English 
Luca: I'm excited about yet another episode of the Magic Towns Italy podcast. Are you excited, Anna?
Anna: Yeah, I'm super excited also because we are talking about a really interesting topic, right?
Luca: We always do. What's this topic?
Anna: So we were gonna keep talking about the most search towns in 2026, but we are pushing that to next week because that's some really, really important tax news if you're thinking about buying or fixing up a home in Italy.
Luca: That is right. We are going to talk about Italy's home renovation tax breaks for 2026.
2026 is actually a bit of a special year. We've even called it the last really good year to renovate with meaningful tax breaks. We're going to talk about what incentives that are there now, especially compared to the crazy, [00:01:00] Superbonus 110% from a few years before.
Anna: Oh yeah, that bonus, the government basically paid you more than what you spent.
Crazy, right?
Luca: Yes. I would say that Superbonus, born in 2020 let homeowners claim 110% of the renovation costs as a tax credit and in practice that meant that you could renovate your house and make a 10% profit in tax credits. It was the government paying for your renovation effectively.
Anna: Yeah.
Suddenly everyone was changing windows. Installing solar panels. But that, that couldn't last forever, right?
Luca: Yeah. The bill was astronomical. The super bonus blew a hole in Italy 's finances. The economy minister said that these incentives had a devastating impact on public Between one and the other these bonuses have cost 219 billion [00:02:00] euro.
Anna: Oh my God, that's insane. Like Italy basically threw hundreds of billions at home makeovers.
Luca: The initial plan was for the scheme to cost maybe 35 billion Euro that is short up to a hundred around the 160 billion euro in just four years.
And the worst thing is that because the government was effectively paying for people to renovate their home, the construction costs also went up by a lot. Uh, people weren't even negotiating prices. I mean, uh, and why would they care if the state was paying for it? And did lead to some abuse.
Anna: Yeah, I heard about the scams.
People were definitely taking advantage.
Luca: Yeah, taking advantage of the system. Um, so far, about 12 billion in fraudulent claims had been found out. Prime Minister Meloni called it the biggest scandal that the state has ever suffered. So there has been a lot of backlash on this tax scheme. And we could do an entire podcast about what went wrong with 110% super bonus.[00:03:00]
So it shouldn't be surprising that these incentives have been dialed back.
Anna: So the Superbonus is basically done now, right?
Luca: As of right now, January, 2026, the Superbonus, 105% is completely scrapped , for any of our listeners, this scheme is effectively over.
Anna: Oh, okay. So no more free renovation for us. I mean, it was good while it lasted, but um, what about now? Like, if 2026 is the last good year, what can we actually get this year?
Luca: That's a good question. The government has not completely abandoned helping renovators, and in fact, uh, three of the key programs, the Bonus Casa, which is the oldest of them, has existed for maybe 20 years, the Ecobonus and Sismabonus have all been extended, but at lower rates and with simpler rules.
Anna: Wait, but what's the difference between them?
Luca: So in a [00:04:00] nutshell, Bonus Casa is the general renovation bonus, um, in Italian's called the Bonus Ristrutturazioni. And it covers most, uh, typical home renovations, like putting that in new floor, fixing the bathroom, improving the electricals. Uh, the Ecobonus is make specifically for energy efficiency upgrades, like improving the insulation, installing a heat pump, or improving the windows, installing solar panels, that kind of stuff. The Sismabonus is for seismic upgrades. Effectively, anything that makes a building more earthquake resistant.
Anna: But these are tax deduction, not actual money you get upfront, right?
Luca: Correct. Uh, these bonuses work as tax deductions that you claim on your return and tax returns, and typically you can use this over 10 years. And that's a big difference from the older Superbonus days. One of the reasons why that scheme was so popular is that you could sell your tax credit to businesses or a bank and effectively you [00:05:00] never pay anything out of pocket. You could monetize your tax grant, which is unheard of now. First you have to pay for the works, and then you get money back through lower taxes.
Anna: Yeah, that's super important for people to know. So these are deductions, not checks. So you need to actually pay taxes in Italy to benefit. If you don't pay much tax here, you won't get much back.
Luca: That's correct. So if you spend, let's say 20,000 euro on a renovation and you're entitled to a 50% deduction, you get 10,000 Euro tax credits and usually there's a split over 10 years.
Generally speaking, if you don't use the deduction in one given year, you can carry it over to the next year, but you must have Italian taxable income, either because you have a job or because you're self-employed, et cetera.
