ecobonus, home bonus, sismabonus and architectural barriers bonus

Renovating a house: the building bonuses available

When intervening on a single residential type real estate unit, it is possible to evaluate the single or combined use of the following tax deductions:

• ecobonus: it is a tax deduction of 50/65% provided for energy efficiency interventions (the assumption is that the house is heated before the intervention) by art. 1, paragraphs from 344 to 347, of the law of 27 December 2006, n. 296, subsequently modified by the art. 14 of the Law Decree n. 63/2013;
• house bonus o building renovation bonus: it is a 50% deduction provided for by art. 16-bis of Presidential Decree 917/1986 and then by art. 16, paragraph 1 of the Law Decree n. 63/2013 which, in the case of interventions on individual residential real estate units of any cadastral category, including rural ones, and on their appurtenances, can be used only if these are configured as:
  • extraordinary maintenance (art. 3, paragraph 1, letter b) of Presidential Decree 380/2001);
  • restoration and conservative rehabilitation (art. 3, paragraph 1, letter c) of Presidential Decree 380/2001);
  • building renovation (art. 3, paragraph 1, letter d) of Presidential Decree 380/2001);
• sismabonus: it is a deduction whose rate varies from 70 to 75% (if the intervention is carried out on the common parts of the building the rate increases to 75/85%) foreseen for the interventions referred to in article 16-bis, paragraph 1, letter i), of Presidential Decree 917/1986 and then in art. 16, paragraphs from 1-bis to 1-seis of the Law Decree n. 63/2013;
• architectural barriers bonus: it is a deduction that draws its origins from art. 16-bis, paragraph 1, letter e) of Presidential Decree 917/1986. Subsequently, a new bonus was envisaged with art. 119-ter of Law Decree no. 34/2020 (Relaunch Decree).

Rates, expenditure ceilings and duration: ecobonus, home bonus and sismabonus

After summarizing the reference rules, it is useful to talk about the rates, the ceilings and the time horizon within which it is possible to deduct expenses. To do this, we will use the following synoptic tables divided according to the type of bonus, referring exclusively to the bonuses provided for individual real estate units.

The bonus for the removal of architectural barriers

As regards the bonus for the removal of architectural barriers, art. 119-ter of the Relaunch Decree recognizes a tax deduction of 75% until 31 December 2025 for the implementation of interventions directly aimed at overcoming and eliminating architectural barriers in existing buildings.

This tax deduction is divided into 5 equal annual installments and is calculated on a total amount not exceeding:

• 50,000 euros for single-family buildings or for real estate units located inside multi-family buildings that are functionally independent and have one or more independent accesses from the outside;
• 40,000 euros multiplied by the number of real estate units that make up the building for buildings consisting of two to eight real estate units;
• 30,000 euros multiplied by the number of real estate units that make up the building for buildings made up of more than eight real estate units.

From reading the regulatory text “it would seem” that this bonus is not applicable to real estate units in multi-family buildings that do not possess the condition of functional independence and autonomous access. For this reason, while waiting for the legislator to provide official clarifications, the only solution would be to return to the bonus regulated by art. 16-bis, paragraph 1, letter e) of Presidential Decree 917/1986.

In this case:

• the rate is 50% to be applied to expenses incurred up to 31 December 2024, while from 1 January it decreases to 36%;
• the expenditure limit is 96,000 euros until 31 December 2024 and then decreased to 48,000 euros.

The following fall into the category of subsidized interventions:

• those carried out for the elimination of architectural barriers (for example, lifts and freight elevators);
• the works carried out for the creation of tools which, through communication, robotics and any other technological means, are suitable for promoting the internal and external mobility of people with severe disabilities, pursuant to art. 3, paragraph 3, of the law n. 104 of 1992.