Home tax relief in Italy 2026/2027: buying and renovating

This guide mainly concerns individuals and property in Italy. Non-residents may qualify if subject to Italian tax and meeting the relevant conditions; this does not automatically create a credit usable in their country of residence. Business property and IRES taxpayers require the specific Ecobonus rules.

Legislative Decree 117/2026 also consolidated income-tax legislation, with application from 1 January 2027. Articles 371–373 retain the temporary incentive rules. New article numbers or repeal of the old provisions should not be read as automatically abolishing the relief.

The registration-tax base may use the prezzo-valore cadastral-value system where available and requested: do not always calculate 2% of the sale price. Keep the deed, declarations, payment records and evidence of the residence move or other qualifying condition.

A different deadline matters if you sell or give away the home within five years: relief can be lost unless an exception applies, including purchasing another property to use as your main home within one year. That one-year period has not automatically become two. Loss of relief can mean additional tax, interest and penalties: ask your notary about timely corrective action.

The framework checked here does not provide a general under-36 tax exemption for new purchases in 2026/2027. The mortgage guarantee fund is a different instrument: it is neither a tax exemption nor evidence of eligibility for renovation incentives.

Eligible cohabiting relatives include a spouse, civil-union partner, relatives within the third degree and relatives by marriage within the second, subject to the conditions. A qualifying de facto cohabiting partner may also claim. Having your name on an invoice does not replace the cohabitation or property-availability requirement.

The enhanced rate requires ownership or the qualifying property right when work begins, or when payment is made if earlier. Main-home use can be established by completion of the work. Here the relevant concept is habitual residence of the taxpayer or their family under Agency guidance; where the taxpayer and family occupy two different homes, do not assume both qualify for the enhancement. Ancillary units can also qualify under the prescribed conditions.

Other properties retain ordinary relief if the work is otherwise eligible. A property bought with prima casa purchase relief is not automatically the main home for building relief or automatically exempt from IMU.

If several people pay, allocation must reflect actual expenditure and be recorded, with any share annotation made from the first claim year. A relative cannot simply take over the relief because the original claimant lacks sufficient tax liability.

For 2026 expenditure, the theoretical maximum relief is €48,000 at 50%, or €34,560 at 36%, on €96,000 of eligible costs. For 2027, enacted law provides €34,560 at 36% or €28,800 at 30%. Tax capacity and other limits can reduce actual recovery.

If work continues a project started in an earlier year, previously counted costs reduce the remaining cap: 1 January does not automatically reset it. A dwelling and its ancillary units do not each create a separate allowance for the same project. Have independent projects and common-part costs checked with the technician and tax adviser.

Stand-alone fossil-fuel boilers are excluded for expenditure from 2025 under the incentives discussed here. Check each technology's own rules; do not assume that every hybrid system qualifies automatically.

Rates are 36% ordinary or 50% enhanced in 2026, with 30% or 36% legislated for 2027. A tax-relief cap is different from expenditure: a €60,000 relief ceiling does not mean any €60,000 invoice is fully recoverable. Technical cost limits and shared-category caps still apply, for example when windows and insulation fall within the same category.

Other categories include insulation, solar shading and solar thermal collectors: use the ENEA guide for the actual work. Heat-pump guidance updated on 23 September 2026 distinguishes work started from 4 February 2026, which has additional requirements. Do not choose a scheme solely by comparing percentages.

Prepare the professional certification or supplier declaration allowed for the category, any required energy performance certificate (APE), technical data, conformity evidence and cost-compliance documents. Simplified paperwork does not remove technical requirements. Do not also claim renovation relief on the same cost.

Maximum theoretical relief is €2,500 in total, or €250 a year for ten years. Check ENEA reporting for the listed appliances. At 31 October an extension for new purchases in 2027 is not treated as enacted; remaining instalments for eligible earlier purchases are a separate matter.

Renovation and seismic work on the same property can share a spending cap. Ask for a technical and tax allocation instead of automatically adding allowances. Sismabonus acquisti for property purchases has additional developer, construction and deed requirements.

Superbonus, post-earthquake reconstruction relief and transitional regimes are not generally available alternatives for a new ordinary project. Any territorial exceptions or rights linked to earlier authorisations need a dedicated assessment.

For ordinary and extraordinary maintenance on predominantly private residential buildings, 10% VAT applies to services and, subject to conditions, goods supplied under the works contract. Some of the value of significant goods, such as windows or sanitary fittings, may remain at 22%; the invoice must allow the calculation to be checked.

For maintenance, materials purchased directly by the customer and professional services do not automatically attract 10% VAT. Restoration, conservation and building renovation have further rules, including for certain finished goods bought directly. Ask the contractor to specify the work category and separate values.

VAT actually borne by you can form part of the eligible cost where the underlying expense qualifies. Reduced VAT alone does not establish entitlement to income-tax relief: both conditions must be checked separately.

For a construction mortgage, main-home use must begin within six months of completion. Qualifying renovation must fall within the specified legal category, not just any maintenance. A purchase mortgage for a home undergoing renovation has specific conditions and timing, including up to two years to establish habitual residence. Older loans, work-related moves and joint mortgages require separate checks.

Keep the mortgage contract, purchase deed or property title, annual interest certificate, payment evidence and construction-cost documents. The theoretical maxima are €760, about €491 and €190 respectively, before ownership shares, tax capacity and income limits. Do not combine them without checking compatibility.

Furniture and major appliances can be paid for by transfer or card. Keep the required traceable evidence for mortgage and estate-agent costs. A transfer receipt does not replace an invoice or proof of eligible work. F24 is used for tax payments and, under its own rules, a credit resulting from a tax return; it does not replace the bonifico parlante used to pay a contractor.

Explicitly assign filing to the technician and request the receipt: a saved portal draft is not a submitted notification. ENEA filing does not legalise unauthorised building work or, by itself, certify tax eligibility.

Check the pre-filled return: a listed bank transfer does not establish every eligibility condition. Report the expenditure year, category, share and instalment number, cadastral details and other required information. Follow the instructions for the relevant year's form; this guide does not anticipate line numbers or deadlines in unpublished 2027/2028 forms.

For these ordinary building deductions, an annual instalment exceeding available IRPEF is not normally refunded or carried forward. Someone whose income is taxed solely under a substitute-tax regime, such as forfetario, must check whether they have other usable IRPEF. Specific tenant tax deductions follow different rules.

A credit actually resulting from a tax return can be refunded or used under the 730 or Redditi rules. This does not automatically turn a works invoice into a transferable tax credit. Do not assume invoice discounts or credit transfers are available for a new ordinary project; exceptions depend on specific conditions and transitional regimes.

On sale, remaining renovation instalments normally pass to the individual buyer unless otherwise agreed. On death, the heir's material and direct possession also matters. Ending a tenancy does not automatically cancel the tenant's accrued instalments. Do not apply these transfer rules indiscriminately to every incentive, particularly furniture.

Relevant passages checked on 31 October 2026, not individual cases. Main Agency pages and the release on governo.it returned HTTP 403 and are distinguished from documents actually read. The February 2026 renovation guide was read in the Confedilizia copy; the 28 October release in the RepublicHub reproduction. Older Agency web guides inform procedures, with years and rates updated using subsequent legislation. Recheck the 2027/2028 tax-return instructions and final 2027 budget legislation when published.

For an actual project, ask a technician to assess building and energy classification, and a CAF or tax adviser to check eligibility and tax capacity. For a purchase, the notary checks taxes, conditions and declarations required in the deed.