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Who can claim Italy’s €60 public transport discount?

Italy's €60 public transport ‘bonus’ is available again from Monday, but with some changes. Here’s who can claim the discount this year.

Published: 3 April 2023 16:53 CEST
Updated: 17 April 2023 09:09 CEST

Tram in Milan

The Italian government has relaunched its €60 public transport discount, but who exactly will be able to claim the bonus this year? Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP

A discount on the cost of a bus, metro or train pass is available from Monday, April 17th, under Italy’s relaunched transport bonus (bonus trasporti).

This year’s discount comes in the form of a one-off 60-euro voucher to be used towards the purchase of a monthly or annual transport pass – unlike the 2022 version, which could be claimed on a monthly basis.

READ ALSO: Metro, bus or tram: How to use Milan’s public transport

But who exactly will be able to claim the discount in 2023?

While last year’s bonus was available to anyone with a personal income of up to 35,000 euros a year, this year’s discount will only be available to people earning 20,000 euros a year or less.

Eligibility for the bonus is exclusively dependent upon personal income and not household income (which is calculated as an ISEE number).

So, for the sake of argument, while a student might belong to a family whose annual ISEE is over 20,000 euros, they will still be able to claim the bonus so long as their personal income doesn’t exceed that figure.

The €60 voucher can be used towards the purchase of any monthly or annual public transport pass. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

Apart from that, the claiming process will largely be the same as last year.

You’ll need to apply on the official website using your SPID or CIE (Electronic ID Card) credentials and codice fiscale (tax code), and select the relevant transport operator.

READ ALSO: Bonus asilo: How to get help with the cost of childcare in Italy

You’ll also be asked to declare via an auto-certificazione (self-certification form) that your annual income is equal to or lower than 20,000 euros a year.

After that, you’ll receive an electronic voucher which can be used when purchasing their transport pass.

Vouchers will be valid for the purchase of monthly or annual passes, but can only be used once.

The discount is expected to remain available until December 31st, 2023.

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IMU: Who has to pay Italy’s property tax?

Italy’s main property tax, IMU (Imposta Municipale Unica, or Unified Municipal Tax) was introduced in 2012 to replace the local ICI levy.

It applies to both private and commercial property, building areas and agricultural land, and its exact amount varies by the type, value and location of the property.

IMU must be paid in two yearly instalments, with the first payment normally due by June 16th (the deadline was moved to June 17th this year as June 16th is a Sunday) and the second one due by December 16th.

But the tax is a frequent source of confusion for homeowners in Italy as the rules on exactly which types of property it applies to have changed multiple times over the years.

Taxpayers are fully responsible for calculating and paying the amount of IMU they owe, meaning you won’t get a bill from local authorities specifying how much you need to pay for the relevant year.

Who does IMU apply to?

IMU is generally owed by owners of the following types of property:

Agricultural land (or terreno agricolo in Italian)
Building land (area fabbricabile)
Private houses other than the owner’s main residence (or prima casa), meaning second, third, fourth homes etc.
Luxury dwellings (case di lusso) falling under Italy’s cadastral categories A1 (stately homes), A8 (villas) or A9 (castles), regardless of whether they are the owner’s main residence or not.

Essentially, besides agricultural and building land owners, IMU is owed by all second-home owners in the country and owners of properties categorised as ‘luxury’ under Italy’s cadastral system.

READ ALSO: The Italian tax calendar for 2024: Which taxes are due when?

The tax doesn’t apply to main residences (prime case) but owners must be Italian residents and be registered as such under Italy’s national registry (Anagrafe) in order to qualify for this.

If you’re a foreign resident owning property in the country, you’ll have to pay IMU on it.

There are a number of IMU exemptions and discounts available to some categories of homeowners.

These include for instance a 50-percent discount for retirees residing abroad and claiming a ‘totalised pension’ (pensione totalizzata), meaning a hybrid ‘Italian-foreign’ pension merging contributions made in Italy and those made in the foreign nation they reside in (as long as this country has pension totalisation agreements in place with Italy).

How do I calculate IMU?

Much like most other Italian taxes, calculating IMU is by no means an easy process, especially if you have little to no experience with paying it.

That’s why it’s generally advisable to consult a chartered accountant (commercialista) who can ensure that the correct amount is paid and even arrange the transaction for you.

READ ALSO: What is an Italian commercialista and do you really need one?

That said, as a rough guide, you’ll need to take the cadastral value, or valore catastale, of your property (this is generally reported in the public deed of purchase but you can also request it at your local land registry).

Once you know the cadastral value, you must increase it by 5 percent and then multiply that number by a coefficient, which varies by the type of property you own. For instance, private residential buildings and flats have a coefficient of 160.

Doing this will give you your property’s taxable base and from there you’ll be charged anything from 0.5 to 1.06 percent of that figure, depending on the rate (aliquota) applied by the municipality (comune) where your property is located.

How do I pay?

IMU can be paid via Italy’s standard tax form F24, which is used when paying most types of taxes in Italy, including Irpef income tax instalments.

The form can generally be found and submitted at most bank branches and post offices in the country. Some Italian banks even offer customers the option to complete and submit an F24 form directly online.

Alternatively, you can ask an Italian accountant to complete and submit the form on your behalf.

What happens if I don’t pay?

The Italian taxman shows little in the way of leniency when it comes to late filing or failure to pay IMU.

Late filing can be punished with a fine of up to 30 percent of the IMU owed, whereas failure to pay can lead to enforced credit recovery procedures (recupero coattivo del credito) from local authorities.

The good news here is that Italy has a procedure known as ravvedimento operoso (literally ‘active amendment’) which allows taxpayers to self-report and quickly rectify the delay in their IMU payments in exchange for significantly reduced fines.

For example, under this system, fines for late payment are reduced to 0.1 percent of the sum owed per day if the payment is made within the first 14 days from the relevant deadline.

Please note that The Local is unable to advise on individual cases. Find more information on the Italian tax office’s website or seek independent advice from a qualified tax professional.

For more information on property in Italy, check The Local’s property section.

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