Tv licence in Italy: do I need to pay it?

I was recently asked if the canone Rai – the Italian tv licence – was due by property owners not resident in Italy.

The canone Rai is due by property owners who have a tv in their homes. The amount of the canone Rai is €90 for the year 2023. It is spread in instalments and included in the electricity bill, hence when you pay the electricity bill, you inevitably also pay the canone Rai.

The Italian tv licence is paid in the electricity bill of the main home, and not in the electricity bill of the second home; basically, it is paid only once and you can watch the tv in all your houses around Italy.

But what if you only have a holiday home in Italy and you don’t have a “main home”, i.e. you are not resident in Italy? In that case, you will have to pay the tv licence in the electricity bill of your holiday home, according to the Agenzia delle Entrate website.