Exemptions and discounts for the Single Municipal Tax (Imposta Municipale Unica, “IMU”)

Exemptions and discounts for the Single Municipal Tax (Imposta Municipale Unica, “IMU”):

all cases envisaged by the 2021 Budget Law

If you are wondering what the news of the latest 2021 Budget Law are (law n.178 of 30 December 2020) on the subject of IMU, you are in the right place: we have prepared for you a summary of all cases of exemptions and discounts provided for by the new law for the payment of this tax.

First, the 2020 Budget law abolished, with effect from 1 January 2020, the single municipal tax (“IUC”), of which the IMU was a part, together with the “TASI” (Tribute for Indivisible Services), leaving in force the “TARI”, the tax on waste management. From 1 January 2020, the so-called “new IMU” merges the old IMU and the TASI.

There are two deadlines for the payment of the new IMU 2021:

• 16 June 2021, for the payment of the deposit; and

• 16 December 2021, for the balance.

The following are the key new provisions of the 2021 Budget Law:

1. IMU exemption for the main place of residence (i.e. the place where one has habitual residence)

1. Non-luxury main residence

As with the previous IMU, the new law provides for an exemption for the main residence (in the non-luxury cadastral category) and related appurtenances (up to a maximum of three each, belonging to the cadastral categories C/2, C/6 and C/7).

2. Luxury main residence

For the luxury main residence (cadastral category A/1, A/8 and A/9) and related appurtenances, the IMU is payable at a reduced rate and with the application of a deduction of 200.00 euros.

2. 50% IMU discount

For properties other than the main residence, the legislation provides for tax savings in the form of a 50% discount, when certain conditions occur.

Please note that in all the above-mentioned cases, the 50% IMU discount applies only to the months for which the conditions are met (a month where the possession lasts for more than 15 days is considered in full).

The following are the cases where the 50% reduction is applied:

1. Buildings declared to be of historical or artistic interest: buildings that have historical or artistic interest in accordance with Article 10 of Legislative Decree no. 42 of 22 January 2004 can take advantage of a 50% reduction in the tax base, regardless of use as a second home or lease or loan to others.

2. Buildings declared uninhabitable or unusable and actually not in use: a building can be considered uninhabitable when there is a physical deterioration that has occurred over time (for example, a dilapidated, unsafe, or decrepit building), which cannot be overcome with ordinary or extraordinary maintenance interventions but would require restoration and conservative redevelopment or building renovation. As such an uninhabitable or unusable building, is for example, a place that requires major renovations to become habitable or usable again (e.g. reinforcement of the foundations, reconstruction of the floors, etc.) and simple maintenance (replacement of doors, painting, etc.) would not be enough. For the purposes of the IMU discount it is necessary that the uninhabitability or unitability be ascertained. This can be done in two ways, namely:

• by the Technical Office of the municipality where the building is located, with costs borne by the owner of the property, who must include appropriate documentation to the declaration; or
• by the owner of the property, by submitting a substitutive declaration to the municipality where the property is located (the municipality will then reserve the right to ascertain that the property is actually uninhabitable or unusable).

• Real estate units (except for those classified in the cadastral categories A/1, A/8 and A/9), granted on loan (“comodato”) to close direct relatives (only parents and children) who use them as their main residence, provided that:

• the loan agreement is registered with the Revenue Agency; and
• and that the lender owns only one residential property in Italy and is registered as resident in the registry office of the same municipality where such property is located (the benefit also applies in the event that the lender, in addition to the property granted on loan, has another property in the same municipality used as his main residence, with the exception of housing units classified in the cadastral categories A/1, A/8 and A/9).

4. For a single real estate unit of residential use -provided that it is not leased or given on loan for use- owned in Italy as property or usufruct by people not resident in Italy, who are holders of a pension accrued in international convention regime with Italy.

3) Exemptions from the payment of the first instalment of the IMU deposit

Buildings included in the following list are exempt from the first instalment of the IMU deposit:

• seaside, lake and river bathing establishments, spas,

• hotels, guesthouses and related services, agritourisms, tourist villages, youth hostels, mountain refuges, marine and mountain camps, properties for short stays, holiday homes and apartments, bed & breakfasts, residences and campsites, as long as the individuals due to pay the related tax are also managers of the operations of such places,

• properties in use by business setting up exhibition facilities in the context of trade fairs or shows, and

• nightclubs, discos, dance halls, and similar, provided that the individuals due to pay the related tax are also managers of the operations of such places.

If you have any questions or want any additional details, please do contact us at info@fiatlux.legal. Fiat Lux team will be happy to clarify any issue.

Kind Regards,

avv. Federica Loreti