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PROPERTY

EXPLAINED: Are any of Italy’s building ‘bonuses’ still available?

The Italian government has abruptly restricted access to its popular 'superbonus' fund. But what does this mean for Italy's many other tax rebate schemes for homeowners?

A view shows urban construction works on the outskirts of Rome in the Corviale-Portuense district, on February 21, 2023.
A view shows urban construction works on the outskirts of Rome in the Corviale-Portuense district, on February 21, 2023. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP.

If you own – or have your eye on – property in Italy, you’ll likely have seen the recent headlines about the Italian government curtailing its popular superbonus.

Introduced in May 2020 in an effort to revitalise Italy’s pandemic-hit economy, the superbonus allowed homeowners to claim back up to 110 percent of the cost of home renovations.

READ ALSO: How Italy has changed its building superbonus – again

But the Italian government curbed the popular scheme with sweeping changes as of February 17th which have made it effectively unavailable to most new claimants.

Until this point, there were three ways homeowners could access the building superbonus funds: by selling tax credit to a bank (cessione del credito), getting a discount on their invoice from the construction company (sconto in fattura), or claiming a tax rebate (detrazione fiscale) spread out over four years.

As the Italian government has now ended the buying and selling of tax credits, the first two options are no longer available.

This leaves only the tax rebate option – which is only open to Italian taxpayers in the highest income tax brackets.

READ ALSO: ‘Out of control’: Why has Italy curbed its building superbonus?

A building site in Rome’s Corviale-Portuense district on February 21st. – Italy’s building superbonus has led to fraud and spiralling costs, the government said after it curbed the scheme on February 17th. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)

While most media reports have focused on the superbonus as the highest-value scheme, it’s far from being the only one of Italy’s building ‘bonuses’ affected by this rule change.

According to the government’s decree dated February 16th, all the tax breaks mentioned in Article 121 of the original May 19th decree are affected, namely:

  • The ecobonus, that offers savings of 50 percent or 65 percent to make changes to your home that make it more energy efficient.
  • The earthquake bonus or sisma bonus, that allows property owners to claim between 50 and 80 percent of up to 96,000 euros on improvements to make buildings more earthquake-safe.
  • The renovations bonus (bonus ristrutturazione, sometimes also known as bonus casa), that allows owners to apply for a 50 percent tax reduction on renovating your property on expenses of up to 96,000 euros.
  • The solar panels bonus, which in reality isn’t its own form of tax relief but can be claimed as part of either the bonus ristrutturazione or the superbonus, and provides up to 48,000 euros in savings.

According to the financial news outlet Investire Oggi, two bonuses remain unaffected – but only because homeowners could never access the cessione del credito or sconto in fattura for these in the first place. These are:

  • The green bonus or bonus verde, which allows people to claim a 36 percent tax deduction on up to 5,000 euros to renovate their gardens and outdoor spaces.
  • The furniture and appliances bonus (bonus mobili e grandi elettrodomestici), through which owners can apply for a 50 percent reduction on up to 8,000 euros of new furniture and energy-efficient appliances in recently renovated homes.

In both these cases, the relief comes in the form of a tax rebate paid in installments over a ten-year period.

Please note that The Local cannot advise on individual cases. For more information on claiming Italy’s building bonuses, homeowners are advised to consult a qualified Italian building surveyor or independent financial advisor.

See more in our Italian property section.

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TOURISM

Flights, hotels, beaches: How the cost of travel to Italy is rising this summer

Inflation may now be falling but the price of a summer holiday in Italy has risen again - by up to 20 percent compared to last year.

Flights, hotels, beaches: How the cost of travel to Italy is rising this summer

Italian consumer rights groups said last year that the summer of 2023 would be remembered as “the most expensive ever” for travel. But 2024 has already smashed that record, according to the latest price surveys.

The rising cost of air fares, ferry tickets, hotels, restaurants and beach clubs add up to mean a holiday in Italy will be 15-20 percent more expensive this summer compared to last year, according to a survey conducted by the Assoutenti consumer research centre in June.

While price rises in recent years have been attributed to Covid and rising inflation, which is no longer thought to be a factor, this year Assoutenti said high demand was pushing up prices amid the post-pandemic tourism boom.

Prices in Italy were “out of control as a consequence of the resumption of tourism, after the stop imposed by Covid, and the record number of foreign visitors recorded in the last year,” the survey’s authors wrote, calling on the government to take measures to contain price increases.

READ ALSO: ltaly set for summer tourism boom as bookings increase again

They warned that more Italian families were likely to “give up the summer holidays this year, not being able to face an expense that increases from year to year,” and that those who do travel may book shorter trips to keep costs down.

Some 6.5 million Italians say they won’t be going on holiday this summer at all, with half citing economic difficulties, according to a separate survey commissioned by price comparison website Facile.it.

Meanwhile, there had been a nine percent increase this year in applications for personal loans for travel purposes, the survey found.

Flight prices

One of the biggest factors was the cost of air fares, as both domestic and international flights to and from Italy were found to be more expensive again this year.

While the cost of flights between European countries had fallen slightly following inflation-driven price hikes in 2023, Italy was bucking the trend.

Italy’s flight costs had risen instead, according to recent analysis in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, with the average price of a summer flight between Italy and the rest of Europe up by seven percent and domestic flights by 21 percent.

READ ALSO: Why are flight prices higher in Italy than the rest of Europe this summer?

Industry sources suggest the price increase is again down to unprecedented demand, while consumer groups say the main culprit is a lack of competition on the Italian market.

Transport costs

There were price hikes too for those using other modes of transport, with the rising cost of fuel and motorway tolls in Italy named as another contributing factor in the Assoutenti survey.

Ferry tickets were also more expensive, it found, with the average increase this August at +6.3 percent compared to 2023.

Hotels and B&Bs

For a family of four, the Assoutenti survey found the most expensive place to stay in Italy this summer was Porto Cervo, Sardinia, where the average price of a week’s three-star accommodation in August came to 3,500 euros.

The cheapest options were found to be Bibione, outside Venice (872 euros) and Rapallo in Liguria (909).

READ ALSO: Tourist tax: How much is it increasing in Italy’s cities this year?

The cost of accommodation at coastal destinations had risen by 23 percent on average overall, a separate survey by consumer group Altroconsumo found.

Hotels in cities were found to be a less expensive option, with most Italian families heading for the beach or mountains to escape the heat.

Restaurants

Adding to the overall cost, prices also continued to rise this year at restaurants in holiday resorts and at beach clubs: Assoutenti recorded an average increase for the catering sector of +3.5 percent on 2023.

Beaches

Renting sunbeds and umbrellas at Italy’s beach clubs is seen as a necessity by many Italian families – and often by international visitors too, given the lack of free options in many areas.

This too was becoming more expensive in 2024, with the average daily rate for a slot at one of Italy’s private beach clubs up by more than five percent on last year. Prices had also risen by as much as 11 percent between 2022 and 2023.

Beachgoers can now expect to pay around €30-35 for two sun loungers and a beach umbrella for the day on average, though prices can rise as high as €90 in Salento and €120 in parts of Sardinia.

Both private and free-access beaches in Italy also increasingly require advance booking due to higher demand.

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