,000.
- Currency conversion on purchases is embedded in the price, with no separate line and no published size.
- Other product fees, including spread and third-party costs, may apply.
XTB
Zero-commission threshold- XTB’s price tables show 0% commission on stocks and ETFs up to EUR 100,000 of cumulative turnover in a calendar month.
- Above that threshold, each trade costs 0.2% with a EUR 10 minimum.
- Currency conversion costs 0.5%.
- XTB’s tables list an Italian financial transaction tax of 0.1%. It does not apply below EUR 500m.
- A custody fee of 0.02% a year applies only to average daily portfolio value above EUR 250,000.
Trading 212
Cyprus entity- Italian clients contract with Trading 212 Markets Ltd, CySEC licence 398/21.
- Interactive Brokers is the only custodian for that entity.
- Trading 212’s help centre puts Investor Compensation Fund cover at up to EUR 20,000.
- Trading commission is free, and currency conversion costs 0.15%, never more, even on weekends.
- An Italian financial transaction tax row is confirmed absent from the price list of the region that governs Italian clients.
Lightyear
One EU price schedule- Lightyear publishes one EU price schedule, not per-country pricing.
- ETF orders cost EUR 0.
- Currency conversion costs 0.35% on top of the live interbank exchange rate.
- Lightyear does not lend client money or investments to third parties.
- Its price list carries an Italian financial transaction tax row for shares issued by Italian joint stock corporations.
- Savings money market funds for Italian clients are managed by BlackRock. They are investment products, not deposits.
Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
Fractional trading in Italy- IBKR supports fractional trading in European stocks and ETFs in selected jurisdictions, Italy among them.
- On Fixed pricing, IBKR states 0.05% of trade value with a EUR 1.25 minimum on fractional orders.
- AutoFX adds 0.03% to the exchange rate. AutoFX applies only to buy orders in cash accounts.
- IBKR states it does not provide tax advice and cannot assist clients with tax filings.
- An Annual Statement is available to all accounts.
Scalable Capital
Not sostituto d’imposta- Scalable serves Italy cross-border under freedom of services, without a physical branch.
- It is not sostituto d’imposta in Italy. An Italian branch and an Italian IBAN are the stated prerequisites, and neither has landed.
- Its Italian tax report is delivered by end of June via Mailbox and cannot be obtained earlier or separately.
- On Scalable’s German price list, an order at the European Investor Exchange (EIX) costs EUR 0.99 on the FREE plan, and PRIME ETF purchases from EUR 250 cost EUR 0 on both plans.
- PRIME+ costs EUR 4.99 a month.
- Savings plans cost EUR 0 per plan from EUR 1.
- A currency-conversion markup exists; its size is unpublished.
Three Italian brokers on regime amministrato
These are covered descriptively, without fee figures, and carry no affiliate links.
Directa SIM
Italian brokerDirecta SIM operates regime amministrato for Italian clients.
Visit website →BG SAXO
Italian broker · joint ventureBG SAXO is a Banca Generali and Saxo Bank joint venture, not the Saxo entity covered elsewhere on this site.
BG SAXO operates regime amministrato for Italian clients.
Visit website →eToro and Mintos
Neither is in the ranked six.
eToro
Regime dichiarativo- eToro’s EU entity is eToro (Europe) Ltd, licensed by CySEC under 109/10.
- eToro operates under regime dichiarativo in Italy.
- Real ETFs carry no commission.
- Real-stock commission is charged per side in USD: USD 1 on most exchanges and USD 2 on Australian, Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo listings.
- Some non-leveraged ETF buys are executed as CFDs, marked in the order ticket.
- eToro sets its own prices and may be the counterparty.
- Italian clients can hold a local EUR account. Converting between the local account and USD costs 0.75%.
- Investor Compensation Fund cover is up to EUR 20,000 for products and services authorised under eToro Europe.
- 51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Mintos
Mintos accepts card deposits from cards issued in Italy.
The card deposit fee is 2% of the deposited amount.
Order cost does not separate the six
Modelled scenario: twelve EUR 250 purchases of a EUR-listed ETF in a year, each through the broker’s own savings plan or commission-free route. Spreads, currency conversion, taxes and third-party costs are excluded.
| Broker | Route | Order cost, twelve EUR 250 purchases (modelled) |
|---|---|---|
| Trade Republic | Savings plan | EUR 0.00 |
| XTB | Order under the monthly threshold | EUR 0.00 |
| Trading 212 | Commission-free order | EUR 0.00 |
| Lightyear | ETF order | EUR 0.00 |
| IBKR | Fixed pricing, fractional order | EUR 15.00 |
| Scalable Capital | Savings plan | EUR 0.00 |
Check current terms before you open an account
Fees, rates and tax handling change. Confirm the figures on each broker’s own pricing pages, and confirm how your account will be taxed in Italy, before opening or funding it. Investing involves risk of loss. 51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider (eToro).
Go deeper
Frequently asked questions
Which brokers operate regime amministrato for Italian investors?
Trade Republic (since 30 Jan 2025), Directa SIM, Fineco and BG SAXO operate regime amministrato for Italian clients. IG and ActivTrades offer it on request rather than automatically.
What does regime amministrato change for an Italian investor?
The broker withholds 26% and the 0.20% imposta di bollo itself, so nothing goes in Quadro RT or Quadro RW. Under regime dichiarativo you file Quadro RT plus Quadro RW every year, or pay a commercialista at roughly EUR 150 to 300 a year.
How can I tell whether a broker can act as sostituto d’imposta in Italy?
The test is whether the broker has a stabile organizzazione in Italy.
Does Trade Republic withhold Italian tax?
Yes. Trade Republic has operated regime amministrato for Italian clients since 30 Jan 2025. It withholds 26% on gains, dividends and interest. Italian clients get an Italian IBAN.
Is Scalable Capital a sostituto d’imposta in Italy?
No. An Italian branch and an Italian IBAN are the stated prerequisites, and neither has landed. Scalable’s Italian tax report is delivered by end of June via Mailbox and cannot be obtained earlier or separately.
Which Trading 212 entity serves Italian clients?
Italian clients contract with Trading 212 Markets Ltd, CySEC licence 398/21. Interactive Brokers is the only custodian for that entity. Trading 212’s help centre puts Investor Compensation Fund cover at up to EUR 20,000.
What does XTB charge on ETF trades?
XTB’s price tables show 0% commission up to EUR 100,000 of cumulative turnover in a calendar month, then 0.2% per trade with a EUR 10 minimum. Currency conversion costs 0.5%.
What does a recurring ETF purchase cost at each broker?
In our worked example of twelve EUR 250 purchases of a EUR-listed ETF, five of the six ranked brokers come to EUR 0.00 in order costs and IBKR comes to EUR 15.00. Spreads, currency conversion, taxes and third-party costs are excluded.
Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you sign up through them. This does not affect our reviews or recommendations — we only feature products we genuinely believe are useful for investors. This site provides educational content only, not personalized investment advice. Investments can lose value and past performance does not guarantee future results. You are responsible for your own financial decisions and for confirming the tax and legal rules that apply in your country.