Anna: Yeah, this is tricky for some, but with some, with those special tax deals, Italy has like the flat tax programs for foreigners or the 7% flight tax for retirees in certain [00:06:00] areas. So can they use these deductions
Luca: Generally? No. And that's a surprise to many people. If you're on a substitute flat tax, like the 7% tax regimes for pensions in the southor the 200k a year for wealthy individuals deal. Although, to be honest, if you're that wealthy, you might not care too much about, uh, getting some money back from your home renovation.
Basically, if you're not paying the standard Italian tax, then these renovation bonuses cannot be used, because there's nothing to deduct from. The flat taxes. The flat tax. So many retirees as you know, Anna, uh, you know it better than anyone else. Probably many retirees pick the 7% flat tax, uh, for the foreign pension, which is great for low taxes, but they cannot use these deductions.
Anna: Okay, so if a retired expat moves to Sicily, pays just 7% tax on their pension, but then if they fix up their [00:07:00] house, they can't use the 50% tax credit, right?
Luca: Basically. That's the general rule. And at the same time, if you own a rental property and you're using it, Italy's flat tax for rental income, which is the so-called cedolare secca at 21%.
On a 21% tax on rentals, then those tax, the rental earnings cannot benefit from these deductions.
Anna: Okay. But a lot of people listening probably do pay normal taxes here. They work here or haven't done those special tax things. So let's talk about numbers. How good are these bonuses in 2026?
Luca: In this new system, the government basically sets two levels of deduction, 50% for the home you live in, and then a lower rate for properties that you may own and rent out or for any other reasons, as long as you don't live in it.
Specifically, if the property is your main home where [00:08:00] you official reside, you can deduct 50% of the renovation costs. And if it's a second home vacation home, an investment property, then you deduct 36% of the costs.
Anna: Oh, I mean, 50% is pretty good and 36% for a second home isn't bad either like a third back.
Luca: It's definitely helpful and um, these rates are just for 2026 and that's why we say that this is the last good year because in, from 2027 onwards, the plan is to shrink the deductions further. From 2027 the tax break on your primary residence will drop to 36%, second homes to 30%, and by 2028, they want to drop everything to 30%, for everyone regardless of whether you live in it or not.
So, 2026 is kind of the final year for the 50% rate. Is this likely to change? Well, as you know with Italian law, there's always last minute [00:09:00] surprises, uh, and indecision. But the government has made it very clear they are going to rein in the era of large renovation tax credits.
Anna: Yeah, that's important. So if you've been thinking about renovating, do it this year because next year won't, probably won't be as good.
Maybe we should give an example so people can really see the difference.
Luca: A very simple example. So imagine an expat couple that lives in it, Italy full time. They bought a home in Tuscany. It's a primary residence. If they renovated and paid 50,000 euro in various costs with the 2026 rates because it's their primary home and they get 50% back as tax deduction. So that's 25,000 euro that they get back in tax savings.
Anna: Okay, so over 10 years you are getting 25k back on, uh, 50 K renovation. So half the cost basically.
Luca: Covered by the government. If the same capital waits until 2027 to do the work, so then they can only write off 36% [00:10:00] of the cost as tax credits. So on the 50,000, 36% is uh, 18,000 euro. And effectively, by waiting one year, they would miss out on 7,000 euro of tax savings, which is quite a lot.
Anna: And what if it's a vacation home, for example, like you only use it part of a year or maybe rent it out sometimes?
Luca: Yeah. So in 2026 they would qualify for a 36% deduction.
Uh, the 18,000 euro, which we mentioned before. If they waited until next year, 2027, then they will drop to 30%, which on 50,000 Euro is 15,000. So if you do the maths, they'll be missing out on 3000 euro of tax credits. It's a difference. Not as big, but still significant.
Anna: So now you mentioned those three different bonuses, the Bonus Casa, the Ecobonus, and the Sismabonus. Are the [00:11:00] percentages the same for all of them or different?
Luca: The government has started to harmonize the rates across all these different programs, which are confusing, confusing to everyone and to us.
So for 2026, all these bonuses follow the 50% and 36% pattern for primary and secondary homes.
Anna: Okay. So I won't get like different percentages for different types of work. It's basically the same depending on whether it's my main home or not.
Luca: Correct. In the past it was more confusing, like the Ecobonus had various rates, 65, 70, 75. The Sismabonus is quite interesting. for improving your home's resistance to earthquakes, uh, you can get, again, 50% or 36%, um, tax reduction, there's a 96,000 euro cap on the amount of money you can claim back. In the past, you could get a 70, 80, or even 85% deductions in some cases.
Anna: Wow, up to [00:12:00] 85% for major earthquake stuff. That's really good.
Luca: They have simplified the scheme now, but the enhanced rates are still possible. Essentially, if you measure lower your building's vulnerability, then you can claim a higher deduction up to 75, 85%. It's a bit technical and you want to consult with a professional to see if you can claim this.
Anna: Those caps you mentioned 96 K per unit. That's the max you can claim, right?
Luca: Yes. So the schemes have separate caps, so both the general renovation bonuses and the Sismabonus, the cap is 96,000 euro of expenses per property unit per year. This, by the way, is a whole different discussion. You can have more properties, you could split your properties. People have started to do all sorts of games around this, maximum amounts, but those are the general limits. So the maximum tax deduction for one project in 2026 would be 50% of 96,000, and that [00:13:00] works out to 48,000 euro max in credits, or 36% for a second home.
And if you spend more than that, then the excess amount is not subsidized by tax credits.
Anna: This is making sense now. So basically, uh, 50% tax break for your main home in 20 26. 36% for your second home. You get it back over 10 years. And after this year, those numbers drop. So 2026, it's the time to do it.
Luca: That's right. And getting half of your renovation costs back in tax credits is nothing to sneeze at. As long as you can use the deduction, as we discussed before.
Anna: Okay, but let's be real. So Italy and bureaucracy go hand in hand. So what do people need to know if they actually want to do this in 2026?
Luca: Very good question, Anna. So first of all, you can't just renovate it then assume you'll get the, the deduction you are going to have to follow the procedures. And, uh, the most important is that you have to pay [00:14:00] everything by a traceable bank transfer.
Anna: So no paying your contractor in cash. You need that bank paper trail to prove you spend the money on the right stuff.
Luca: That's right. And usually you're going to work with an architect to help you file the proper documentation, which I strongly recommend. In that case, it's their responsibility.
If they mess it up, Italy's tax agency doesn't just take your word for it. If you, um, get audited, you're gonna have to show documents. But you know, this is not going to be a surprise to anyone, especially our American listeners who have claimed deductions against work done on their homes. Um, that said that all reputable contractors and surveyors are very familiar with the bonus process now as they've been doing it for years.
Anna: So my advice, hire professionals who know the ropes and let them guide you on the compliance part. And what about businesses? Say I buy a building for a company, or I'm renovating a small [00:15:00] BNB, uh, I run as a business. Do these bonuses apply?
Luca: Generally speaking, these bonuses are not for businesses. They're primarily devised for private individuals. So in some cases, let's say that you want to run the BNB, you're better off buying it in your own name and then leasing it to the business so they can run it.
Anna: Perfect. I think that we covered the key points, the end of the Superbonus era, what 2026 offers, how it's simpler and still substantial, the primary versus second home differences and all the practical tips.
Luca: To sum it up, 2026 is a golden opportunity. Maybe the last to plan to fix up a property in Italy. And the government is still picking up a nice chunk of the bill. It is not a 110% anymore, but 50% is pretty good.
Anna: And with that in mind, if you're considering buying a home in Italy or starting a renovation, remember to do your homework.
So talk to a commercialista. So an accountant basically, [00:16:00] or a geometra, and make sure you qualify and follow the rules. We've seen laws change a lot, so staying updated is really, really important.
Luca: Yeah, we hope that this episode helped you, the listener, understand the, the lay of the land a little bit. If you want to dive deeper, go to magictowns.it where we have released the Ultimate Property Buying Guide, which com, which covers several pages about tax breaks.
Anna: And don't forget to try our Town Explorer. It's a fun way to, you know, to discover Italian towns that match your preferences.
Luca: Absolutely. How would we live without the Town Explorer? Couldn't, as we always, if you have, we couldn't. Um, as always, if you have any questions, we'd like to hear from you. Send us a comment, write to us on the website, drop us line on Facebook or Instagram.
You know what to find us.
Anna: Yes. So this was Anna and Luca for Magic Towns Italy. Uh, yeah. [00:17:00] See you next time
Luca: and happy renovating. Take advantage of those bonuses where you can. Have a good weekend, everyone.
Anna: Bye